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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
Over 10 billion years in the past, an ultra-massive galaxy cluster lenses objects behind it. That has big implications for dark matter.
At 240 million light-years away, galaxy NGC 1277 hasn't formed new stars in over 10 billion years. Could it contain the first stars' ashes?
Economists examining half a million ancient coins trace the end of Rome — and the rise of northern Europe — to the 7th century.
The brain’s default mode network gives rise to costly ruminations, but it can also be a source of creative breakthroughs.
Two thousand years ago, the Chinese philosopher identified a problem workplaces still struggle with: leaders who create dependence rather than foster capability.
We live on Earth, orbiting the Sun, part of our Solar System, within the Milky Way. But what's our membership status on even larger scales?
Our left-vs.-right conception of politics was born in revolutionary France. The maps that followed were more sophisticated, but each carries a bias of its own.
Einstein's most famous equation is E = mc², which describes the rest mass energy inherent to particles. But motion matters for energy, too.
58mins
Members
Neuroscientist Lisa Genova explains how to protect your brain against Alzheimer's and the science of forgetting.
When it comes to the big question of our cosmic origins, inflation is our leading theory. But did string theory ultimately cause inflation?
"Self-distancing" explains why the advice you’d give a friend in five minutes is the advice you can’t give yourself in a month.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has an ancient age, but not for the reason most commonly touted. These three lines of evidence are far stronger.
Globular clusters are some of the most ancient cosmic relics that still survive in our Milky Way today. Famed Terzan 5 isn't one of them.
When editors dueled with pistols at dawn and news went viral for pennies.
With targets from all across the Universe, focusing a space telescope — with so many moving parts — is challenging, but doable. Here's how.
Don't reek of onions or take up too much space.
The vicious 1828 presidential campaign reveals how fake news, partisan media, and political smear tactics have shaped American democracy for two centuries.
6mins
We often ask how to reach enlightenment, as if it’s a destination. A better question may be: how do we practice enlightened behavior in everyday life? And once we begin, how does our reality evolve?
Unlikely Collaborators
By probing the Universe on atomic scales and smaller, we can reveal the entirety of the Standard Model, and with it, the quantum Universe.
Skepticism used to be an integral part of any liberal arts education. Here’s why we need to bring it back.