Search Results

The Braille system is one of design's most ingenious feats. Today, designers are using it to bring more ease and joy into the lives of blind people in everything from mundanity to playtime.

The established poet William Carlos Williams wrote in 1956 of newcomer poet (and friend) Allen Ginsberg that he “sees with the eyes of the angels.” Williams most likely referred to […]

Back in February, I traveled to Rome, Italy to present at a conference sponsored by Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation. The focus was on climate change […]

I have finally stopped yelling at my computer screen this morning, after making the rounds at POLITICO, Talking Points Memo, and The New York Times. It seems that among the […]

Noting Sarah Palin's meandering phraseology, John McWhorter wonders why mindless speaking no longer prevents someone from becoming a major public influencer.

The second part of Eruptions readers' recollections of the historic May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

There was a time, in the now dim and distant past, when Israeli Commando actions were often heralded as brave and awe inspiring. Take for instance the no nonsense approach […]

A Tel Aviv University researcher has found that young men who smoke are likely to have lower IQs than their non-smoking peers.

Human beings give their attention readily to people who already have it. It doesn’t matter if a guy won fame for his action movies, people will listen to his advice […]

Sprinkled throughout the city - but often poorly indicated - are dozens of Privately Owned Public Open Spaces

So what are we to make of the new British coalition Government that made its appearance, in the shape of David Cameron and Nick Clegg, in the 10 Downing Street […]

Today marks the first installment of Big Think’s newest series, “Moments of Genius,” sponsored by Intel. We sat down with math and science thought leaders—from the inventor of the very […]

Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the historic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington - and Eruptions readers share their memories on the blast that captivated the world.

After months of struggling with unending debt, the time has come for Germany to step in and help Greece. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, was less than happy about […]

While he’s kept his profile remarkably low since leaving office, President George W. Bush has been thrust back into the spotlight of late, both with and without his consent. It […]

New U.S. airport security measures mark the end of broad national and racial profiling in favor of intelligence-based screening criteria.

When we think things out, it is usually on paper. Writers scribble random thoughts on scraps near at hand and mine those jotted flashes of insight later for fuller, more […]

This Monday marked the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma city bombing, an attack which killed 168 people and injured 680 more. As we know now (and as we were reminded […]

The most recent recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning is Mark Fiore, a freelancer whose only medium is electronic. His iPhone app was rejected long before he was […]

Yesterday, Facebook’s 25 year old co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a plan to socialize the Web. You can now carry around your network of friends wherever you go in Cyberspace. Of course, how much you like the idea depends on if you like your identity and if you like your friends. Do you?

Women's groups are making their voices heard this weekend as Monday marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. How far has the movement come to achieving its goals?

This semester in the sophomore-level course I teach on “Communication and Society,” we spent several weeks examining the many ways that Americans are using the Internet to alter the nature […]

According to Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize Foundation, the cost of getting you and your spacesuit into orbit could soon be about $120. That would mean a price […]

Three of California’s wealthiest coastal cities howled loudly last year when they were sued by a civil rights group over their treatment of the homeless. But progress has since been made.

With next year marking ten years since the term “War on Terror” was coined, the controversial war has seen its strides and pitfalls, depending on whom you ask. But as […]

Today marks the second installment of Big Think’s new series on business sustainability, sponsored by Logica. For the next eleven Mondays (through June 8, 2010), we will release in-depth discussions […]

Today is world tuberculosis day, but there is “no better news” writes Global Post as complacency and lack of funding deter research into the disease.

This fall in the sophomore-level course I teach on “Communication and Society,” we spent several weeks examining the many ways that individuals and groups are using the internet to alter […]

There have been countless fictional portrayals of fake American presidents in pop culture. From the alien-battling President Thomas Whitmore in “Independence Day” to hopeless romantic President Andrew Shepherd in “the […]

n The proximity to, the ‘otherness’ of and the seemingly eternal conflict with the barbarian tribes across the Rhine stoked Imperial Rome’s interest in all matters German. To get a […]