Membership

Decision-making department

Does your school organization make decisions because they sound good or because internal analysis shows they’re the right decisions to make? In other words, what department do your decisions fall […]

by

Scott McLeod

February 16, 2011

Get the Big Think newsletter on Substack

Does your school organization make decisions because they sound good or because internal analysis shows they’re the right decisions to make? In other words, what department do your decisions fall under? Marketing or R & D?

Associate Professor of Educational Administration, Iowa State University

Monthly Issue April 2026

The Energy Transition

In this monthly issue, we examine how our understanding of energy — and how we source and use it — is evolving.

1 video 11 articles

Two hands surround a glowing, illustrated sun with a human face, against a green background with radiating lines.

Featured Classes

A grid background with colorful arrows pointing in various directions, including straight, curved, and turning paths.

Making Complex Decisions

Lawrence Summers

Former Director, White House United States National Economic Council

A man with short curly hair, wearing a light blue shirt and a grey vest, smiles in front of a plain light background.

Unlock the Magic of Language to Increase Your Impact

Marketing Professor at the Wharton School

Related Content

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: What’s the biggest misconception in astronomy?

Many facts are well-known to professionals, but are unappreciated or even rejected outright by the public. "How stars work" takes the cake.

by Ethan Siegel

A colorful nebula with a bright center and symmetrical, wing-like clouds of gas and dust extends outward in space, as seen in a JWST reveal that uncovers stars and galaxies in the universe beyond.

Starts With A Bang

The idea of “theories of everything” may be fundamentally wrong

For decades, theorists have been cooking up "theories of everything" to explain our Universe. Are all of them completely off-track?

by Ethan Siegel

universe bulk volume brane dimension

Mini Philosophy

Philip Pullman: The thing every writer needs to overcome

"I will not reason and compare: my business is to create."

by Jonny Thomson

A photo of a woman with her face blanked out is taped to a background filled with handwritten writing. She wears a pink top and gold hoop earring, her hand resting near her collarbone.

The Strait of Hormuz is today’s energy chokepoint. China is tomorrow’s.

As the global economy moves beyond oil, the strategic importance of the world’s most critical hydrocarbon chokepoint is likely to decline rapidly.

by Frank Jacobs

World map showing global oil reserves, rare earth elements deposits (yellow dots), and major shipping routes and chokepoints, with oil reserves highlighted by pink circles of varying sizes.

Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.

© Copyright 2007-2026 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK PLUS, SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.