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Enlightenment is a traditionally mystical and slippery concept, but when it is subjected to the rigors of empirical analysis, there is a lot to be learned about our brains and ourselves.
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9 min
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Multitasking is a myth, says McGill University Psychology Professor Daniel Levitin. Switching focus across tasks comes at a neurological cost, depleting chemicals we need to concentrate.
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3 min
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American anti-drug laws are inspired by colonialism and racism, not science. They are at odds with our current understanding of addiction and ignore the economic blight of this second gilded age.
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8 min
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Tony Award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker says the stereotypes that accompany being in the military, and growing up in a military family, don’t really apply.
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8 min
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Science writing, or the way scientists describe their research, purposefully removes the human element, but this is what readers want most, says career biologist Hope Jahren.
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5 min
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James Brown was the godfather of American soul music, yet despite leaving specific instructions that his estate be used to education poor children, funds remain tied up in South Carolina courts.
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5 min
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Bill Nye the Science Guy explains how reinvigorating basic research and development in our schools resulted in the acronym STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and why new acronyms are emerging.
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4 min
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Most people are familiar with the technique of taking deep inhalations to relax themselves, but one breathing technique is more effective at returning your body to a naturally calm and connected state.
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2 min
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Creativity takes places equally in the conscious and subconscious mind, and while popular definitions often emphasize intuition over rationality, you won’t have breakthroughs without both.
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4 min
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Groundbreaking digital companies like Google, Amazon, and Uber operate using a “scorched Earth” method of value creation, says Rushkoff, which resembles 13th century colonialism.
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10 min
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There are only two events in the universe that defy the laws of physics: black holes and the Big Bang, and while scientists try to explain them, crucial evidence may be eaten up in the meantime.
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6 min
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Not all love is the same, says psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz. When your brain experiences romantic love, as opposed to maternal love, it exhibits signs of obsession, depression, and emotional stress.
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9 min
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Meditating will make you more open to a plant-based diet, says legendary music producer Russell Simmons, who calls eating meat “the biggest karmic disaster in the world.”
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4 min
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Calculus was invented by Isaac Newton in the middle of the 17th century, so does a historically contingent event hold true everywhere in the universe, even near black holes? Bill Nye the Science Guy replies to a Big Think fan.
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3 min
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Humans do not experience life as a linear narrative, but storytellers from journalists to script writers typically tell us stories that way. 3D virtual reality is an opportunity to live stories the way we live life.
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5 min
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The history of industrialization is the separation of workers from their labor, and it continues today in the digital marketplace where online companies seek to replace human labor with algorithms.
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5 min
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We all need to purchase goods and services to live life in a modern economy, and how we get those goods and services is changing. As a global economic force, the PC is out and the smartphone is in.
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4 min
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Ancient Rome was a very different world from ours, so it does have any lessons to teach us? While we shouldn’t model our behavior on any ancient society, Rome’s treatment of immigrants is illustrative.
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5 min
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Many of the skills that make for good improvisational comedy also make for successful behavior in life: slow down, listen, be positive, and have integrity. Take it from longtime improv coach Chris Gethard.
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7 min
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We tend to think con artists are smooth talkers and persuasive sellers, but listening is their most important quality, says Maria Konnikova, who has written a new book on con artistry.
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4 min
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Why can’t we marshal the enthusiasm we have for exploring Mars to solve problems on planet Earth? Bill Nye says we’re natural explorers and that potential discoveries on Mars have captured our imagination.
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7 min
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Medical devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps will save many lives, but they also represent an opportunity to computer hackers who would use the Internet to cause havoc.
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6 min
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Asian philosophies have proven extremely influential in the United States, but are they being interpreted correctly? Frequently not, says Harvard China historian Michael Puett.
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6 min
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Companies like Facebook no longer depend on traditional economic exchanges to turn profit, so what does this mean for the consumer? When we’re not paying money, we’re paying in other ways, says Douglas Rushkoff.
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6 min
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Too many people understand meditation as a way to banish worldly thoughts, but your thoughts will never go away, says Jon Kabat-Zinn. You’ve got to observe them like a scientist.
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5 min
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Just about everyone engages in office gossip, or at least entertains those who do. Yet we all recognize gossiping as unprofessional behavior. Something’s deeply wrong at work, says Robert Kegan.
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6 min
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When you are experiencing writer’s block, more than your writing is blocked, says memoirist and novelist Augusten Burroughs. Here is his creative solution to get you writing again.
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6 min
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Understanding the shape of the Earth is all about its mass, says Bill Nye the Science Guy. If it weren’t for all the water, rocks, metals, and lava on our planet, it might have an irregular form.
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3 min
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Terrorism in Europe is a generational problem, says Juliette Kayyem. While the US has effectively integrated immigrant communities into its national identity, European nations have not.
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5 min
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At some point this century, we will confront the prospect of immortality, says Steven Kotler. After our bodies die, it will be possible to upload our minds into a computer, and then download them into another body.
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