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
A man in a suit stands facing a mirror, but the reflection shows the back of his head instead of his face.
6mins
The Well
How to stop toxic self-talk, explained in 6 minutes
If your inner voice is cruel, try these steps to reclaim your mind.
Ethan Kross
John Templeton Foundation
A sequence of human silhouettes in shades of blue and green shows progressive motion of a person walking from left to right.
3mins
The Well
Bayes’ rule: A powerful thinking paradigm
Think via Bayes’ rule to become more rational and less brainwashed.
Julia Galef
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration of a volcanic eruption with thick clouds of smoke, ash, and flowing lava rising from the volcano’s crater.
6mins
The Well
Stop chasing utopia. Create “protopia” instead.
Pessimism sounds smart. Optimism sounds dumb. Don’t fall for it, says Wired’s Kevin Kelly.
Kevin Kelly
John Templeton Foundation
A whimsical vintage illustration depicts people in Victorian-era attire flying in futuristic airships and vehicles above a cityscape.
7mins
The Well
A futurist sets the stage for the next 1,000 years
We don’t need one Elon Musk. We need 8 billion empathic futurists.
Ari Wallach
Three shadow-like human figures appear in sequence on a textured, speckled background, with each figure becoming more distorted towards the top.
7mins
The Well
Are near-death experiences real?
A psychiatrist studied 1,000 near-death experiences. Here’s what he discovered.
Dr. Bruce Greyson
Microscopic image of cells with red and green outlines and blue nuclei on a black background.
5mins
The Well
CRISPR: What will humanity create?
CRISPR’s gene drive can defy evolution. Here’s how, explained by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna.
Jennifer Doudna
John Templeton Foundation
Black cerebral blood vessels are shown against a red background, resembling a brain scan or angiogram image.
7mins
The Well
What trauma does to your brain and body
The ultimate definition of trauma, explained by leading psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk.
Bessel van der Kolk
John Templeton Foundation
Three purple coneflowers at different life stages: dried and dead, wilting, and fully blooming, shown against a black background.
7mins
The Well
The happiness paradox, explained in 7 minutes
To be happy, you have to become antifragile first. Harvard’s Tal Ben-Shahar explains.
Tal Ben-Shahar
John Templeton Foundation
Black and white engraving-style illustration of a human eye in close-up, with detailed lines depicting the iris, pupil, and eyelids—capturing the intense focus and clarity of the flow state.
The Well
Flow state: How to trigger the best performance of your life
‘Flow state’ is a peak performance mental state experienced by the world's highest achievers. Learn how it works in just 7 minutes.
Steven Kotler
John Templeton Foundation
A vintage illustration of a person's head in profile, with diagrams of astronomical and conceptual systems overlaying the brain to evoke themes of consciousness, set against a yellow background.
8mins
The Well
Why consciousness is one of the most divisive issues in science today
Is science destined to crack the code of consciousness—and how would we even go about it?
Max Tegmark
John Templeton Foundation
tribalism
The Well
Humans are not “tribal”
From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.
Agustín Fuentes
John Templeton Foundation
Two figures, their heads covered in white cloth, face each other closely against a dark background, evoking the mysterious science of love.
The Well
The science of love with Dr. Helen Fisher
We all want to have a good, stable relationship with somebody, says Dr. Helen Fisher. So it's important to understand how intense romantic love affects our long-term goals.
Helen Fisher
John Templeton Foundation
A horned, fanged figure lies on the ground with a foot pressing down on its neck; red drapery is visible above.
6mins
The Well
The 3 “demons” that haunted legendary scientists
Darwin, Descartes, and Maxwell all believed in these science ‘demons.’
Jimena Canales
John Templeton Foundation
A clock face with a spiral effect, showing multiple overlapping clock dials against a solid blue background, evokes the question: is time an illusion?.
The Well
Time: Do the past, present, and future exist all at once? 
The concept is so complex that scientists still argue whether it exists or if it is an illusion.
John Templeton Foundation
youth
The Well
I study America’s youth. Here’s what I found
Today’s young people are intelligent and kind, but they are overworked and burned out.
Sara Konrath
John Templeton Foundation
A classical-style portrait of a person with their face obscured by a large white starburst shape.
9mins
The Well
How enlightenment permanently alters your brain
Enlightenment is a traditionally mystical and slippery concept, but when it is subjected to the rigors of empirical analysis, there is a lot to be learned about our brains and ourselves.
Andrew Newberg
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration of the top view of a human brain, showing detailed grooves and folds, with a textured, etched style on a dark background—evoking the complexity of mental feedback loops.
The Well
Why confirmation bias kills your brain
Humans tend to hunker down in our own minds and trust what we already believe to be true. This emotion-based way of thought isn't often the best way to think about anything, and often leads to gridlock.
Barbara Oakley
John Templeton Foundation
Close-up illustration of white DNA double helix strands on a green background, highlighting the potential for CRISPR gene-editing technology.
The Well
10 years on, a spin-off use for CRISPR: Infectious disease testing
An interview with CRISPR co-discoverer and Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Jennifer Doudna.
Jennifer Doudna
John Templeton Foundation
A silhouetted figure with outstretched arms appears in bright, radiant light against a blue sky, evoking an ethereal effect that invites reflection on arguments against God.
The Well
3 arguments against God, explained by a Catholic bishop
“The very best arguments against God have been formulated by believers.”
Bishop Robert Barron
John Templeton Foundation
A softly colored illustration of a double rainbow arches over a calm blue sea under a pastel sky, evoking harmony between religion and science.
4mins
The Well
Is religion a threat to science?
Some scientists see religion as a threat to the scientific method that should be resisted. But faith "is really asking a different set of questions," says Collins.
Francis Collins
John Templeton Foundation
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