The Latest from Big Think

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color combinations
Independent of cultural background, people seem to share a sense of what makes certain color combinations aesthetically pleasing.
If there are human-sized creatures walking around on other planets, would we be able to view them directly?
Research shows that octopuses are sentient, emotional creatures.
alien messages
There are pros and cons to sending interstellar messages to aliens that may or may not exist.
heavy neutral atom
Every timekeeping device works via a version of a pendulum — even the atomic clocks that are accurate to nanoseconds.
training employees
From mobile learning to microlearning, these five methods for training employees are some of the most effective in the modern world of business.
inca human sacrifice
A toxicological study shows that the victims of human sacrifice consumed coca leaves and ayahuasca before they were killed, but not for reasons we originally thought.
twitter free speech
What responsibility do social media companies like Twitter have to free speech? It depends on whether they are "landlords" or "publishers."
russia cancelled
Some question the ethics of sanctions aimed at cancelling Russian art and culture and punishing ordinary citizens.
singularity
Singularities frustrate our understanding. But behind every singularity in physics hides a secret door to a new understanding of the world.
crashes
Morbid fatality statistics on digital highway signs seem to distract drivers, thus increasing the number of car crashes.
extraterrestrial
It didn't look like anything I'd seen before, but I'd be a great fool to consider "aliens" as a reasonable possibility.
nanofabricators
Today, we could use Big Data to radically reform democracy. Tomorrow, we could build nanofabricators and usher in an era of abundance. Is society ready?
Volunteering at a food bank, doing a coding workshop, or taking an online course might earn you micro-credentials.
nanofabricators
Nanofabricators could quickly synthesize whatever we need, molecule by molecule.
volcano dinosaurs
Volcanic activity caused the end-Triassic mass extinction 200 million years ago. The dinosaurs survived and rose to dominance.
elon musk twitter
Elon Musk's successful bid to take over Twitter has fragmented the internet along predictably partisan lines. But only time will tell whether this is a good or bad thing.
There is strong evidence that invertebrates are sentient beings.
It may depend on whether you're an "easily empathetically embarrassed" person.