The Latest from Big Think

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The European Commission said that to meet climate goals by midcentury, gasoline- and diesel-run cars must disappear from cities. Its new goals to cut oil use are the world's most ambitious.
The future of the green cloud may, in fact, be determined by our action or inaction on seemingly unrelated battles like Cap & Trade, says government cloud computing advisor, Kevin Jackson.
The world may have no more than half a century of oil left at current rates of consumption, the British bank H.S.B.C. warns in a new report, as developing countries' demand surges to new levels.
Researchers have shown that they can put out a fire by zapping it with electricity—pointing an electrical wand at a flame and applying a current that disrupts a flame's stability from inside.
The future of economic growth lies in the population centers of developing nations, but will emerging-market cities be healthy enough to drive rapid economic growth?
Build enough wind farms to replace fossil fuels and we could seriously deplete the energy available in the atmosphere, with consequences as dire as severe climate change.
As the railroads shaped the American West in the 19th century, a new electrical generating and transmission system for the 21st century will leave its lasting mark on the desert.
Barack Obama called for cutting U.S. oil imports by a third before 2025, in a speech aimed at defending his energy agenda from Republicans seeking to limit fuel efficiency standards.
Google is offering to add a social twist to Web searches, in a bold offensive to prevent Facebook and other social-networking companies from gaining an upper hand in Web innovation.
Eight business and social media experts explain how businesses can—and indeed must—use social media to expand their sphere of influence, attracting customers and shaping opinion.
We're faced with puzzles every day in life. That's why it's so important to keep your mind flexible, says NY Times Crossword Editor Will Shortz, recounting a time he had to use his puzzle solving skill in an airport parking garage. 
On each day of Shakespeare’s birth month, Big Think will examine a different way that studying Shakespeare enriches the various disciplines—from neuroscience to business to psychology and beyond.
Design Thinking is one of the most fashionable concepts in the innovation world these days. But could it really save industries that are on the fast road to extinction?
Over the years, dozens of portraits have claimed to be the true visage of the bard–including a new contender, the Cobbe portrait. But can we ever know which one is real? 
Computer software helps prove that Shakespeare was no different than the writers of today's crime scene dramas. He collaborated with other writers. 
Film became the literature of the 20th century. Likewise, video games will take over in this coming century, especially once they learn to listen to us.
Lewis' book "Moneyball" is about how people get misvalued and how, in turn, warped value systems encourage warped behavior in people. "Often when people get paid, makes no sense at […]
You are looking at the first color image of Mercury from orbit. It was taken by NASA's Mercury Messenger spacecraft, which is on a mission to "unravel the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet."
The promise of biotechnology is essentially limitless, says Silver, describing biotech "bad boy" Craig Venter's plan to engineer trees that create liquid fuel instead of sap.
President Obama announced a plan to cut dependence on foreign oil by one-third by 2021. Retired four-star general Wesley Clark explains just how detrimental our addiction to oil is and […]