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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.
How ancient DNA proved human origin theory wrong
Human origins once looked like a simple migration story. According to geneticist David Reich, new evidence keeps turning it into a record of contact, disappearance, and surprise.
4mins
“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.
In the beginning, genes weren't needed.
John Templeton Foundation
5mins
This network scientist is creating a map of the human genome, and it could revolutionize the future of healthcare.
8mins
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.
Considering the perspectives of others has important benefits for individuals and for society. There is one easy way to do it.
John Templeton Foundation
6mins
What beavers and earthworms can teach us about working with, not against, Mother Nature.
8mins
What makes some scientists culturally significant, while others remain in obscurity? Well, there’s a science to it.
9mins
It has perhaps never been easier to feel as if you’ve fallen behind in life. From the anxieties of comparing yourself to others online to our fetishization of success, it […]
7mins
Find food, have sex, not die. That’s pretty much all we need to do — but why do we make it so complicated?
10mins
Tim Ferriss has interviewed some of the most powerful thinkers in the world. This is what he learnt about how they operate.
6mins
History’s most remarkable leaders had this one trait in common. We can harness it too.
5mins
We are ~99% genetically identical to chimpanzees. But there are three key traits that separate us.
Intellectual humility demands that we examine our motivations for holding certain beliefs.
John Templeton Foundation
7mins
Frank Wilczek is celebrated for his investigations into the fundamental laws of nature that have transformed our understanding of the forces that govern our Universe. In this video, the MIT […]
"I am an anthropologist, and for years, I have spoken to people who have had these experiences."
John Templeton Foundation
5mins
Poker pro Maria Konnikova on how to recognize which details matter and master the science of deduction.
The answer to the age-old philosophical question of whether there is meaning in the Universe may ultimately rest upon the power of information.
John Templeton Foundation
5mins
Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky on the science of temptation, and the limitations of your brain’s frontal cortex.
3mins
Left–Right, Back–Forth, Up–Down. What’s the fourth dimension?
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Make it simple. Make it clear. Make it stick. Alan Alda on how to get everyone to understand your thoughts.
John Templeton Foundation