Search
Latest Articles
The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
If a cliché is beautifully wrought does it save it from the evils of being cliché? David Brooks does not like what he refers to as the “Quiet Desperation dogma” […]
August may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped thinking dangerously here at Big Think. At the end of last month, we asked readers to submit their own dangerous […]
In a special Big Think conversation arranged by Discover magazine and published online today, Dr. Antonio Damasio, a behavioral neurobiologist at the University of Southern California speaks with novelist Siri […]
4mins
“The process of consciousness is the process that allows us to run our lives personally and in society the way we do,” says Damasio. “It’s the thing that gives us […]
11mins
Neurologists learned about how emotion originates in the brain from people like Phineas Gage, who had a spike driven into his head. By learning about the specific impairment of a […]
8mins
From a neural standpoint, memory structures “are in of themselves rather dumb,” says Damasio. “It’s not that they know anything consciously. What they know is they have a sort of […]
12mins
“We do have a measure of control,” says Damasio, “but it is not true that we have full control and it is not true that when we are executing an […]
39mins
The USC neurobiologist and novelist speak about various topics on neurology and memory.
After watching a few minutes of President Obama’s appearance on the townhall style “Investing In America” forum held on CNBC yesterday, you couldn’t help but get the feeling that Obama […]
When looking at design as a utilitarian problem-solving tool, the smartest solutions are often the simplest ones. That’s certainly the case with Tube Grip – a compact inflatable grip-assistant designed […]
The late strip club owner and bon vivant, Paul Raymond would certainly have approved, as a fair number of old ‘faces’ joined author Paul Willetts for the launch of ‘Members […]
"The notion that without the $700bn bailout we would be reduced to bartering was a ruse by the banks to get taxpayers' money." Dean Baker says we were taken in by fat cats.
"Yemen faces a potential national security crisis if its water resources continue to dry up, however solutions do exist." A Harvard professor of Arab studies explains.
"The only policy technique that has a shot [at increasing demand] is tax cuts—specifically cuts on the consumer side, since that would target the weak demand affecting businesses."
A proposed international Internet treaty "would enshrine in law the founding principles of open standards and net neutrality, and protect the web from political interference."
"The ex-president gives a sense of day-to-day life in the Oval Office—and plays the blame game." The L.A. Times reviews the diaries Carter wrote during his presidency.
"Talking about nature and nurture as separate, clear-cut forces is far adrift from the complexities of developmental science." The New Scientist on an aging view of development.
"These days many companies are obsessed with fun." The Economist laments employers who spread the idea of having fun at work like a disgusting disease.
A team of consciousness scientists in Wisconsin are exploring new frontiers, "translating the poetry of our conscious experiences into the precise language of mathematics."
"U.S. Energy Secretary Chu encourages the peaceful use of nuclear power at this year's International Atomic Energy Agency gathering in Vienna."