The Latest from Big Think

Text reading "The Latest" in a large, serif font on a light background.
Painting of Dorian Gray
You can learn a lot about life through literature's most unrespectable and heinous characters.
Betelgeuse visualization
A new, unexpected brightening, just 3 years after a massive dimming event, has astronomers watching Betelgeuse. Is a supernova imminent?
a map of the world with a red star in the middle.
“Who is the aggressor?” That depends on which of these maps you believe.
a man and woman holding a newborn baby
Let us share this miracle with mothers in poor countries.
a large machine
The robot can drive heavy steal beams into the ground at a rate of 1 per 73 seconds, which will help expedite solar farm construction.
A child standing in front of a wall of jellyfish.
Despite a reputation for catastrophe and cat killings, curiosity is a beneficial drive that improves our lives and well-being.
a diagram of the energy storage system.
Old coal mines can be converted into "gravity batteries" by retrofitting them with equipment that raises and lowers giant piles of sand.
a man with glasses is looking out a window.
Man does not live by measurement alone.
John Templeton Foundation
a group of people standing in front of a car.
The Source Family, a radical 1970s utopian commune, still impacts what we eat today.
a black and white photo of two women sitting next to each other.
We know that everything changes, but we long for something more permanent.
a plate of food with oranges, black beans, broccoli, and.
De-urbanized lifestyles can be aligned with basic Taoist principles — and remote workers are starting to feel the connection.
stellar remnants black holes planet
The odds are slim, but the consequences would be literally world-ending. There really is a chance of a black hole devouring the Earth.
A diagram showing the structure of an electroweak big bang.
The problem of the electroweak horizon haunts the standard model of cosmology and beckons us to ask how deep a rethink the model may need.
a pink pig with a smile on its face.
One reason saving is hard: We tend to view our "future selves" as complete strangers, and our decisions in the present moment reflect that.
Million Stories
a pile of money sitting on top of a pile of money.
If a person stands little chance of ever being wealthy, perhaps playing the lottery is a rational decision.
brandenburg gate
"The Man in the High Castle" may be the most beloved alternate history book, but it is not the most historically accurate.
a black and white photo of a woman and a child.
The chances that a newborn survives childhood have increased from 50% to 96% globally.
two particles different wavelength speed of light
Contrary to common experience, not everything needs a medium to travel through. Overcoming that assumption removes the need for an aether.
a close up of the sun with a black background showing a solar flare.
Recasting the iconic Carrington Event as just one of many superstorms in Earth’s past, scientists reveal the potential for even more massive eruptions from the sun.
a computer generated image of a balloon and a plant.
We have become the greatest threat to ourselves and to life on this planet. We need a set of agreed-upon safeguards to preserve our future.