Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

Is there any good reason for assigning North and South the way we do, or could we have just as easily done the reverse?
The ranking is encouragingly diverse, with the top 10 featuring representation from five regions.
climate change
Earth is not a benign mother. We have begun to witness what happens when it unleashes its fury.
shipwreck diving
At the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Michigan, retrieving sunken vessels is the order of the day. Here’s how they do it. 
economic sanctions
We pretend as if economic sanctions are a peaceful way to coerce others into behaving. In reality, they are a potent tool of modern warfare.
being a scientist
Most people have a distorted view of what being a scientist is like. Scientists need to make a greater effort to challenge stereotypes.
learning pathways
The talent required to take an organization to the next level often already exists in-house, and learning pathways can be an effective tool for unlocking that untapped potential.
fairy wrasse
Local researchers identify a striking rainbow-colored fairy wrasse found off the coast of the Maldives as a fish species all its own.
Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.
“At that time, it was just a wild idea, […] that instead of just a loss of consciousness, anesthetics may do something to the brain that actually turns pain off.”
The World Air Quality Index shows how clean your city’s air is, in real time.
The A.I. system could improve the lives of commercially raised pigs.
A growing body of research shows that religious people seem to enjoy more psychological well-being compared to others.
el gordo colliding galaxy cluster
The laws of physics state that you can't create or destroy matter without also creating or destroying an equal amount of antimatter. So how are we here?
propaganda media
Memes communicate complex ideas quickly and efficiently, but that’s precisely what makes them so dangerous. 
A black-and-white abstract image featuring a dense field of small dots and a central dark oval, evoking the mysterious allure of black holes, surrounded by a lighter, glowing area.
To understand the edges of our universe, we’ll need to explore the edges of our own philosophies.
John Templeton Foundation
Some scientists believe that DMT could revolutionize the treatment of depression.
Like witchcraft, "racecraft" refers to a kind of magical thinking — one that treats race as if it were scientifically meaningful.
planets march 2022
In the night sky for March of 2022, only stars and the Moon, not planets, will greet you. The real show, however, arrives just before dawn.