Smart Skills

A mid-flight scare reveals how embracing death can bring purpose and meaning to everyday life.

Annie Duke, a poker champion turned decision scientist, talks with Big Think about how to choose well under uncertainty.

Clarity driven by anxiety rarely lasts.

Curiosity is often considered a personality quirk. Neuroscience paints a different picture.

Reading obituaries can boost creativity by exposing you to distant ideas, fueling the associations that lead to unexpected breakthroughs.

Unconsidered productivity might leave you moving efficiently in the entirely wrong direction.

Those who know who they are — and what they truly value — refuse to compromise their authentic direction to placate others.

Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff on how to spot and break free from cognitive scripts that limit personal growth.

A brief guide to habits that separate deep understanding from superficial knowledge — and how to cultivate them.

Effective leadership requires long-term strategy — not tactical reactions.

“Amid the chaos, he remembered his life being eerily calm as he knew it wasn’t if, but when they would be hacked to pieces. He just kept kicking.”

Late bloomers often find their moment of transformation when life throws them a curveball.

From hunter-gathers to desk jockeys, we work best when short, intense sessions are followed by lighter fare.

There’s value to be found in the arguments that make you uncomfortable — especially in a culture that has trained us to avoid them.

We each have the same 24 hours in the day. How will you spend yours?

Spend well, save well, live well.

Frustrating failures sometimes lead to great breakthroughs.

Quality down time is important for relationships. Here are three practical suggestions to create more of it.

“Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed,” advised Stoic philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius. He had a point.

The anxieties underpinning the Great Resignation were simmering for a long time. Here’s a solution.

Millennials — who were raised to expect unlimited success but found only disappointment — can be drawn to manifestation.

Whether you’re a leader looking to ramp up team output or just trying to improve your skill set, hard work alone is not enough.

How we organize all our digital stuff — from work research to side hustles to family photos — is key to our productivity.

His grandfather, a member of Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb team, foresaw the potential of nuclear energy to power cities — not destroy them.

The path of a curling stone on ice — and how it can be influenced — is a revealing metaphor for life’s decisions.

The outrage machine is fueled by toxicity. But there are practical steps that we can take to recapture control over our emotions.

Despite the claims of speed reading apps, it turns out that you actually have to read the book if you want to learn from it.

If you want to write and speak well, use common words, not grandiose ones. Unless you’re Shakespeare, you’re more likely to annoy people.

Functional complex systems arise from functional simple systems. Failing to heed this advice can and will lead to disaster.

We all spend way too much time worrying what other people think of us — it’s time to cut loose.