The Latest from Big Think

Why are video gamers so obsessed? Because playing gives people a sense of purpose, and winning them makes them feel heroic. "There’s this kind of transfer of our confidence, of our creativity, of our ambition" from game-playing "to our real lives" says game designer Jane McGonigal. And there are organizational benefits as well: studies have shown that we’re more likely to cooperate with someone in our real lives after we’ve played a social game with them that involves a cooperative mission. In this lesson from Big Think+, McGonigal walks you through the ways in which gaming can lead to positive outcomes in the workplace. By the end of it, you may just want to integrate gaming into your break space design or your next corporate retreat!

Ever since he came out to the public in February 2007, former NBA player John Amaechi says he has been "that big gay guy." But there is much more to the 6'10" former center than that. He is one of the very few NBA players with a Ph.D.—after eight years in the big leagues, he returned to academics to pursue a degree in psychology. In this lesson from Big Think+, he shares with you the plan he created as a child to help him accomplish his dreams. The most important step, he says, is knowing yourself and getting clear about your end goal.

Biographer Walter Isaacson talks British mathematician Alan Turing, the inventor of the Turing Test and one of the subjects of Isaacson's newest book, "The Innovators."

The renowned philosopher discusses his new book on events, detailing how they retroactively create their causes and why they explain the 21st century fear of falling in love.

Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser serves as executive producer for the new documentary "Food Chains." In this video, he discusses the injustices of the American food industry.

In this lesson, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran explains why the best time to expand your business is when economic times are tough. It's the perfect moment, she says, to lower overhead and payroll costs.

Barbara Corcoran, one of the investors on ABC’s “Shark Tank” show, hears tons of pitches from eager, ambitious entrepreneurs every season. But which ones are strong enough to earn her backing? In this lesson for small business owners looking to grow, Corcoran explains how to prepare a convincing pitch for potential investors -- and which red flags to avoid.

Barbara Corcoran learned early the value of building a powerful brand. In this lesson she teaches you shortcuts for standing out amidst the noise in your industry.

While other sports were slow to integrate both on and off the field, David Stern and the NBA led the way in hiring African-American head coaches and general managers.

In this Masterclass series, leadership consultant Jennifer Brown offers concrete strategies for turning diverse talent networks into business innovation pipelines. This two-minute excerpt from Lesson 1 previews Brown's diversity training overview for leadership and management.

Why aren't more women attaining senior leadership positions across corporate America? In this lesson excerpt, Jody Greenstone Miller explains why the time commitment traditionally required to attain top level positions prevents many women (and some men) from bringing their talents to the workforce. The full clip, available on Big Think+, teaches you how to create new paths to leadership by rethinking time so that the faces and values at the top of your organization more accurately reflect the diversity of the available talent pool.

Groups of people make more effective decisions when diverse viewpoints are brought to the table. Learn the psychology of non-conformity and how it applies to your team in this lesson excerpt from economist Tim Harford. The full lesson is available on Big Think+.

Geena Rocero is a transgender model and advocate who founded the transgender awareness campaign Gender Proud. In this lesson excerpt, she introduces transgender identity and explores the need for sensitivity training in the workplace. The full lesson, available on Big Think+, offers strategies for including and supporting the transgender, gender nonconforming, and transitioning employees within your work community.

The Pulitzer-winning biologist draws from our own knowledge of evolution and Darwinian theory to posit the physical and mental characteristics of extraterrestrial life.

The ABC News Correspondent discusses the myth of multitasking. "We literally neurologically cannot do more than one thing at a time," says Harris.

Filmmaker Sanjay Rawal discusses Food Chains, his new documentary investigating the supermarket industry and the plight of farm workers in the United States.

A.J. Edwards is the director of the new film The Better Angels, which highlights the formative years of Abraham Lincoln. In this Big Think interview, Edwards explains his decision to shoot the film in black and white.

While many problems around the world require public sector intervention, the private sector and its unique advantages have been underutilized in the worldwide effort to reduce poverty, promote education, deliver healthcare, and serve the world's poor. Julie Sunderland, the Director of Program Related Investments for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, explains how the Foundation works to include and incentivize the private sector in order to accomplish these ambitious goals.

Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo and one of the inventors of CAPTCHA, explains how reCAPTCHA harnesses the abilities of both humans and computers in order to accomplish tasks such as the digitization of old books.

A breakthrough in battery technology would spark a wave of exciting tech innovations.