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The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.
"Blood drawn with a simple needle stick can be coaxed into producing stem cells that may have the ability to form any type of tissue in the body." This according to three new studies.
The idea that espionage always relies on cutting-edge technology is a myth, says The Christian Science Monitor, which divulges the five oldest, and still most effective, spy tricks.
The USDA is addressing the American health epidemic: "For the first time ever, our official dietary guidelines might address access to healthy food for poor people," says Salon.
Martha Nussbaum says that when the President and politicians publicly admire the education systems of China and Singapore, they support learning systems at odds with an open society.
New research suggests that reciting maxims to one's self, such as "Everyone makes mistakes," can help the ego recover from guilt associated with acting against one's principles.
Every year, millions of women and children across Southeast Asia are being enslaved and exploited in the multimillion-dollar human trafficking industry. This is one of the largest-scale human rights violations […]
If you are a Star Trek fan, you may long have been fascinated by the idea of a "replicator"; a device where you simply ask for something and the device […]
We need poetry in our lives. It is not a luxury. It is not only for an elite. And it does something that no other art form can do, even […]
Legal scholar Laurence Tribe told Big Think today that he found Elena Kagan’s performance in her Supreme Court confirmation hearings to be "masterful in every respect." Kagan, who was previously the […]
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An Internet addict warns that a large number of people already suffer from social network addiction.
Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland’s prime minister, just got married. That in itself might not be particularly noteworthy, except for one thing—she married a woman. When Johanna was elected in 2009, she […]
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We don't weigh the costs and benefits when we're tempted to text while driving.
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Focusing on the struggles of an individual appeals to our emotions and makes us care. As the numbers of people suffering get bigger, our cognition, calculation, and thoughtfulness are activated—and […]
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From U.S. elections to fishing markets in Kenya to baby names, Internet technology is changing our choices and behavior daily.
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Polling random people can be "incredibly useful as a persuasive attempt to tell people what to do," but not really as a way to find out information.
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More and more people are going to make fairly formal calculations to reward spaces and services that offer privacy as an option.
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The world would be a terrible place if everybody acted rationally all the time.
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Our two great visions of leadership -- the grand visionary and the micro-manager -- no longer make sense.
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Ariely's "IKEA effect": Not only do we like things that we make more than similar things made by others—but we think other people should value them more as well.
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People who are very attractive care more about attractiveness in a mate, while unattractive people want a partner who is kind and has a good sense of humor.