Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

google AI
The engineer working on Google's AI, called LaMDA, suffers from what we could call Michelangelo Syndrome. Scientists must beware hubris.
jwst
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will study many dangerous cosmic phenomena, knowledge of which may help save humanity.
Two hands in handcuffs, connected by a DNA double helix chain, symbolize genome blindness against a solid blue background.
3mins
Eugenics is bad – but understanding DNA is good.
John Templeton Foundation
fastest nova
If you think you know how an astronomical nova works, buckle up. You're in for a ride like you never expected.
A dispute marked by flags and booze has been replaced with an official land border.
game theory
Game theory is a unique combination of math and psychology. Its applications turn up everywhere, from nuclear war to Tinder to game shows.
In the age of distraction, don't we all want to read faster and more efficiently?
dinosaurs warm-blooded
The long-standing debate over whether dinosaurs were more like birds or lizards is drawing to a close.
mechanical turk
An elaborate device called the Mechanical Turk defeated Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte at chess. Edgar Allan Poe revealed the hoax.
phosphine venus life
Earth is the Solar System's only known inhabited planet. Could Venus, if its phosphine signal is real, be our second world with life?
The American author said he attempted to bring scientific thinking to literary criticism, but received "very little gratitude for this."
In "The Secret Life of Secrets", Michael Slepian explores how holding secrets affects our relationships, psychology, and well-being.
Types of therapy are about as different as the people who use it.
Nero dystopia
The answer to this question depends on how you define "freedom."
A glowing, radiant figure stands atop dark rocks near a mountain, with bright light illuminating the scene in a monochrome, sketch-like style.
According to author and entrepreneur Steven Kotler, at some point this century, we will confront the prospect of immortality.
John Templeton Foundation
Prison is an unreliable method of punishment. Let's do better.
JWST first science
On July 12, 2022, NASA will release the first science images taken with the James Webb Space Telescope. Here's what to hope for.
“It’s a big resource in the way the human genome is a big resource, in that you can go in and do discovery-based research."
gabapentin
The common drug is called gabapentin, which is currently used to control seizures and manage nerve pain.