Knowledge in a time of crisis
Big Think Live
Coronavirus coverage
Big Think Edge
Self-Motivation
David Goggins
Former Navy Seal
Career Development
Bryan Cranston
Actor
Critical Thinking
Liv Boeree
International Poker Champion
Emotional Intelligence
Amaryllis Fox
Former CIA Clandestine Operative
Management
Chris Hadfield
Retired Canadian Astronaut & Author
Learn
from the world's big
thinkers
Start Learning

You’re not going far from home – and neither are the animals you spy out your window

Maybe you've been wondering if you're seeing one persistent squirrel or a rotating cast of characters.

Photo by Toimetaja tõlkebüroo on Unsplash

Watching the wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it's something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately.

Keep reading Show less
Ecology environment birds nature biosphere animals

Flamingos form long-term friendships and "cliques"

These pink feathered folk form complex social networks and are choosy about who they spend their time with, according to a new study.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock
  • A five-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter shows that flamingos are choosy about who they spend their time with.
  • Flamingo friendships are made and maintained long-term due to preference rather than loose, randomly made connections.
  • In 2009, Madison, Wisconsin, named the plastic pink flamingo the city's official bird.
Keep reading Show less
biology birds conservation ecology nature animals

Scientists teach birds new songs by implanting them with false memories

Groundbreaking neurological research on songbirds provides insight on human learned behavior and speech.

Photo credit: AlexandraPhotos / Moment via Getty Images
  • Scientists recently implanted a false memory into the brains of young zebra finches, teaching them a melody they had never heard before.
  • By stimulating certain neural circuits in the male birds' brains, researchers taught them courtship songs bypassing the lessons of an adult tutor.
  • Scientists hope this research expands our knowledge of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
Keep reading Show less
brain birds psychology learning mind autism spectrum disorder neuroscience

Full Moon Syncs Migratory Birds’ Autumn Flight

New research provides insights on the effect of the lunar cycles on wildlife behavior.

Photo by Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images
  • Researchers at Lund University in Sweden charted the migratory activity of European nightjars to find out how the lunar cycle and moon light affected the birds' departure.
  • The birds consistently took flight for sub-Saharan Africa around ten to eleven days after the full moon in synchronization.
  • Previous research has indicated that lunar cycles affect wildlife, for example the Great Barrier Reef coordinates its "annual sex festival" with the full moon.
Keep reading Show less
astronomy animals birds nature science biology

Should we blame biology for our biosphere-bashing behavior?

Determining whether human nature is short-sighted when it comes to survival-necessary situations

Illustration by Julia Suits, author of The Extraordinary Catalog of Peculiar Inventions, and The New Yorker cartoonist.
  • Do you know what evidence supposedly supports the claim that "human nature" is short sighted?
  • Can our abstract math help us weigh the "utility," or value, of cupcakes against burning the biosphere?
  • By mixing moral or survival-needed items with trinkets, this math seduces many into calling "rational" what we know will logically lead to collective doom.
Keep reading Show less
climate change morality birds biosphere decision-making science future economics biology
Quantcast