Philosophy

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Philosophy

Examine life’s biggest questions, from ethics to existence, with curiosity and critical thinking.

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A man emerges from an ice hole in a frozen body of water, surrounded by snow and ice, taking a cold plunge during winter.
Mini Philosophy
The cold-plunge fallacy: Why some fads may never work for you
It's OK to hate a frigid pond.
Jonny Thomson
A world map comparing landmass outlines of the Equal Earth projection in pink and Mercator projection in green, with grid lines overlaid.
Strange Maps
Africa wants its true size on the world map
The African Union argues that the Mercator projection distorts the continent, both in size and global attention.
Frank Jacobs
An open book, symbolizing dangerous books, burns with flames rising from its pages against a black background, its fiery reflection shimmering on a glossy surface.
Books
Why today’s publishers fear Goodreads more than government
In "That Book Is Dangerous," author Adam Szetela examines the rise of the “Sensitivity Era” in publishing and how outrage campaigns try to control what books authors can write and readers can read.
Kevin Dickinson
Book cover of "The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything" by James Barrat, featuring a robot hand symbolizing AI, holding Earth against a white background.
Business
Will AI create more jobs than it replaces? 
The predictions of evolutionary theorists and current advances in “multimodal AI” offer strong clues to the future of employment.
James Barrat
Book cover for "The Contemplative Leader" by Patrick Boland, featuring blue abstract art and Patrick Boland’s name alongside the subtitle "Uncover the Power of Presence and Connection.
Business
How “contemplative leadership” can help us face uncertainty with confidence
A contemplative approach to leading others can help us accept the tension of not always knowing how things will play out.
Patrick Boland
a red and orange abstract background with lines.
Hard Science
Mass misconception: The real reason we can’t outpace light speed
Explanations for the cosmic speed limit often conflate mass with inertia.
Don Lincoln
An abstract animation of white, textured patterns symmetrically forming on a blue and black background evokes the mysterious dance of dark energy, subtly hinting at its weakening presence as if guided by the precision of DESI.
Starts With A Bang
Ask Ethan: Is dark energy no longer a cosmological constant?
The Universe isn't just expanding; the expansion is accelerating. If different methods yield incompatible results, is dark energy evolving?
Ethan Siegel
A solitary tree with a red swing hanging from one of its branches, set against a light, textured background, evokes a quiet sense of closure.
Mini Philosophy
The “Closure Machine”: How humans really see the world
When a tree becomes a swing.
Jonny Thomson
Collage featuring "THE NIGHTCRAWLER" text, a black-and-white photo of a person, tree roots reminiscent of smart forests, and code fragments, all overlaid on a gray grid background.
Business
What the forest can teach us about resilience
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Eric Markowitz
Two diagrams: the left shows a complex, circular, multicolored network; the right displays a theoretical physics diagram with labeled axes and colored particle symbols, capturing the intricate nature of physics hard concepts.
Starts With A Bang
No, theoretical physics isn’t broken; it’s just very hard
When you don't have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.
Ethan Siegel
Illustrated map showing streets, parks, and landmarks of a coastal city bordered by Hob's River and Delaware Bay, with a compass rose in the lower right corner.
Strange Maps
The strange cartography of Superman’s ever-shifting hometown
The latest "Superman" film sets Metropolis in the First State.
Frank Jacobs
Two figures in dark robes bow deeply toward each other on a light background, evoking the spirit of naikan in a traditional Japanese ink illustration style.
Mini Philosophy
Ask these 3 “Naikan” questions for a happier, healthier attitude toward life
You are held, shaped, and sustained by a thousand invisible hands.
Jonny Thomson
A grayscale portrait of Caterina Fake is centered between an FDNY ambulance on the left and patterned designs with circular symbols on the right.
Business
Essential skills for “weird times”: How internet pioneer Caterina Fake keeps it real
Venture capitalist and Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake talks to Big Think about why AI won’t make the internet better, her influences beyond tech, and more.
Lucy Handley
A 3D potential energy surface with a central peak and surrounding valley illustrates zero-point energy power; two blue spheres indicate positions atop the peak and within the valley. Axes labeled Re(φ), Im(φ), and V(φ).
Starts With A Bang
Ask Ethan: Can “zero-point energy” power the world?
Throughout history, "free energy" has been a scammer's game, such as perpetual motion. But with zero-point energy, is it actually possible?
A storytelling collage featuring a man inspecting barrels, a person holding a skull mask, another man observing the mask, and the text "THE NIGHTCRAWLER" in bold black and orange.
Business
Exceptional storytelling and the myth of superhuman AI
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Eric Markowitz
Starts With A Bang
Are hidden variables real, and can they save quantum physics?
There could be variables beyond the ones we've identified and know how to measure. But they can't get rid of quantum weirdness.
Ethan Siegel
Abstract collage with a butterfly, brain sketches, graphs, and scientific diagrams overlaid with red, black, and beige shapes and textured patterns.
Neuropsych
Why the 21st century could bring a new “consciousness winter”
A conversation with neuroscientist Erik Hoel about the future of consciousness research.
Ross Pomeroy
A minimalist drawing of a duck outlined in white against a gradient background, with an orange star shape marking the eye, invites you to question your perception.
The Learning Curve
Why you should always question your perceptions
“Who ya gonna believe: me or your own eyes?” Until you can assess your perception, the answer should be neither.
Kevin Dickinson
Abstract illustration featuring five circles with various designs connected by curved white lines on a purple and blue background, symbolizing science or interconnected concepts.
13.8
6 questions about consciousness with Annaka Harris
A conversation with Annaka Harris on shared perception, experimental science, and why our intuition about consciousness is wrong.
Adam Frank
Diagram showing a galaxy, zooming in to highlight a small area labeled "Human Experience" within a grid mapping time and space on logarithmic scales.
Strange Maps
Mapped: The boundaries of human perception
Science helps us imagine the vastness of space and time — and our small but meaningful place within it.
Frank Jacobs
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