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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
"The west still rules—but this will change in the coming decades; indeed, geography may cease to matter." Ian Morris says the rate of global change is accelerating.
"The differences between Twitter and Facebook mirror a longstanding debate about how the human brain processes other people." The Frontal Cortex explains.
From high-speed rail and congestion pricing to privatization, Americans debate the best ways to invest in infrastructure and stimulate economic activity.
As Foreign Affairs, the sine qua non of policy journals, changes editorial hands, outgoing Editor Jim Hoge has given the world a great gift: a selection of suggestions for What […]
Yesterday's post ended by suggesting that a single-minded obsession with population actually distracts people from the difficult realities of the quest for sustainability in this century. Lest this sound like […]
In another nod to biomimicry as a potent source of design and engineering innovation, researchers at Princeton University have developed a new sensor that can change the way drugs and […]
The word "occult" is loaded with all sorts of associations. To some it conjures images of devil worship and witchcraft; to others it is just a concoction of superstition and […]
The War of the Worlds dramatization that aired October 30, 1938 has been called “the most famous radio show of all time.”
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Symbols like the pentagram, the eye in the pyramid, and astrological symbols have a certain magnetic power. Rapper Jay-Z uses these images not because he believes in them, but because […]
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The author gives a brief history of the Ouija Board, the wildly popular artifact that came out of the spiritualist movement and captivated America for a century. It is now […]
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People need modern doorways to explore universal religious and ethical ideas, and alternative spiritualities like the occultism and new ageism do just that, says the author.
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Rather than discrediting the occult, recent scientific discoveries in quantum physics seem to reaffirm a place for mystical ideas. But the author cautions both sides not to jump to hasty […]
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Historical records suggest that President Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd may have held two séances to contact their dead son Willie. But even if these stories are not true, […]
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The author gives a history of occultism’s influence on American politics, explaining its deep-seated ties to liberalism and feminism.
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America has always been a magnet for those fleeing religious persecution, particularly those displaced by the Thirty Years War and the backlash against the religious liberalism of the Renaissance.
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Some people think it’s something diabolical; others think it’s a mélange of superstition and nonsense. In truth, it’s neither of these things.
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Aside from the immediate need to protect victims and stabilize society, it is also necessary to look down the road toward bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice.
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In the Congo, widespread rape has created conditions for women where there is "no joy, no love, no concept of what we would think was a dignified life."
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In the Democratic Republic of Congo sexual violence against women runs rampant, leaving the civil population very exposed and under constant threat in and around mining towns.