It was a fact that on Planet Xeron 12, the gods ate small children. It wasn’t that these celestial highness’s gained extraordinary powers or insights from the experience--small people simply tasted good. Naja Krait wasn’t about to lose her only child to the greedy, Elysian mouths.   

However many drafts and wrong turns it takes, says author Nathan Englander, total commitment to the writing process always results in a story the writer can live with.

Happy International Day of You, women of the world. Unfortunately it remains internationally respectable to argue that science has shown that men are inherently better at math and scientific pursuits […]

What is the Big Idea? Thanks to the power of social media, a new 29 minute video aimed at capturing an international criminal has been viewed more than 30 million […]

The Big Think, Short Fiction contest was born out of our desire to find new ways of connecting with readers and foregrounding their voices on the site. Today we're proud to publish the three winning entries, selected by author Nathan Englander. 

The United States is entering uncharted waters as a superpower, as it slowly climbs out of a crippling recession and faces an electoral showdown this fall between cautious globalism and […]

There are few people I disagree with more than Sarah Palin, but I'm surprised that the famed Correspondents' Dinner this year will feature the comedian Louis C.K., who’s said some […]

When author Nathan Englander visited Big Think, I had one major question for him, which I asked in about six different ways. How, I wondered, do you dare to embark […]

Larry Summers on the Rise of China and India

Mitt Romney is looking more and more like the inevitable Republican nominee. Romney won 6 of the 10 Super Tuesday states, including the crucial state of Ohio. He won the […]

A small non-profit called Invisible Children has created a huge stir over a highly-produced half-hour video which garnered millions of views in just hours. Did you see it? What do you think? 

In the annals of heroic human defenses against sharks, Polish kite surfer Jan Lisewski might just take the cake. Lisewski is the first person to kite surf across the Baltic Sea, a […]

The 2012 Skyscraper Competition sponsored by the architecture journal eVolo inspired some amazing designs that predict the planet's future population and geographical changes. 

When Tim Cook introduced Apple's new iPad, spoke of the post-PC revolution. What does that world look like? Will we recognize it when it arrives? Should you stop buying computers? 

Nothing haunts like a skeleton in the closet. When art museums and cultural institutions talk about their treasures, there are always a few items they’d rather keep out of the […]

What's the Big Idea? Happy International Women's Day! This is the first of many events throughout the month which focus on celebrating the historic achievements of women around the world, […]

What's the Big Idea? Peggielene Bartels was an administrative assistant in Washington D.C. when she got a phone call informing her she’d been elected King of Otuam, the Ghanian fishing […]

Peggilene Bartels on helping people.

Using standard chip making parts, IBM has created a super-fast optical processing chip by drilling a series of holes through the back which allow light to pass into the core of the chip. 

The role of women is absolutely central to financial stability and household stability.