Latest Articles

Latest Articles

The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.

An English teacher explains why parents who want their kids to love reading need to let them choose their own books.
In 1980, Carl Sagan laid out the story of the Universe to the best of our knowledge. Here are the three biggest advances. “Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir […]
Foraging for your own food sounds like a nice idea. But without years of study, it could be quite dangerous if you're just setting out with a romanticized view of "living off the land."
Taste scientists are still uncertain as to how and why taste buds work the way they do, but that doesn't mean they haven't figured out ways to "hack" your senses.
Vivek Wadhwa walks us through innovations that will disrupt the manufacturing, communications, finance, healthcare, and energy industries.
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Interest rates are low. Construction unemployment is high. There's no better time to invest in major infrastructure projects. Larry Summers asks what we're waiting for.
Despite worries that inevitable automation will swallow up only low-skill jobs, one writer thinks that doctors should be legitimately concerned about the prospect of computers performing their jobs better.
Something is killing off farms of shellfish. Gwynn Guilford compiles an overwhelming summary of research from scientists that points to the changing climate and increased carbon emissions as the cause. 
Addictive habits are hard to stop. But one study has found a trigger for that "need it now" attitude that stops quitters from quitting. Photos of attractive women women are enough to have men reaching for a cigarette.
Second-guessing of Sony's withdrawal of "The Interview", and of CIA torture in the 'War on Terror," ignores a basic truth about human behavior: When we are afraid, reasoning and morality readily give way to whatever feels like it might keep us safe.
Using technology to soften the effects of climate change may soon become a reality.
The former NATO Secretary General dishes on the ongoing fight against the so-called Islamic State, which Rasmussen calls "a terrorist organization that has carried out horrific acts."
Life360 is a free app that allows family members to track each other via smartphone GPS. While some call it a surveillance/curfew app, the founder explains that its real purpose is to help make emergencies more manageable. 
Gross abundance of money and power, or the extreme lack of both, lie at the root of many mental disorders, according to a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. 
If something in the pit of your stomach is uneasy about the commercialization of the holiday season, spiritual leaders recommend you go a little easier on yourself.
Time to bring back the VHS players… and the magical rapping black man to train the new employees! “If there are things you don’t like in the world you grew […]
Men take more risks than women, they also tend to take more idiotic risks that may result in a Darwin Award.
It doesn't matter if you're at a healthy weight, just one point added to your BMI will increase your risk of cardiovascular and other diseases, according to a recent study.
Couples therapy is often a last-ditch attempt to save a faltering relationship. Navigating the potential obstacles that arise in therapy can be the difference between "let's stay together" and "let's break up."
Xapo CEO Wences Casares calls Bitcoin "maybe the most important social experiment going on right now" that could one day replace the gold standard.