Big Think

07/16/2025

The results of a recent study highlight how nature is able to recover from cataclysmic events, though it may take millions of years.

The lush biodiversity of South America's rainforests is rooted in one of the most cataclysmic events that ever struck Earth.

07/16/2025

These alien-like creatures are virtually invisible in the deep sea.

07/16/2025

Sound can be visible. What's more, sound can draw exquisite, regular patterns on a physical surface.

Ever tried playing on a wine glass or tracing squeaky circles along the rim of a thin champagne flute?

07/16/2025

The “primacy/recency effect” is used by celebrated movie-makers and restaurateurs — it can work for you too.

In 2022, I watched an interview on CNN with the legendary Hollywood film director Francis Ford Coppola, whose vast screen accomplishments include The Godfather, a movie many consider the greatest of all time. So, when Coppola agrees to sit down and discuss his views on storytelling, I drop everythin...

07/16/2025

The “repugnant conclusion” that an Oxford philosopher couldn’t escape

If happiness is an absolute good, would 1 billion slightly happy people be better than 1 million incredibly happy people?

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If human happiness is an absolute good, then would having a billion slightly happy people be better than a million people incredibly happy?

07/16/2025

Murphy's law, example number one:

You think you've had a day where everything that went wrong could? T-Rex has you beat.

07/16/2025

Uncertainty can trigger stress responses that make quick clarity feel rewarding, even when it doesn't align with your goals and values.

When I left my job at Google, I told myself I was taking time to explore. But within weeks, I had jumped into building a startup — not because of a strong alignment, but because sitting in uncertainty felt impossible. So I threw myself at the first socially sanctified opportunity. And for a while,...

07/16/2025

No matter what it is that we discover about reality, the fact that reality itself can be understood remains the most amazing fact of all.

Out there in the Universe, there are plenty of amazing things waiting to be discovered. At every level of reality, there’s a great set of mysteries, puzzles, and facts just waiting for us to uncover them, find them out, and look to put them together in an increasingly accurate, precise, and powerf...

07/15/2025

Proselytizing pharmaceutical interventions has been part of a concerted effort since the seventies. Journalist Robert Whitaker discusses the failures of modern psychiatry.

Robert Whitaker discusses the long-term impact of prescription medication.

07/15/2025

“Human brains are hardwired to take shortcuts when processing information to make decisions, resulting in "systematic thinking errors", or unconscious bias.”

It's important not to underestimate the role cognitive bias can play in undermining these efforts - and to stay vigilant in spotting and mitigating it.

07/15/2025

Petrovite could revolutionize lithium-ion batteries.

A mineral made in a Kamchatka volcano may hold the answer to cheaper batteries, find scientists.

07/15/2025

Are we becoming less social?

A short clip from our interview with Derek Thompson, coauthor of 'Abundance'.