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What were the first organisms to have sex? We may never know the answer, but as Bill Nye explains in this Big Think interview, scientists are very interested in why sexual activity remains so popular in nature beyond the obvious reproductive implications.
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Jason Silva, host of National Geographic Channel’s “Brain Games,” calls marijuana legalization a huge win for civilization.
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7 min
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Former NASA astronaut Ron Garan explains how the cooperative lessons learned through space exploration are applicable in other realms of life.
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2 min
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There are 21 strategies for changing habits, says author Gretchen Rubin. The most fun is one that incorporates the usage of treats.
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Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy, explains that the aims of online education don’t differ much from those of traditional learning.
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Slavoj Žižek draws from examples in literature, film, and advertising to explain a phenomenon in which no sexual liaison is complete without a third element — an intruder, something like a fantasy.
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5 min
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Tightrope artist Philippe Petit explains the importance of teaching kids the power of intuition.
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2 min
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Higher and more equitable growth in the United States requires more public support for higher education, argues economist and best-selling author Thomas Piketty.
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3 min
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Former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit explains how new forms of data science that explore causality can be used to assist people by diagnosing harmful behaviors.
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6 min
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Harvard Law Professor Jonathan Zittrain dissects the recent FCC net neutrality decision and asks whether it’s nearly as earth-shattering as many of us suppose.
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4 min
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When he watched his close friend, one of the toughest of the tough in his Navy SEAL basic training class, fall to pieces after deployment to Afghanistan, Eric Greitens knew he had to write a book on resilience.
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3 min
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Bestselling author Gretchen Rubin explains that habits are “like the invisible architecture of everyday life,” a topic she explores in her new book Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives.
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4 min
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Microsoft Senior Director of Search Stefan Weitz discusses the future of search technology.
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Legendary dancer Carmen de Lavallade recounts the process that led to the development of her current project, the autobiographical theatre/dance show “As I Remember It.”
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Tech expert Michael Schrage calls voicemail “an anachronism” whose time has come and gone. Could e-mail be next?
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3 min
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From a personal tutoring service for his young cousin, Salman Khan’s company Khan Academy has grown exponentially into a massive, global, online engine for learning.
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5 min
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In this lesson excerpt from Big Think+, video game designer Jane McGonigal walks you through the ways in which gaming can lead to positive outcomes in the workplace. By the end of it, you may just want to integrate gaming into your break space design or your next corporate retreat!
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You have been predicted — by companies, governments, law enforcement, hospitals, and universities. In this lesson excerpt from Big Think+, Eric Siegel, author of Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die, explains why these entities not only have the power to predict the future “but also to influence the future.” rn
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Whether we’re conscious of it or not, the things we design can design us as well. “We become what we behold,” as the old proverb goes. Such is the power, explains Jason Silva, of ontological design.
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5 min
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Former NASA astronaut Ron Garan recounts how he adopted a new perspective on global solidarity while serving on the International Space Station.
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6 min
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Should you invest in Bitcoin? Maybe not, says Brad Templeton, but that doesn’t mean the digital currency isn’t amazing in and of itself. Templeton explains what Bitcoin achieves and how it will lead to further innovation.
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Chris Anderson, curator of TED Talks, explains how the plummeting price of bandwidth about a decade ago opened opportunities for new innovation to grow.
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Author Eric Schlosser discusses what he’s learned after writing, publishing, and touring for his book on the illusion of safety associated with nuclear weapons.
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3 min
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No one should be plugged in 24/7, says Arianna Huffington. A commitment to mindfulness as a life strategy requires an easing away from our devices, especially before bedtime.
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6 min
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The CEO of Crowdfunder discusses disruption of the early stage finance process by way of exponential technology while also explaining the benefits of helping young entrepreneurs compete at scale.
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7 min
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In this video, economist and author Tim Harford teaches an important lesson about succeeding at failure through the story of psychologist Leon Festinger’s infiltration of a cult led by Dorothy […]
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7 min
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Is there a way to bring out the genius within all of us? The New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer asks neuroscientist Joy Hirsch about the nature of neuro-identity.
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Neuroscientist Joy Hirsch chats with The New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer about searching within the brain for where “genius” resides.
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As part of Big Think’s partnership with 92Y’s Seven Days of Genius series, New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer asks Heather Berlin about the research that illuminates our understanding of genius.
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Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explains current research into creative “flow states,” examining what happens in the brain when rappers and jazz musicians improvise.
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