Words of Wisdom — December 26, 2014

Gilda Radner: “Dogs Are the Role Model For Being Alive”

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”

bigthinkeditor

Gilda Radner (1946-1989) was an American Emmy-winning actress and comedienne most famous for being an original cast member of Saturday Night Live. Some of her more famous characters were personal advice expert Roseanne Roseannadanna and “Baba Wawa,” a parody of Barbara Walters (who later said she enjoyed the impersonation). Radner died in 1989 after a 4-year battle with ovarian cancer. After her death, Radner’s husband Gene Wilder established the Gilda Radner Ovarian Detection Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”

Two men standing on top of a mountain with a torch.

The Well

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can illuminate the debate over generative AI

Humanity is never fully in control of its creations. This lesson from Mary Shelley has remained relevant for over 200 years.

A group of people sitting around a desk signing papers during a Kinsey study.

The Past

Kinsey at 75: How the sexologist enlightened — then scandalized — American society

There are issues with Kinsey's data, but his books revolutionized Americans' thinking about sex and sexuality.

A black and white drawing of a skull with speech bubbles depicting death.

Business

How to avoid “death by LLM”

Generative AI — driven by large language models — has the potential to destroy or supercharge most businesses. Now is the time to pivot.

A man in a suit is pointing his finger at a yellow background, referencing string theory.

Einstein failed to solve the Universe. Here’s what it would take to succeed. | Michio Kaku

If Einstein couldn’t solve the theory of everything, could anyone? Physicist Michio Kaku explains what it would take.

▸

6 min

—

with

Michio Kaku

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: What were the “dark ages” of the Universe?

The hot Big Bang was an energetic, brilliantly luminous event. Today's Universe is alight with stars. But in between, the dark ages ruled.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Creative People Use Multiple Personality Traits to Help Their Process

A group of psychologists are trying to give order to the creative process, presenting an “integrative model of creativity that includes personality traits and cognitive processes.”