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Despite knuckle-gripping tension and mass nuclear proliferation during the Cold War, not a single detonation has caused mass civilian casualties since 1945. According to investigative journalist Eric Schlosser, such good fortune is nothing more than blind luck.

We may have the best intentions, but our minds may still play tricks on us. This can complicate situations in ways that we’re not even aware, and produce negative outcomes. […]

Spin a roulette wheel a million times, and you’ll see a fairly even split between black and red. But spin it a few dozen times, and there might be “streaks” of one or the other. The gambler’s fallacy leads bettors to believe that they odds are better if they bet against the streak. But the wheel has no memory of previous spins; for each round, leaving aside those pesky green zeroes, the odds for each color are always going to be 50-50.

When you work, do you often use a computer? If the answer is yes, then the specific answer is: you use a classical computer. That is what your machine is […]

Big Think’s resident economist Daniel Altman explains why Brazil needs to not only host the World Cup but win it too if it wants to see an economic boost from […]

It can be difficult to hear about the areas where we need to improve. Even if someone is skilled at giving feedback, listening to what we could be doing better […]

Being kind and volunteering one’s time are selfish acts. Research has shown that helping others through volunteer work actually increases one’s overall sense of well-being, including building emotional resilience and reducing stress levels. […]

Turns out that being nice to other people isn’t just good for the recipients of your kindness. According to the latest research, people who are generous and altruistic reap a […]

The “Lean In” movement that Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg founded with her book of the same name continued a conversation psychologist Matina Horner started 46 years ago. In Horner’s famous study, […]

Ai Weiwei. Kara Walker. Pussy Riot. Guerrilla Girls. Orwell. Art has long been an empowering outlet for speaking out against injustices. Politics aside, just the simple act of enjoying another […]

In this 5-part Big Think Mentor workshop, Julia Galef, President of the Center for Applied Rationality, teaches how to better understand some of the most common cognitive biases and fallacies – and ultimately make better decisions.

Tired of driving? Soon hitting the road will be as simple as pressing a button, sitting back, and relaxing while a hard drive does all the work.

The Week’s Ryan Cooper calls the 2014 midterms “perhaps the least consequential American election season in a generation,” but argues that’s not a reason to stay home.

It takes bright ideas and business savvy to make waves in Silicon Valley. It’s also important to not be a jerk.

Theorems are gold in math. But in physics? The Universe will surprise you. “What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.”–Theodore Roethke Physics is one of the […]

Who are the Millennials? They tend to vote Democrat and are largely liberal, but they’re not attached to the Democratic Party. They’re the most diverse American generation: over 40% are […]

Research and testing of potential vaccines is a slow-moving process. As authorities strive to contain the current West African epidemic, scientists are already looking toward the next outbreak.

The concept of an Internet “troll” is puzzling, if you think about it. No non-digital troll relishes anonymity or sneakily provokes or harrasses others with snarky comments. Trolls in literature […]

NASA researchers recently announced that life beyond our planet will be discovered in the next twenty years. Bill Nye, everyone’s favorite “Science Guy,” an educator, scientist, and the CEO of […]

Is there another version of you somewhere out there in a parallel Universe? “Go then, there are other worlds than these.” –Stephen King, The Dark Tower One of the most […]

How to Reverse Aging Enzymes like Telomerase and Resveratrol, though not the Fountain of Youth unto themselves, offer tantalizing clues to how we might someday soon unravel the aging process. […]

Laura Rittenhouse is a 21st century Orwell, who scours shareholder letters for “cliches, weasel words, jargon, hyperbole, nonsensical statements, and overused words.”]

The average American with a full-time job works 1,700 hours a year. That’s a lot of hours. Given how much time we spend with our co-workers, shouldn’t we want to […]

Stephen Dubner on the strategy lessons of his latest book Think Like a Freak.

It’s not for sex; it’s for affirmation, says the marriage expert Schmuley Boteach. Men cheat, by and large, because they feel like failures. They stray because they seek an outside arbiter. They need someone not their wife or partner  to proclaim them worthy.  

In an exciting development for electric cars, Elon Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla Motors, has announced on the company’s blog that he’s making all of Telsa’s patents public in the […]

Recent bouts of e-abuse against Zelda Williams and the website Jezebel have websites re-thinking policies for policing (and not policing) abusive comments online.

Ed Mitchell is a renowned pitmaster in Raleigh, North Carolina. He owns a restaurant in Durham called Que. Mitchell can be considered not only a barbecue connoisseur but also a […]

Are you a country that needs an economic boost? Just make sure that your national team wins the World Cup. Soccer fever is upon us, or football fever as the […]

How do you avoid a panic? Timothy Geithner knows quite well. In his memoir, Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crisis, he gives you a fly-on-the-wall look at how our global […]