Two astronomers have a new theory which suggests that intelligent life on planet Earth may be as old as can be expected in our galaxy.
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It may surprise you to learn that the entrepreneur behind dating sites like OKCupid and Match.com got his start by creating SparkNotes.com and Edonkey, a video-sharing site.
Pluto’s moons, Nix and Hydra, are the first with irregular rotations, and hence unpredictable sunsets and sunrises. “Movin’ right along.You take it, you know best.Hey, I’ve never seen the Sun […]
Professional athletes need to be fit mentally just as much as physically. That’s the philosophy espoused by the new Los Angeles Dodgers front office.
Saw “Solar System Questions” by xkcd? Here’s what science thinks it knows. “Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together. […]
“Companies that model best practices, that model the most upstanding principles, end up as the most profitable. It’s not a trade of profits versus principles.” –Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and Founder of […]
For many industries, the next big innovative step is often spurred by achievement from an outside industry. The historical marriage between food preservation technology and nautical advancement is a perfect example.
IBM’s Serious Game program wants to give enterprises a way to digest data by playing them out in real-world simulations, or video games.
Junheng Li, Founder and Head of Research at JL Warren Capital, has a unique expert’s perspective on both Chinese and American markets. That’s because she was born and raised in Shanghai […]
Many people, including a majority of school teachers, harbor important false beliefs about the brain. Are you one of them?
The death knell for the banner ad is tolling and few are lamenting its decline.
An international survey of school teachers has found that the vast majority believes in myths about the brain and wrongly adapt their lessons to accommodate these myths.
When it comes to the overall happiness of a marriage, it matters more that the wife is happy with the relationship than the husband, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Researchers have long suspected that drinking wine in moderation contributes to heart health, but new results from a European study conclude that exercise is an essential ingredient to realizing vino’s benefits.
Want more realistic sci-fi? Consult a scientist. Here’s how you get access. “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” –Isaac […]
Jane Goodall is one of the world’s foremost primatologists and a UN Messenger of Peace. Ever since her first trip to Africa in 1957, Goodall has dedicated her life to […]
What happened when things were hot enough to spontaneously create matter and antimatter? “It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations […]
It’s selfish to be nice. As we’ve previously reported here on Big Think, the kinder you are the happier you will be. While being nice is good for you, being […]
As our histories and memories move more and more into the digital space, we’re at the mercy of the cloud to maintain our history. So, what happens when the internet gets it wrong and re-works a piece of literature?
There are countless opportunities in this world for one to give of him- or herself. And doing so, says WuDunn, helps more than just the receiver, even if it’s not immediately apparent.
Researchers have found connections that suggest a population’s growing rate of obesity could be connected to the proliferation of wholesalers and restaurants in that region.
As the importance of interpersonal interaction grew, so did variations in our ancestors’ facial appearance. This why the face and it features are the most diverse parts of the human body.
Understanding the importance of praise in our personal and professional lives means overcoming a blind spot in human psychology that is many tens of thousands of years in the making.
Fewer grammar is literally no skin off anyone’s cheek.
If you’re a recent college grad frustrated that the salary you needed to pay your private student loans never materialized, you have the sympathy of Daniel Altman, Big Think’s Chief […]
Catch MIT scientist Sara Seager take you to the cutting edge and into the future, with a live blog (plus commentary) right here! “Hundreds or thousands of years from now, […]
It’s something of a cultural cliché, but counting your blessings is a great way to obtain perspective on a bad day.
People who leave comments in online forums to deliberately provoke angry and emotional reactions from others are not much nicer in real life, according to a study published in the journal Identity and Personal Differences.
This International Women’s Day, celebrate Henrietta Leavitt, who took us beyond the stars and into the galaxies. “Her will tells nearly all. She left an estate worth $314.91, mostly in […]
Last week’s events in Nepal and Baltimore were drastically different. Yet how people responded to two tragedies offer insight into how we deal with trauma and how we decide to offer compassion.