Words of Wisdom — July 9, 2014

Yeats on Education

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

bigthinkeditor

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

– William Butler Yeats

Starts With A Bang

Our best idea for the “origin of gold” doesn’t add up

In 2017, we detected gold being forged in a neutron star-neutron star merger. Now, in 2024, the amounts created simply don’t add up.

A humpback whale swims gracefully underwater, illuminated by sunlight filtering through the ocean's surface.

Life

How whales could help us speak to aliens

Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.

World map illustrating various countries color-coded by their happiness levels with symbols indicating the most and least happy countries in each region.

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Mapped: The highs and lows of the world’s happiness landscape

The Gallup World Poll reveals regional peaks and valleys of happiness across all of the continents.

Split image: on the left, a woman using a spyglass, and on the right, fury depicted by an aggressive dog barking.

Business

“When you’re furious get curious”: How to handle emotional hijacking

When high-anxiety situations arise in the workplace, we tend to react by fighting, fleeing, freezing, or fawning — but there’s a hidden fifth option.

Vintage sepia-toned photo of construction workers having lunch on a steel beam high above a cityscape, with a waiter generously serving them.

Business

Fair bosses: The true “Empire State of Mind”

Across a variety of industries, trust and “upside-down management” have paid dividends.

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Words of Wisdom

Honore de Balzac on Permanent Ideals

“To live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws, to be led by permanent ideals – that is what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him, and calm and unspoiled when the world praises him.” – Honore de Balzac