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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
Researchers from the American Chemical Society finally tackle what makes New York City's bagels taste so good — it's all about mixing the right chemical compounds.
How tides, gravity and lava give Io the youngest surface in the Solar System. “The crust, being so thin, must bend, if, over wide areas, it becomes loaded with glacial […]
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Want to build a stronger brand? The first thing you need to do is win over your customers. Embrace consumer empathy now and be rewarded later.
In a bid to preserve records of atmospheric activity, climate scientists are looking to transport ice from the planet's mountainous regions, such as the Alps, all the way to Antarctica.
Researchers suggest you may have dropped your old phone on purpose, just so you could justify getting the latest one.
Most people seem to believe MSG is bad for you. In fact, it is far more likely to be good for you.
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"The United States does not know what it stands for," explains political scientist Ian Bremmer, author of a new book about the American imperative to define foreign policy values.
New robot seeks to bring convenience to your life, and can master new tasks on the fly.
Journalists often hype the most alarming aspects of the news. In the process, they sometimes create and reinforce common fears that far exceed the actual danger.
Alas science does not operate outside the human realm, but as an extension of our natural capabilities — the good as well as the bad ones.
"I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals."
"We need to go back to the discovery, to posing a question, to having a hypothesis and having kids know that they can discover the answers and can peel away a layer."
Researchers delve into Facebook, looking into what our status updates say about our personalities.
Currently, scientists and physicians have a limited understanding of the complex issue of pain and how to treat it. Pain or numbness is perceived by the brain using signals sent by the peripheral nervous system and it is hard to determine how a person’s nervous-system cells react and respond to stimuli. While it is relatively easy to collect a blood or a skin sample or even a tissue biopsy, it is not possible to sample portions of a patient’s neural system. A recent breakthrough finds a way around this problem.
How many cumulative hours have you wasted waiting for your chat partner to respond to you? A new program created by an MIT Ph.D. student offers an opportunity to make your instant message intermissions as productive as possible.
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No, Stephen J. Dubner doesn't actually endorse bank robbery. What he does endorse is amusing deconstructions of cultural acts or items — robbing banks, for instance — and analyzing data to stumble upon intriguing observations.
Birds can differentiate empty peanut shells from full ones — without even cracking them open.
Mavens are defined as experts in their field, and identifying them can help businesses innovate and grow. So, researchers have developed a test to figure out whether someone is a maven.
A galaxy cluster that’s been actively devouring matter for hundreds of millions of years blows all the records away. “The world exploded into billions of atoms, and when it rearranged […]