The Latest from Big Think

"The Cult of Celebrity is supported by an aggressive brainwash machine promoting the wrong heroes in the face of our stressed infrastructure. For example, in a film about a brilliant mathematician, we are trained to believe that the actor is the proper icon. Or in the case of a beautiful song about human rights, we are conditioned to venerate the performer. The net result: shortages of great mathematicians, shortages of social activists, but no lack of entertainment celebrities posing as gods."

"The concept of a 'billionaire philanthropist' is an oxymoron. If somebody has amassed a billion dollars, that person likely did so by overcharging for products/services through monopolistic power in the marketplace. It would be much more impressive to see the 'billionaire philanthropist' drastically cut prices for the benefit of mankind rather than merely handing over 10%-20% of personal net worth for purposes of obtaining a tax break."

"There is a strange illusion of freedom in this plutocracy masquerading as a democracy. Yes, we have the freedom to be obscene, wear the latest Halloween costume, and behave rudely. But we remain slaves to a system that will imprison us if we don't pay our taxes, compels us to buy essentials from monopolies, and will seize our house if we fail to make the mortgage. Just because you can say 'f-ck' in public does not change the fact you remain a slave to the dollar bill."

Americans first heard about the "march toward socialism" as the financial crisis reached a fever pitch last fall. Since then, the rhetoric on socialism's return has grown central to political […]

Just when you thought poetry was dead, Newser today cites a Telegraph story showing that email and social networking is catalyzing a resurgence in that oldest of literary art forms. […]

The Berkeley professor charts the moral decline of a nation.

Dacher Keltner on how to sync your emotions.

A Berkeley happiness guru on the downturn's upside.

The pursuit of happiness is essential and vital to our culture, but there is a risk that it turns into navel-gazing.

Dacher Keltner on government ethics.

The Berkeley professor speaks to the essential need for human-to-human contact.

The Berkeley professor notices no common appreciation of goodness across cultures.

The Berkeley professor defines goodness after years of studying how it manifests in humans.

Technology saved her life, and Mary Lou Jepsen is returning the favor.

Mary Lou Jepsen says the next chief technology advisor must tackle the energy problem.

Not only does it make us ignorant to the world around us, entertainment culture drains American potential, says Mary Lou Jepsen.

Mary Lou Jepsen points out that the great artists of history were often scientists, and vice versa.

Mary Lou Jepsen describes the XO and predicts where computer evolution is headed.

For Mary Lou Jepsen, technological advancement equates to environmental consciousness.

Mary Lou Jepsen started the race to produce a low-cost laptop.