The Latest from Big Think

News of Norman Mailer via his widow’s memoir makes us want to remember all the things he wrote—and said. Like this: "A novel, at its best, really is an imaginary […]

What excites the world-renowned anthropologist about the future of his field?

As globalization continues and the spread of genes between disparate populations increases, our biological features are likely to become more homogeneous. Culture, meanwhile, will continue to evolve at an explosive […]

Living with the Masai people of Tanzania convinced Donald Johanson that art first emerged from bodily decoration—which in turn emerged from the earliest human bonding rituals.

Don Johanson believes we didn’t interbreed with our ancient rivals—we just outcompeted them.

The group of fossils Don Johanson found in 1975 marked a watershed in the study of human origins—and deserves to be revisited today.

It’s true: the world’s most famous skeleton really was named after a Beatles song. And once she was "Lucy," she became more than just a scientific specimen.

The discoverer of the "Lucy" fossil explains her impact on science, and describes what she would look like walking down a New York City street.

Even with modern GPS, scientists must "look and look and look and look" for remains worth digging up.

A conversation with the paleoanthropologist and founding director of the Institute of Human Origins.

Poorly rendered female characters proliferate in crime novels because their authors are lazy, writes novelist Christopher Rice. He lists four clichés that come up again and again.

Michael Lind thinks that changing immigration policy shouldn't be considered as a way to address projected Social Security and Medicare budget deficits.

New protostars that will eventually be 10 times as large as the sun have been discovered in the massive Rosette molecular cloud, 5,000 light years away.

The number of large earthquakes in Southern California and Baja California has increased significantly in 2010, and scientists are thus far unable to explain why.

"There is huge potential for iPad apps (or any other apps for that matter) to become the books of the 21st century." writes Marion Menaker.

How can we make sure that the technology behind digital medical records actually does all the things that advocates believe is possible? Jacob Goldstein writes that we must pay attention to how they're designed.

The commercial future of solar energy may have gotten a big boost. Researchers have solved two major problems that had been hampering the efficiency and affordability of solar cells.

In Eastern Europe, "the open discussion of a tragedy represents a revolutionary change," writes Anne Applebaum of reaction to the plane crash Saturday that killed members of the Polish government.

Studies of the natural waterproof adhesives used by marine creatures like mussels and sea worms may help scientists develop glues that can be used inside the human body.

Scientists studying a neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams syndrome report that children with the disease seem not to form racial stereotypes.