Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

3mins
The systemic problems of inequality penetrate the entire social hierarchy, giving wealthy, but disparate societies like the U.S., greater health problems and shorter life expectancies than many, less economically developed, […]
5mins
Highly unlikely, explains the epidemiologist. The lack of social cohesion creates a dynamic that makes us too untrusting, consumption-driven and anxious to conquer such a demanding task.
3mins
A rise in inequality has been proven to generate a "social dysfunction" so powerful it leads to higher levels of mental illness, worse physical health, more obesity, and increased violence.
3mins
An epidemiologist explains the evidence that life expectancy, happiness, and well-being do not increase with income and national wealth.
3mins
The most powerful source of stress for humans is the possibility of being judged negatively by others. As the epidemiologist explains, this social anxiety acts directly on our bodies and […]
18mins
A conversation with the University of York Epidemiologist
4mins
His book is called "The Genius in All of Us." But do any men or women of brilliance hold special fascination for David Shenk?
2mins
The sheer plasticity of the brain often contradicts our ideas about what we "can" or "can’t" do.
3mins
There’s nothing wrong with intelligence tests, says David Shenk. It’s our misinterpretations of their results that foster a dangerous "myth of IQ."
3mins
"Fail better," Beckett advised. David Shenk affirms that it’s not just persistence that produces brilliance—it’s persistence at a skill level beyond one’s own.
5mins
Thanks to teaching methods such as the Suzuki school, "child prodigies" are more common than ever, yet most still peak early. How can parents help kids make the most of […]
2mins
The astonishing skills displayed by autistic savants are evidence not of the mystery and rarity of genius, but of the plasticity of the ordinary human mind.
24mins
A conversation with the author of "The Genius in All of Us."
4mins
Genes and environment don’t determine different quantities of our success (or failure). Instead, they operate together in surprising and complex ways.
The art world remains abuzz and aghast at the latest art oopsie incident featuring Pablo Picasso’s 1905 painting The Actor (pictured) and an oncoming art student. When that irresistible force […]
Whenever I hear the name of Turner Prize-winning artist, Chris Ofili, I unfortunately think of the old Monty Python joke: “What’s brown and sounds like a bell? Dung!” For Americans […]
An artist has created beautiful sculptures by slicing different colored bits of paper and layering them intricately to produce mesmerising kaleidoscopic patterns.
A new study suggests that men are generally less prone to feelings of guilt and that women show a “significantly higher” propensity for it, while men feel “too little” in comparison.
Filmmaker James O’Keefe and three others have been charged for an alleged plot to bug Senator Mary Landrieu’s office for which they could face up to ten years in prison.
The world’s second known pregnant man is expecting a baby boy new month. Scott Moore and his partner, who were both born female, have undergone gender reassignment surgery.