Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

A man with glasses and a beard works on a clay sculpture using a tool, set against a collage of historical art images and decorative patterns inspired by traditional Pasto varnish techniques.
The revival of Pasto Varnish shows how living heritage can survive if knowledge is passed on in time.
An abstract illustration shows overlapping target patterns, tally marks, and a dart hitting the bullseye—capturing a kaizen spirit—with pink gridlines and muted beige, yellow, and red tones.
Kaizen taught me that tiny, consistent changes can be more powerful than dramatic overhauls.
A tortoise wearing a blue "1st Place" ribbon on its shell, posed against a plain light background.
Many top performers start behind — and overtake the early leaders later.
A craftsman hammers metal on a wooden block; beside him, a cylindrical copper container—showcasing Kaikado mastery—rests against a green background.
What 150-year-old Japanese workshop Kaikado can teach us about finding calm through focus in an age of distraction.
A person stands next to a large book titled "The Knowledge," symbolizing mastery of the city’s map.
One of the toughest vocational exams in the world requires candidates to memorize 25,000 streets in an area five times the size of Manhattan.
A yellow silhouette of a person dives above the snow-covered peak of a mountain against a dark sky.
For elite climbers, divers, and explorers, mastery can fuel an escalation loop in which identity and danger rise together.
A stylized human figure runs in front of a large, abstract eye, with geometric shapes and colorful patterns in the background.
Elite athletes train their “quiet eye.” What happens if the rest of us do the same?