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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
We need poetry in our lives. It is not a luxury. It is not only for an elite. And it does something that no other art form can do, even […]
Legal scholar Laurence Tribe told Big Think today that he found Elena Kagan’s performance in her Supreme Court confirmation hearings to be “masterful in every respect.” Kagan, who was previously the […]
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An Internet addict warns that a large number of people already suffer from social network addiction.
Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland’s prime minister, just got married. That in itself might not be particularly noteworthy, except for one thing—she married a woman. When Johanna was elected in 2009, she […]
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We don’t weigh the costs and benefits when we’re tempted to text while driving.
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Focusing on the struggles of an individual appeals to our emotions and makes us care. As the numbers of people suffering get bigger, our cognition, calculation, and thoughtfulness are activated—and […]
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From U.S. elections to fishing markets in Kenya to baby names, Internet technology is changing our choices and behavior daily.
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Polling random people can be “incredibly useful as a persuasive attempt to tell people what to do,” but not really as a way to find out information.
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More and more people are going to make fairly formal calculations to reward spaces and services that offer privacy as an option.
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The world would be a terrible place if everybody acted rationally all the time.
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Our two great visions of leadership — the grand visionary and the micro-manager — no longer make sense.
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Ariely’s “IKEA effect”: Not only do we like things that we make more than similar things made by others—but we think other people should value them more as well.
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People who are very attractive care more about attractiveness in a mate, while unattractive people want a partner who is kind and has a good sense of humor.
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”I don’t believe that there’s any work coming in which the telecommuting model becomes the normal case for most workers.”
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Like the personal computer, e-mail and instant messaging, social networks are now vital for businesses—even if they are also distractions.
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Online dating could be a crucial tool for single people, but with the sites we have now you’ll likely spend six hours searching for every date you go on.
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A conversation with the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University.
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The primary value of participation is the positive sense of self that comes from personal and public action.
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The Internet allows the adults of the developed world to collectively pool their trillion hours per year of free time.
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A conversation with the writer and NYU Interactive Telecommunications Professor.