The Well

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Ideas that inspire a life well-lived

Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional?

Life’s biggest questions rarely have simple answers. That is precisely why they continue to occupy the world’s most thoughtful minds. The Well is a place to engage those questions, drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and the humanities.

Created by the John Templeton Foundation in partnership with Big Think, The Well brings together ideas that inspire deeper understanding and a more considered approach to living.

in partnership with

John Templeton Foundation

The Templeton Foundation supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder.

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Your life has purpose — just not the kind you think

We’ve been asking whether we have a purpose. Philosopher Alan Love says the better question is: what kind of purpose can we identify, document, and explain?

by Alan Love

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Everything Articles Videos

The Well

Atheism is not as rare or as rational as you think

Many atheists think of themselves as intellectually gifted individuals, guiding humanity on the path of reason. Scientific data shows otherwise.

Will Gervais

John Templeton Foundation

A digital illustration of a stereotypical alien figure, inspired by concepts of extraterrestrial life, featuring a large bald head, big dark eyes, and a small mouth on a pale yellow background.

5mins

The Well

What alien life could teach us about humanity

Dr. Sara Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist, who is questioning the very nature of life and how we’re attempting to find it elsewhere.

Sara Walker

John Templeton Foundation

$Illustration of two hands touching or aligning a series of parallel lines and chevron patterns, all overlaid with a blue filter, evoking the precision and symmetry often found in mathematics.$

5mins

The Well

Michio Kaku: Is God a mathematician?

Michio Kaku believes math is the mind of God.

Michio Kaku

John Templeton Foundation

The Well

5 harmful myths and 5 inspiring truths about teenagers

Society treats teenagers as if they’re a problem to be solved, but the truth is that we have to prepare them to solve our problems. It’s time that we change the narrative.

Ken Ginsburg

John Templeton Foundation

A target with several arrows on the ground nearby and none hitting the bullseye, capturing the joy of being wrong.

3mins

The Well

The joy of being wrong

Arguments on social media are notorious. Can practicing intellectual humility make us smarter and happier? Science says yes.

John Templeton Foundation

Side view X-ray image of a human head and brain in shades of purple, shown against a solid purple background, highlighting the serene focus often seen in meditators.

3mins

The Well

Superhumans: The remarkable brain waves of high-level meditators

Psychologist Daniel Goleman shares what he learned by studying the brain waves of Olympic-level meditators, and his findings are unprecedented.

Daniel Goleman

John Templeton Foundation

Illustration of a baboon standing on all fours, facing right, with a reddish-brown coat and a pink patch on its hindquarters—an awe-inspiring member of the animal kingdom.

The Well

I put a camera on a monkey. Here’s how it shook my understanding of humanity

Awe is a powerful force, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.

Agustín Fuentes

John Templeton Foundation

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The Well

What’s inside black holes?

To understand the edges of our universe, we’ll need to explore the edges of our own philosophies.

Avi Loeb

John Templeton Foundation

A black-and-white drawing of four students sitting at desks, each wearing helmet-like devices with wires extending upward, as if tapping into their intelligence.

8mins

The Well

There are 8 classes of intelligence. Which are you?

IQ tests only measure two of the eight intelligences. Howard Gardner explains them all.

Howard Gardner

John Templeton Foundation

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5mins

The Well

Your moral compass could be broken

People rarely question their own moral compass. But do you know what shapes yours?

Liane Young

John Templeton Foundation

Black line drawing of a person with a long nose, reminiscent of Pinocchio, wiping tears from their face against a solid green background, illustrating the impact of honesty on child development principles.

5mins

The Well

3 great untruths to stop telling kids—and ourselves

These psychological principles can unlock your resiliency.

Jonathan Haidt

John Templeton Foundation

A vintage-style illustration of a man in a suit with a mustache and top hat, the top of his head open as colorful smoke swirls out, symbolizing creativity.

3mins

The Well

How Picasso and Beethoven hacked creativity

Anyone can learn from this creativity challenge.

Anthony Brandt

John Templeton Foundation

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The Well

The great Big Bang misconception

Thanks to time-traveling telescopes, we can see more about the Big Bang.

Michelle Thaller

John Templeton Foundation

A man in a suit rides a comet with a face through a star-filled night sky, reflecting on lessons learned from space travel; a top hat floats nearby as the moon smiles in the background.

The Well

How looking at 4 billion years of Earth’s history changes you

Astronaut Chris Hadfield shares how living in space has bettered his life on Earth.

Chris Hadfield

John Templeton Foundation

A person stands in front of a large face, peering into an oversized monocle held by a giant hand, as if searching for traces of free will within the magnified gaze.

5mins

The Well

Is free will an illusion?

Philosophers have been making the claim that free will is an illusion for hundreds of years. Dr. Uri Maoz shares what modern neuroscience has to say about it.

Dr. Uri Maoz

John Templeton Foundation

Illustration of a human brain, drawn with black ink lines on a solid orange background, symbolizing intellectual life.

5mins

The Well

How to live an intellectual life

According to Zena Hitz, the idea of the intellectual has become distorted. She believes “the real thing is something more extraordinary but also more available to us.”

Zena Hitz

John Templeton Foundation