The Latest from Big Think

The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.

“Consciousness is fundamental. It's a fundamental property of the world that we inhabit, a fundamental property of the universe.”

“The messy reality of it is that all of these very smart people, including Isaac Newton, were talking to other people.”

“When you start to accept that you have profound influence on the world, but very limited control, you start to see the world differently.”

“In most instances, ‘good enough’ is good enough.” A time management expert, a cognitive scientist, and a psychologist share their takes on productivity, perfectionism, and the harm of hustle culture.

“Over the last 10 or 15 years, scientists have really started to understand the fundamental underlying biology of the aging process. And they broke this down into 12 hallmarks of aging.”

“Everyone's image of [Ancient Rome] is based on modern movies. In some ways, I think those were rather impressive, but they got some things terribly wrong.”

If you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at a concert, when the audience’s voice and the musician’s instruments align, you have felt awe. And, according to professor Dacher Keltner, who has spent his life studying it, it’s one of humankind’s most unifying traits:

“There would be something very, very empty and meaningless about [a] sort of life with no problems.”

From neuroscience to philosophy, experts reveal why compassion may be the most important human skill we have.

“The idea is that we move from a place of wanting the world to conform to what we like [towards] not needing other people to be different from who they are.”

“Let me walk you through the biggest traps that you should be aware of that are a danger to your financial wellbeing.”

Philosophy asks if free will is real. Neuroscience reveals why the answer is more complicated than we expected.

"We're living in an extraordinary moment in history. We are at a moment here in 2025 where we have world historic game-changing technologies now starting to scale."

If the people controlling AI are biased, the output will also be. Free speech scholar Jacob Mchangama makes the case for completely open-source AI.

“Deep down the natural endpoint of this whole goal of looking for planets is to answer the question: are we alone?”

“No matter what their gods were, what they did for a living, what they wore, the songs they sang, everything varies except love, and everybody loves.”

“The universe clicks along in perfect accord with the laws of physics forever.”

Daily habits can help you thrive or quietly turn into addictions. The difference is how your brain handles cues, routines, and rewards. Three experts explain how to work with your wiring instead of against it.

Is gratitude to a deity different from gratitude to other people? Psychology and neuroscience professor Sarah Schnitker explains.