bigthinkeditor
New data shows that the more people drink, the more they exercise. Scientists offer different explanations, such as a tendency toward a “sensation-taking lifestyle.”
Despite being considered one of the greatest American novels, “Huckleberry Finn” is the fourth most banned book in U.S. schools. Now the N-word is being removed by one publisher.
The notion that physics might have metaphysical meaning for human beings is as old as physics itself. Today, is there such thing as quantum spirituality?
China’s visiting vice premier said his country would buy $7.9 billion in Spanish bonds. El País newspaper dubbed Li Keqiang the new ‘Mr. Marshall’, alluding to America’s Marshall Plan.
We know birds raise their voices to make themselves heard in the noisy big city, but for the first time there is evidence that they may even be evolving as a result of city living.
The nature of security has changed, says Gary Hart. The former senator calls for the drafting of a new National Security Act, one which confronts today’s real security concerns.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will preside over a hearing to determine if Shakespeare’s Hamlet would be mentally competent to stand trial in today’s courts.
Travel has long had an environmental cost: gasoline, jet fuel, spandex pants for bicycling. With space tourism soon to become a common occurrence, what will be the environmental price?
One billion people already go hungry each day; if poor population centers seek to use natural resources to the extent Western countries do, how can our planet survive?
In a country that prizes self- reliance and private solutions for social problems, more young adults are doomed to sink, says a new book on the American twenty-something.
For a disorder that affects 1 in every 110 American children and 1 in every 70 American boys, there are a surprising number of misconceptions about autism. Study after study […]
The autism-vaccine fraud has left a lot of mistrust to mop up. Since Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s erroneous report, science and public health took a huge step backward.
Negotiations that take place over computer have more chance of success when those negotiating think there is greater physical distance between each other.
Along with CD binders, bookshelves, and DVD collections, please add to the list of defunct media storage devices: Your hard drive.
When we cry, we may be doing more than expressing emotion. Our tears, according to striking new research, may be sending chemical signals that influence others’ behavior.
There’s been a pretty bizarre spate of mass animal deaths reported around the world. What the hell is going on? Unfortunately, there’s no good answer.
Young Muslim women are often forced to lead double lives in Europe. They have sex in public restrooms and stuff mobile phones in their bras to hide their secret existences.
English is in a constant state of flux. New words are formed and old ones fall into disuse. But no trend has been more obtrusive in recent years than the changing of nouns into verbs.
Who will set 2011′s standards in NewNet technologies like social media and real-time feeds? These are the disrupters to watch: Facebook, Twitter, Skype and LinkedIn.
If you look at the hard science on how people really behave it’s clear that it’s unusual for them to behave in a purely selfish fashion.
Nearly every major initiative to solve the new century’s most pressing problems has ground to a standstill amid political gridlock, summit pageantry, and perfunctory news conferences.
Since branding Wall Street’s pre-eminent investment bank, Goldman Sachs with the epithet “vampire squid,” Rolling Stone correspondent Matt Taibbi has made quite a name for himself in the mainstream American […]
The symptoms of autism are far better understood than its causes; psychiatrists classify the disorder as having two major components: impaired social cognition and a tendency toward narrow interests and repetitive behaviors.
From the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times to CNN’s The Situation Room, President Jimmy Carter’s recent claim on Big Think that America is in fact ready to elect […]
A new device worn on the arm or leg trains you to be aware of your brain function, so you can regain focus when you drift off at work, lose concentration on the back nine, or fall asleep at the wheel.
What are the real causes of social pathology—and can affluence actually be part of the problem? David Wilson says solving social ills by spending money rarely works.
In an extensive interview, the “Oracle of Omaha” discusses who might soon take his job and what he thinks the broader outlook is for the American economy.
The images, messages and stories of the multibillion-dollar pornography industry have seeped into and distorted our genuine sexual identities, says The Guardian’s Gail Dines.
When faced with decisions, our ability to make hunch evaluations varies considerably: Intuition can either be a useful ally or it can lead to costly and dangerous mistakes.
More than 30 years after NASA’s Viking landers found no evidence for organic materials on Mars, scientists say a new experiment on Mars-like soil shows Viking did, in fact, hit pay dirt.