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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
Sometimes images captured by NASA look like works of art. This one looks painted in the style of Chiaroscuro, sharp contrasts between light and dark. NASA explains why: Deep shadows […]
A black hole has never been seen directly. There are always clear indicators of a black hole at work. For instance, this image released by NASA shows a swirling whirlpool […]
Dust surrounds the Orion Nebula, a hotbed of star formation some 1,600 light years away. Who knew dust could be this beautiful? The “intricate and picturesque filaments of dust,” as […]
A beautifully undisturbed, large spiral can be found right at the heart of the Virgo Cluster. “We’ll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one’s been.” […]
This is exactly what the world needs: a trash-talking robot. Victor likes to think that he’s a a master Scrabble player, and it gives him a superiority complex that he […]
Electrical engineering maestro Steve Ward, then a college student in Illinois, programmed this Tesla coil in 2007 so that each spark sounds like a musical note. In this now classic […]
There’s a reason why the French are the masters of making wine. The earliest evidence of wine-making discovered in France dates back to 425 BC. The French have had time […]
Are we getting closer to building an invisibility cloak? According to new research out of Duke University, science may have built an early ancestor to the science fiction device. Watch […]
Last month in Iceland, a photographer captured this incredible aurora. Iceland’s volcano Öræfajökull can be seen in the foreground. The constellation of Orion is visible to the left of the […]
It’s Monday, and after a relaxing weekend it’s time for coffee. A lot of coffee. But do you know what can happen if you drink too much? There’s such a […]
We’re told that our high-tech meritocracy based on productivity is the source of our enlightenment when it comes to our resolute opposition to racism, sexism, and heterosexism. Certainly the demands […]
Oceans and deserts are on opposite ends of the humidity scale, yet at some weird level, the extremes are interchangeable. Rolling desert dunes are reminiscent of ocean waves, and as […]
The sounds you hear are affected by what you see. Experience it for yourself! “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we […]
In 1887, two scientists set out to measure how the speed of light changed with the Earth’s motion. What they *didn’t* find wound up changing the world. “The conclusions, the bizarre […]
When eBay revolutionized the way that buyers and sellers interact in the virtual marketplace through automated bidding auctions, it forever changed the way business was conducted online. During the Industrial […]
As far as I know, no major religion holds as a central tenet the unvacuumability of the penis.
This summer, fire up the 3D printer! Here’s another impressive success story from the 3D printing revolution: a kayak. Engineer Jim Smith, founder of Grass Roots Engineering, created a 3D […]
The night sky isn’t actually dark to begin with, according to MinutePhysics. Then why does Space at night appear dark to us? Because our universe is constantly changing and expanding, […]
Recent research suggests that our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals, may have been able to speak. Does this mean that Neanderthals had their own version of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”? We […]
Stargazers, now you can have a telescope that does the heavy-lifting for you. The Celestron Cosmos 90 GT is costly ($400), but it works with your Wi-Fi to search the heavens […]