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.

with

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

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The biggest obstacle to discovering life beyond Earth
The biggest obstacle to discovering life in space? Not distance. Not capability. It’s ambiguity — and it’s built into science. MIT astrophysicist Sara Seager explains.

by Sara Seager

A volcano erupts at night, spewing lava and smoke, while several people observe from a distance in the foreground.
Everything Articles Videos
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7mins
The Well
The invisible math that controls the world
This network physicist is mapping the world's most significant data to create the most beautiful visualizations of information we have ever seen.
Albert-László Barabási
John Templeton Foundation
A figure stands beneath a tree with a serpent coiled on the branches, in a dense, shadowy forest clearing.
6mins
The Well
How to live a life you won’t regret
Aimless wandering is essential for understanding yourself. Here’s why.
Bryan Cranston
a man with glasses is looking out a window.
The Well
The Axial Age: With the birth of rational thinking, what happened to imagination?
Man does not live by measurement alone.
Gary Lachman
John Templeton Foundation
A hand pinches a small spiral galaxy between its fingers against a background of stars in space.
4mins
The Well
Can you separate science from the scientist?
Science has opened so many doors to humanity’s understanding of the world. Scientism shuts them. Here’s how to tell the difference.
Agustín Fuentes
A pair of scissors appears to cut through a black and white illustration of a DNA double helix.
4mins
The Well
Why gene editing is still humanity’s most powerful tool
Forget AI. Gene editing is still our most powerful — and dangerous — technology.
Walter Isaacson
The Well
The horrifying problem of meaning
Thinking about the problem of meaning is unsettling because it introduces us to a list of solutions that all feel a bit insane.
Kelle Dhein
John Templeton Foundation
Two abstract human figures stand next to each other on the left, while a pair of white eyes emerges from a dark, textured background on the right.
6mins
The Well
Every culture has supernatural agents. Here’s why.
From DMT elves, to God, to the figures in our dreams — why are humans so obsessed with the supernatural?
Patrick McNamara
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5mins
The Well
Why we want the wrong things
Humans, like animals, are driven by instincts. But we also have wants. Here’s what that means for our lives.
Luke Burgis
a painting of people sitting at a bar.
The Well
Smithsonian scientist: I found the 8th wonder of the world in a coffee shop
How humans came to feel comfortable among strangers, like those in a café, is an under-explored mystery.
Mark Moffett
John Templeton Foundation
A realistic illustration of a smoking pipe with the French text "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" written below it on a plain background.
6mins
The Well
The fascinating science of who succeeds in art
This scientist made an algorithm to predict which artists succeed — all without even looking at their art.
Albert-László Barabási
White handwritten text reading "I am not a robot" appears distorted and crossed with a horizontal line, set against a black background with scattered small white dots.
5mins
The Well
AI is smart — but can it think?
How World War II codebreaker Alan Turing invented modern AI.
Michael Wooldridge
a person holding a glass ball in their hand.
The Well
Why we are the only humans in the Universe and why it matters for our collective future
The acceptance of our cosmic loneliness and the rarity of our planet is a wakeup call.
Marcelo Gleiser
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration showing human evolution from an ape-like ancestor on all fours to an upright human holding a spear, against a green background.
4mins
The Well
We need a new measure of evolutionary success. Here’s why.
People say we are better off than ever. Are they right?
Agustín Fuentes
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8mins
The Well
The case against trigger warnings
How America became a fragile nation — and how it can get its resilience back.
Jonathan Haidt
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The Well
Why has every postwar generation since the 1950s become less religious?
Adolescents actively shape the transformation of religion and become the bearers of new religious patterns, worldviews, and values.
Christel Gärtner
John Templeton Foundation
Silhouette of a person with outstretched hands pressed against a red, translucent surface.
6mins
The Well
The neuroscience of nightmares
This is not your average dream interpreter. Nightmares, as explained by a neuroscientist.
Patrick McNamara
Illustration of two boxers in vintage-style attire, with one boxer extending a punch toward the other against a yellow background.
4mins
The Well
How to argue like a debate world champion
“If intelligence is the ability to respond to any argument, wisdom lies in knowing which parts of an argument to respond to.” Harvard debate coach Bo Seo explains how to argue better.
Bo Seo
A white rooster, symbolizing the protein origin of life, stands on straw near a wooden fence, a dish, and some greenery in the background.
The Well
Biology’s unsolved chicken-or-egg problem: Where did life come from?
In the beginning, genes weren't needed.
Ken Dill
John Templeton Foundation
Three circular, splattered white shapes on a black background, each labeled with numbers, resembling ink blots or stylized microorganisms.
5mins
The Well
What if we could predict—and cure—all diseases?
This network scientist is creating a map of the human genome, and it could revolutionize the future of healthcare.
Albert-László Barabási
A person in a bowler hat stands before red curtains; next to them is a silhouette with a sky and clouds pattern matching the background.
8mins
The Well
The neuroscience of spiritual experiences
Experimental neuroscientist Patrick McNamara on how we can harness spiritual experiences to explore alternate realities in our minds, and transform our models of the self.
Patrick McNamara
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