Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

A person in a denim shirt is shown from the shoulders up. Highlighted text overlays mention that U.S. news often portrays being alone as more harmful than beneficial.
6mins
When we see loneliness as a kind of failure, it becomes damaging. When we see it as information, it becomes actionable. A psychologist, a social health scientist, and a psychiatrist explain.
Unlikely Collaborators
A digital illustration exploring the origin of the universe—depicting a blue energy burst on the left and a geometric white grid forming a funnel shape on a purple background, evoking one of the biggest mysteries in science.
The original idea of the Big Bang was synonymous with a singularity: a point of zero volume. In this Universe, things never got that small.
A man in a dark suit sits on a chair against a white backdrop, with abstract black and white patterns surrounding him.
1hr 9mins
Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi takes us from the quantum realm to the cosmological and out to the multiverse, answering physics’ most profound questions. 
A cartoon tooth fairy holds a tooth and magic wand, standing before colorful cosmic microwave background maps, blending whimsy with the wonders of theoretical physics.
Theoretical physics is notorious for wild ideas that seem, at first, to be nonsensical fantasies. That's where the tooth fairy comes in.
An illustration showing a detailed drawing of a kidney on the left and the silhouette of a pig on the right, both in red tones on a beige and orange background.
Animal-to-human organ transplants promise a future where survival no longer depends on another person’s death.
Book cover for "What Science Says About Astrology" by Carlos Orsi, featuring astrological symbols and geometric lines on a blue and black background, reflecting what science says about astrology.
Vague predictions and post hoc revisions help astrology feel meaningful, even while it fails empirical testing.
A stylized drawing of a classical statue’s eyes is overlaid with a pale abstract shape resembling a bird's head and wing, evoking themes of dead closure, all set against a beige background.
Why we shouldn't necessarily outsource our thinking to dead people.
A vivid image of a bright, colorful galaxy with swirling red, blue, and white clouds of gas and dust, where galaxies collide amid distant stars in the dark, expanding universe.
Astronomers study our cosmic history through stellar and galactic archaeology. But we can't conduct archaeology in space. At least, not yet.
Book cover titled "Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want" by Attia Qureshi and John Richardson, featuring bold "never settle" typography on a striking blue background.
Agreeable people may be a pleasure to be around, but they also have a harder time walking away from a bad deal.
World map showing total radiance change from 2014 to 2022, with areas highlighted for dimming (purple) and brightening (yellow) in nighttime lights.
Light pollution now steals a pristine night sky from the majority of humanity. The rise of LED lighting, primarily since 2014, is to blame.
Two human skeletons face each other with arrows pointing between them and question marks in the center, all on a black background.
11mins
We used to think human migration was a simple branching tree. Ancient DNA proved it's something far stranger. Harvard Geneticist David Reich explains.
Illustration of multiple spiral galaxies and stars being pulled toward a central black hole in deep space, with blue and purple light streaks tracing the motion along a dark energy curve that shapes the universe.
Today, in the here-and-now, a full 13.8 billion years have elapsed since the start of the hot Big Bang. But would that be true for everyone?
Digital illustration of a gray human head in profile with a yellow door on the side of the head, suggesting an opening to the mind, against a muted green background.
4mins
What if the voice in your head is less of a witness and more of an interpreter? Two neuroscientists discuss the brain’s drive to explain, narrate, and make everything add up.
Unlikely Collaborators
Split image showing two scenes: on the left, workers operate construction equipment near a pile of gravel; on the right, a close-up of a concrete block being tested in a mechanical press.
5mins
This new recipe for clean cement works. The question is whether anyone can scale it. Cody Finke, founder and CEO of Brimstone, explains how the IMPACT Act could help make that happen.
ClearPath Action
atom quantum
In physics, we reduce things to their elementary, fundamental components, and build emergent things out of them. That's not the full story.
A middle-aged man with glasses and gray hair, wearing a dark gray shirt, gestures with his right hand while speaking against a plain light background.
25mins
Musicologist Michael Spitzer walks us through the natural origins of human music and creativity.
Three side-by-side images of a spiral galaxy show increasing detail and brightness, highlighting dust, stars, and a bright galactic center with radiating diffraction spikes.
Messier 77 is one of the largest nearby spiral galaxies, with an active, brilliant core. Here's what JWST's incomparable eyes saw inside it.
A person in dress shoes steps onto a blue ladder with a missing rung, casting a shadow on a pale background—a subtle nod to the challenges of navigating a nonlinear career.
As traditional career paths break down, a more uncertain — and potentially more fulfilling — model is taking shape.
A sliced onion bulb with roots and stem, illuminated from behind and set against a black background, resembles the delicate layers of daffodils in bloom.
What the near-death experiences of daffodils can teach us about resilience, death, and becoming someone new.
A robot stands next to a young girl who is sitting at a table, writing in a notebook with food and drinks nearby.
A look at what could be if we ignore the doomers and make the most of AI.