Latest Articles

Latest Articles

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

The Universe was born incredibly hot, and has expanded and cooled ever since. Could life have begun back when space was "room temperature?"
A person stands facing a wall covered in sticky notes on the left; abstract blue and white sparkling patterns form a striking nexus on the right side of the image.
When your head is full of information, how can you actually make use of it?
Three white smokestacks emit thick, swirling clouds of orange and white smoke against a black background, hinting at the dramatic effect of going nuclear.
Nuclear chemist Tim Gregory joins Big Think to make the case that nuclear energy can still transform the world for the better.
A collage with the text "THE NIGHTCRAWLER," featuring a hand holding money, coins, and a windowed building, all tinted in pink and black tones.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
7mins
“Because of the efficiency worship that we have developed in our industrial age, we are now seeing procrastination as a character flaw rather than what it is, a signal that is worth listening to.”
space expanding
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see 46.1 billion light-years away in all directions. Doesn't that violate...something?
Book cover of "The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life" by Arthur C. Brooks, featuring a yellow background with white steps, Harvard Business Review branding, and insights from renowned author Arthur C. Brooks.
Harvard Kennedy School professor and author Arthur C. Brooks guides us through the give-and-take of feedback — even when it is negative.
Close-up view of mushroom gills with overlaid chemical structure diagrams, including molecular formulas and lines, set against a blue-tinted background.
5mins
What happens when the boundaries of “you” disappear? James Fadiman, PhD, Jamie Wheal, and Matthew Johnson, PhD explore how supported experiences with psychoactive drugs can dissolve identity and reveal a deeper reality.
Unlikely Collaborators
A person in a suit holds up a NOAA map showing the forecast track and intensity of Hurricane Dorian, reminding us that, unlike Einstein, we can't change the facts—only prepare for them—in an office setting.
Einstein is credited with saying, "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." What he actually said has a very different meaning.
Microscopic view of a single-celled organism with a translucent body and clustered orange structures inside, set against a plain background.
Our Earthbound definitions of life could leave us blind to the Universe’s strangest forms.
A hand pulls a green book from a library shelf, surrounded by tsundoku—the gentle art of collecting more books than you can read—with the silhouette of a person formed from the bookshelf and books.
The Japanese practice of "tsundoku" bestows joy and lasting benefits to those who make books an important part of their lives.
Two men in suits sit side by side, each holding a white cup and saucer, with only their torsos and hands visible—one could easily imagine Aaron Hurst sharing a thoughtful conversation over coffee.
Social entrepreneur Aaron Hurst explains why the decline of social connection is the greatest challenge of our time — and offers a roadmap for restoration.
An image of an ancient black hole
At the center of Hubble's famous "cosmic horseshoe," a very heavy supermassive black hole has been robustly measured. How is it possible?
A man with a bald head and beard sits on a chair with arms resting on his lap, in front of a yellow rectangle with black lines and dots extending outward.
Why talent alone isn’t enough to achieve your goals.
A bright green book cover titled "Me, my Customer & AI: The New Rules of Entrepreneurship" by Henrik Werdelin and Nicholas Thorne, featuring bold white and black text, explores topics like headless agents in modern business.
In the post-AI startup landscape, the role of the entrepreneur will evolve from operator to orchestrator. Are you ready?
A hand holding a sealed envelope emerges from turbulent ocean waves against a black background.
13mins
“All information technologies up to the 21st century were organic networks based on our organic brain.”
A vintage, hexagonal brooch featuring a realistic painted human eye in the center, surrounded by a metallic frame.
2mins
Astrobiologist Betül Kaçar on why the simple act of asking questions (without needing a reason) is one of the most powerful things a human can do.
A person inspects a large, cylindrical section of a Higgs factory tunnel lined with metal pipes, cables, and equipment—a crucial site for particle physics research.
A next-generation collider is required for studying particle physics at the frontiers. Here's the fastest, cheapest way to get it done.
A dark, rocky planet orbits in space with the sun illuminating its edge, surrounded by stars and distant cosmic clouds.
In the search for life in the Universe, the ultimate goal is to find an inhabited planet beyond Earth. How will we know when we've made it?