Search Results

It won’t solve everything, but there’s something we can all do to help sequester carbon. It’s as easy as planting a tree. “I believe that we are here for each […]

Urban legends about the dangers of microwave ovens are not grounded in facts. Not only is it a safe way to cook food, there are some dishes that are healthier when heated in a microwave oven.

We owe our origins to the stars. But it’s not the fast catastrophes that made us possible, but a slow, burning romance. “It took less than an hour to make […]

We all know what advice we’d give our teenage selves now, given what we’ve learned. But what advice can the teenage you provide now?

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 […]

After previously discussing surveillance and autonomous cars, Singularity University’s Brad Templeton returns to Big Think to examine some lighter fare: quantum mechanics and computing.

With the full suite of observations of the Universe now at our disposal, what is the story, contents, and history of the Universe? “People are trapped in history and history […]

A new report seeks to dispel outdated myths about young children and screen exposure. While it’s important that screen time isn’t used as a replacement for personal contact, the two aren’t at all mutually exclusive.

“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.” – D. H. Lawrence

It’s what holds the nuclei in atoms together, overcoming electric repulsion. But how does it work? “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say […]

The Sun is made almost entirely out of hydrogen and helium; the Earth has hardly any of either. How’d that happen? “The single most powerful element of youth is our […]

At this time of year social interaction increases, including where many of us work.  With pressure to meet year-end goals, tension may be in the air and made worse by more meetings than anyone wants to attend.  This climate offers an opportunity to assess if what you say is actually being heard — to examine when and whether your comments are talked over, interrupted or even ignored.

From our spiral shape to the heavy elements expelled in supernovae, our galaxy’s gravity reveals far more than we see. “I think if I had to choose, I would rather […]

Understanding how science uses certain key concepts can make the difference between parroting pure speculation and taking an evidence-based approach.

Office Christmas parties mean free booze and food, but for managers there’s a danger of having to reprimand a rambunctious employee. Set an example before the party, and communicate your expectations.

Text messages may replace the old adage about an apple a day. A recent study has found that doctors sending texts to patients, increase the chance they’ll remember to take their medication.

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 […]

A couple that renews their wedding vows is symbolically communicating their marriage’s strength. Yet sometimes, assuming that your bond is impenetrable can lead to a dangerous state of complacency.

Life-altering decisions aren’t just for people about to hit 40, according to a recent study people approaching 30 tend to make some big changes as well. What brings on this intense swing in character? Realizing your own mortality.

Economist Larry Summers explains that there’s no better time than now for the U.S. to reinvest in its crumbling infrastructure. 

In my motley career I have had long conversations with heads of state and Nobel Prize winners. I have hiked north of the Arctic Circle and watched humpback whales amble […]

In the story of where all this comes from, our closest world was a mystery for millennia. But now we know! “But even when the moon looks like it’s waning…it’s […]

If you ever saw a spiral galaxy where one side looked darker than another, prepare yourself: now we know why! “With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, […]

An animal becomes so much more the instant you first love them. Image credit: me, of my first dog, Cordelia, back in 2008. “Dogs are our link to paradise. They […]

PURPOSE: Set Goals, with John Amaechi In this lesson from Big Think+, NBA basketball player John Amaechi shares with you the plan he created as a child to help him […]

We have electric charges and fields, but only magnetic fields. Could there be magnetic charges in our Universe? “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is […]

Ever since he came out to the public in February 2007, former NBA player John Amaechi says he has been “that big gay guy.” But there is much more to the 6’10” former center than that. He is one of the very few NBA players with a Ph.D.—after eight years in the big leagues, he returned to academics to pursue a degree in psychology. In this lesson from Big Think+, he shares with you the plan he created as a child to help him accomplish his dreams. The most important step, he says, is knowing yourself and getting clear about your end goal.

While rain on election day is known to keep people indoors, i.e. not voting, those who do come out to vote are more likely to vote for the incumbent

The early Universe consisted of atoms, but 99.999999% of them were Hydrogen and Helium. Where’d the rest come from? “A physicist is just an atom’s way of looking at itself.” […]

Brad Templeton discusses the vast computational power that a quantum computer could have, provided that someone were to build one.