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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.
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The Templeton Foundation supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder.
Physics doesn’t explain the universe. Computation does.
What do the laws of physics, biological evolution, and your free will have in common? The same mathematical principle runs through all of them. Stephen Wolfram has spent 40 years finding it.
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“Not only does Mother Nature not care about your happiness, she knows that we need lots of negative emotions to keep us alive.” Harvard happiness professor on why suffering IS necessary:
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“We wouldn’t be able to talk about minerals if it weren’t for the minerals themselves.” Mineralogist Bob Hazen explains how Earth’s rocks can teach us about our planet’s technicolor history.
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Traditional definitions of wellbeing focus on the absence of mental illness or disease. But true wellbeing goes beyond that, says this neuroscientist.
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The mind-blowing theory that everything is evolving—from minerals to music—explained in 3 minutes by a Carnegie scientist.
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Finding meaning isn’t just personally fulfilling — it’s critical to our brain’s development, explains USC neuroscientist.
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There’s never been more ways to connect with the people in our lives — so why are we lonelier than ever?
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“Happiness is NOT about feelings.” Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks debunks the biggest myths about humanity’s most sought-after state, and explains how to actually get it.
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“I study the mineral kingdom — and its secrets could lead us to alien life.”
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“We could be wrong. But if we are right, it’s profoundly important.” Leading mineralogist Dr. Robert Hazen on the missing law of nature that could explain why life emerges.
John Templeton Foundation
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Nobel Prize winning physicist Frank Wilczek reflects on Einstein’s greatest contribution.
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Are you convincing everyone you’re smart, or accidentally alienating them? Here’s how to find out.
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Journalist Steven Kotler on digital immortality and the tech that could keep us “alive,” forever.
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Physicist Sean Carroll on entropy, complexity, and the origins of life:
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With great genius comes great rigidity. Professor Barabara Oakley on how to stay mentally agile — and get smarter as a result:
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Psychologist Daniel Goleman on how to train your brain with just ten minutes a day.
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James Suzman lived with a tribe of hunter-gatherers to witness how an ancient culture survives one of the most brutal climates on Earth. His learnings may surprise you.
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Is information intrinsic in our universe? NASA’s Michelle Thaller explains.
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When one path is blocked, a new one must be paved. How Einstein, Heisenberg and Gödel used constraints to make life-changing discoveries:
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What is perception, really? Philosopher Alva Noë on why perception is a puzzling phenomenon:
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Science writer George Musser on the unsung role of friendship in science’s biggest discoveries.