Words of Wisdom — June 14, 2014

Van Gogh on Greatness

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh

bigthinkeditor

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Close-up illustration of a neuron cell with branching dendrites and axon, set against a dark background with small glowing particles, evoking the intricate physics of consciousness.

Starts With A Bang

Does physics truly have anything to say about consciousness?

Many, from neuroscientists to philosophers to anesthesiologists, have claimed to understand consciousness. Do physicists? Does anyone?

Scatter plot with dark blue data points and black dashed elliptical contours centered on the origin, with axes labeled ξ (') horizontally and vertically—similar to plots used by astronomers in studies of the smallest galaxy ever discovered.

Starts With A Bang

Astronomers just found the smallest galaxy ever

With stars, gas, and dark matter, galaxies come in a great array of sizes. This new one, Ursa Major III/UNIONS 1, is the smallest by far.

Two men pose for a formal portrait; one wears a dark shirt and the other a suit and tie, set against a patterned background evocative of Alex Garland’s visual style, divided into green, gray, and blue sections.

Business

The Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza interview: “As a team, you can accomplish anything”

Want to know how to handle work-life pressure? Big Think asked Warfare co-directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza.

Starts With A Bang

Science’s best answer to “where did the Universe come from?”

Perhaps no existential question looms larger than that of our ultimate cosmic origins. At long last, science has provided the answers.

Graph titled "The Post-WWII Boom 1945-1970" shows intersecting curves labeled "The Old World Is Dying" and "The New One Struggles To Be Born," with "JFK Was Here" marked at 1960.

The Past

America is going through its every-80-year reinvention

Americans have gone through three historic junctures like what we’re witnessing today — and they happen on an uncanny 80-year cycle.

Up Next

Emergent Griefing

I enjoy “griefing“, which is when people use aspects of a system that make that system less fun for others. It’s a term normally used in multiplayer video games. As […]