Is this the twilight of American culture?

The pandemic is exposing long-fractured aspects of our society.

Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
  • The current pandemic is exposing deep-seated flaws in our health care and economic systems.
  • Reinhold Niebuhr's 1952 book, The Irony of American History, claims our cultural arrogance works against us.
  • Morris Berman's 2000 book, The Twilight of American Culture, focuses on America's social and economic collapse.
Keep reading Show less
consumerism health care Economic inequality government science United States

The growth of an organism rides on a pattern of waves

Study shows ripples across a newly fertilized egg are similar to ocean and atmospheric circulations.

Getty Images / Handout

When an egg cell of almost any sexually reproducing species is fertilized, it sets off a series of waves that ripple across the egg's surface.

Keep reading Show less
science physiology oceans microbiology nature biology

Ask Sophia the Robot: What can AI teach humans?

Through experiencing time in a nonlinear way, can artificial intelligence provide us more perspective?

  • Is Sophia the Robot, of Hanson Robotics, conscious? Not quite, she says. Instead, she reflects the consciousness of humans in the same way the moon reflects the light of the sun.
  • While we don't know if humans possess free will, she advises us to act as if we do. We can benefit from this.
  • So, what can humans learn from robots? Artificial intelligence can view the world in a way that's more objective, being present while still able to look toward the future and the past.
ai algorithm computers consciousness design development discovery emotions future humanity identity innovation invention learning machine learning meditation programming robots science science fiction teaching technology

This brain balancing act allows consciousness

Two types of thinking have a time-sharing deal going on in your brain.

Image source: paulaphoto/shjk/Big Think
  • Your DMN and DAT neural networks cooperate by staying out of each other's way.
  • FMRI scans reveal a surprising temporal dance.
  • When both systems are at the same activity level, boom, you're unconscious.
Keep reading Show less
brain neuroscience medical research testing science human body consciousness

How to develop confidence when you feel worthless, according to science

There are scientifically proven ways you can improve your self-esteem, right now.

Image by ntkris on Shutterstock
  • Low self-esteem can lead you to feel worthless, unlovable, and unwanted.
  • Feelings of low self-esteem have been directly linked to aggression, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, eating disorders, and a general lower quality of life.
  • By changing some of the things you do every day (how you dress, your posture, how you think of yourself), you can develop more confidence and higher levels of self-worth.
Keep reading Show less
mind cognitive science psychology identity science sociology vulnerability personal growth personality mindfulness love health emotions mental health neuroscience self