Surprising Science

Despite the TV industry’s efforts to push 3-D televisions, the technology may be best suited to cinemas where people can devote their full attention to the screen, writes the Economist.

“Rigor leads to rigor mortis,” says MIT’s Sanjoy Mahajan who teaches his students to use common sense and best guessing to arrive at practical solutions problems great and small.

Gail Collins writes that although the science of birth control has advanced marvelously, America’s ability to have a reasonable conversation about contraception is lagging.

“When people wash their hands immediately after making a decision, they are less likely to rationalize its merits—possibly making them less content with the decision.”

Northrop Grumman is testing a high-powered, lightweight laser that can be used by U.S. soldiers in combat settings. Use of lasers on the battlefield could change warfare significantly.

By creating the first theoretical model of a wormhole 75 years ago, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen allowed science-fiction writers to consider the idea of time travel, writes Dave Goldberg.

Scientists have found that the brains of problem gamblers react more intensely to “near misses” than those of casual gamblers—possibly spurring them on to play more.

A German animal biologist Silvia Gaus says we should be killing the oil-soaked birds in the Gulf of Mexico. Doing so would be less painful in the long run than trying to clean them, she says.

Denialism about the nature of the AIDS virus is estimated to have killed many thousands of people. Should scientists should be held accountable?

Bruce Usher writes that China is thus far ahead of the U.S. in developing clean technology. But with swift action America can still win.

If you are a registered user of Big Think, you have the opportunity to win an autographed copy of one of my books and an 8×10 autographed color photo. The book […]

As a child, Dr. Michael Wigler was fascinated by the personality of a friend’s brother, “a very bright kid” who “never looked you in the face, constantly was throwing his […]

Paul Farmer and Partners in Health “have shown the world that it is possible to control diseases and to redress some of the underlying causes that have turned them into pandemics.”

Researchers are attempting to “define a second genetic code: one that predicts how segments of messenger RNA transcribed from a given gene can be mixed and matched.”

Walt Mossberg provides a basic explanation of what cloud computing is, and what it might mean for us in the near future.

Other cultures may value conformity, but Americans are rugged individualists. For better or for worse, we think and choose for ourselves—from which indie band we listen to on the subway […]

A new study suggests that some patients who don’t tolerate antidepressant medications could benefit from a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the brain with an electromagnet.

“When parents today worry about their child not meeting developmental norms, especially for motor skills, they’re too often worrying needlessly,” writes Nicholas Day.

The idea that one’s disposition can be analyzed by looking at their handwriting is considered spurious, yet medical graphology—the use of handwriting to detect disease—has diagnostic validity.

Time “flows at different speeds in different places and that is the key to traveling into the future,” writes Stephen Hawking, who speculates about how we might construct a time machine.

Scientists have discovered that shooting high-powered lasers into the sky can create the germ of a rain cloud, opening the door to eco-friendly cloud manipulation.

John Tierney looks at research indicating that male chimpanzees use “tools” (crackling leaves) to show females that they are ready for sex.

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 […]

While acknowledging the progress over the past 50 years that was enabled by birth control pills, Geraldine Sealey thinks we now need new methods beyond hormonal contraception.

New studies indicate that combining exercise activities (like walking or biking) with nature—even for just five minutes—can boost mental health and well-being.

Group theory “bridges the arts and sciences,” writes Steven Strogatz. “It addresses something the two cultures share—an abiding fascination with symmetry.”

If you live in a city, it’s probably loud; the effects of noise pollution fall disproportionately on the poor and damage our psychology as well as our physiology.

Another lengthy analysis has been done on the over prescription of psychotropic drugs in America: is the tide turning against our favorite little pills?

As genetic research advances, the risk of attributing too many qualities, such as genius, to our genes dangerously downplays individual potential for achievement.

The Los Angeles Times argues that video game violence is protected by the 1st Amendment and that parents should act as regulators, not governmet.