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Where books open worlds.
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Books are more than stories on a page — they are mirrors, maps, challenges, and companions in understanding ourselves and the world we inhabit.

Big Think Books is a space devoted to the writers and ideas that shape culture, knowledge, and the way we think. Through thoughtful recommendations, deep dives, and engaging commentary, this column guides readers toward books that expand curiosity, provoke insight, and deepen understanding across fields like science, history, psychology, literature, and more. Whether you’re exploring the latest releases or rediscovering timeless classics, here you’ll find ideas worth your time and thought.

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Kevin Dickinson is a staff writer and columnist at Big Think, focusing on the intersection of education, psychology, business, and science. He holds a master’s in English and writing, and his work has appeared in Agenda, RealClearScience, and The Washington Post.

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The profound life lesson at the heart of chaos theory
In this excerpt from Think Like a Mathematician, Junaid Mubeen explains how tiny actions can shape complex systems, revealing the limits of prediction and control in our lives.

by Junaid Mubeen

The word "chaos" is repeatedly written in orange over a beige background, with a large, rough black scribble overlaid in the center.
Everything Articles
A hand holds a small, round black device with a circular light, while a purple scribble curving around both hints at rewiring democracy.
Books
AI is a power amplifier. The future depends on who turns the dials.
In “Rewiring Democracy,” Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders explore how AI could strengthen democracy or undermine it.
Kevin Dickinson
Digital artwork of a humanoid figure with a distorted, glitch-like effect and swirling, contour-like lines against a dark, pixelated background, reminiscent of the innovative AI art explorations by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.
Books
Google fellow: AI doesn’t pretend to be intelligent. It is.
Researcher and Google CTO Blaise Agüera y Arcas joins us to discuss his new book, "What Is Intelligence?"
Tim Brinkhof
Book cover for "The Hypocrisy Trap" by Michael Hallsworth, featuring a blue pattern of interlocking hands forming fists, with a subtitle about improving lives by changing criticism and understanding the influence of hypocrites.
Books
The 4 types of hypocrites (that we actually like)
In this excerpt from "The Hypocrisy Trap," Michael Hallsworth explains why accusations of hypocrisy don’t always damage credibility.
Michael Hallsworth
Silhouettes of two people seated and facing each other with a large smartphone between them, displaying multiple thumbs-up icons amid a swirl of digital psychobabble.
Books
The costs of turning therapy into a pop culture fad
Joe Nucci, author of "Psychobabble," joins us to discuss how the misuse of psychological language risks blurring the lines between everyday problems and clinical diagnoses.
Kevin Dickinson
Book cover of "Strange Stability" by Benjamin Wilson, featuring a green pen vertically centered on a beige background with red and green text—reflecting themes of nuclear deterrence.
Books
How a criminology concept became the backbone of the U.S.’s Cold War strategy
In this excerpt from "Strange Stability," Benjamin Wilson explores how the concept of "deterrence" went from explaining criminal behavior to becoming a nuclear strategy.
Benjamin Wilson
Book cover of "The Great Math War" featuring three black-and-white portraits—one of Georg Cantor—and handwritten math notes, with subtitle about three mathematicians fighting for math’s foundations.
Books
Georg Cantor shocked mathematics by proving that not all infinities are equal
In this excerpt from "The Great Math War," Jason Socrates Bardi explores how Georg Cantor revolutionized mathematics and reshaped how our finite minds conceived of the infinite.
Jason Socrates Bardi
A woman with straight hair and bangs, wearing a dark top and necklace, poses against a light purple background with abstract squiggly lines and a white rectangular frame, reminiscent of an rf kuang book cover.
Books
R.F. Kuang writes through doubt to find her strongest stories
Kuang discusses the rituals, routines, and words of advice that have helped her write six best-selling novels in one decade.
Tim Brinkhof
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