Latest Articles

Latest Articles

The newest essays, interviews, and features from Big Think.

painkillers
Painkillers have nasty side effects, such as organ damage or addiction. Researchers have discovered a new drug that may cause none of these.
Extreme North
After it became clear that the world wasn't 6,000 years old, some proposed that northern peoples had emerged independently from others.
A man studies in a library.
Religion fosters traits that are helpful in a school system that relies on authority figures and rewards people who follow the rules.
James Webb Space Telescope
Once science operations begin for James Webb, we'll never look at the Universe the same way again. Here's what everyone should know.
microdosing psilocybin
Ingesting tiny doses of hallucinogens might not have the outsized benefits that some people claim it does.
A frog swimming.
Scientists looked for ways to trigger the “build whatever normally was here” signal for cells at the site of a wound.
On-demand learning
On-demand learning has become the cornerstone of a modern L&D strategy. Here's why.
A happy girl celebrates Christmas in Finland
Finland reveals that happiness is more about mindset than umbrella drinks and sun-warmed beaches.
gritter
To clear Scotland’s roads in winter, the local traffic agency employs heavy machinery with punny names. Can you grit and bear it?
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal holds nearly one-fourth of Earth's fresh surface water and is the most scientifically interesting lake on our planet.
crossword puzzles
Long before the Wordle mania, there was the crossword puzzle craze. And newspapers around the world condemned them as an “invasive weed” that caused mental illnesses and even murder.
A rocket launching into space.
Nearly 200 orbital launches are scheduled for 2022.
dog domestication
The story of dog domestication is one of converting the wild wolf into man's nicer, smarter, best friend. It might be all wrong.
Hopewell mound
A study proposes that an ancient trading network, called the Hopewell tradition, may have been wiped out by what is known as a cosmic airburst.
With 1550 distinct type Ia supernovae measured across ~10 billion years of cosmic time, the Pantheon+ data set reveals our Universe.
One god stands for order, logic, and reason. The other stands for chaos, madness, and drunkenness. Nietzsche thinks you need both.
A vintage-style illustration of a man in a suit with a mustache and top hat, the top of his head open as colorful smoke swirls out, symbolizing creativity.
3mins
Anyone can learn from this creativity challenge.
John Templeton Foundation
We value human life in a way that assumes we possess a sacred something not found in beings like lambs, turkeys, or mosquitoes.
How much we enjoy a conversation can all be a matter of timing — specifically, how long it takes us to respond to what was just said.
Clouds of Venus
Until recently, we were only able to view Venus's surface with radar or by landing on the planet. It was believed that Venus's surface was entirely obscured by clouds; NASA's Parker Solar Probe proved otherwise.