The Latest from Big Think

Countries with top-down power hierarchies get things done quickly—but they just can't last.

Think you detect some grade-A baloney? Here's how you can tell for sure.

If there’s other intelligent life in the universe, is it very different from us, or is it very similar? First we have to know where our species is headed, says NASA's Michelle Thaller.

The human brain is an incredible marvel of evolution. But what's even more incredible is how this supercomputer in your head is able to occasionally make such dumb mistakes.

Is coolness wearing a leather jacket and slicking your hair back? Or is it "a measured rebellion" within established boundaries? One big thinker tells us that being "cool" is sort of like a cult, at least from a sociological standpoint.

Global warming and climate change is already reshaping coastlines due to higher waters. Pretty soon our next big cities will have to be at sea. But how will they make sustainable food?

We talked to a scientist who studies the afterlife and near-death experiences.

Magical thinking has always run deep in America, but in the last 30 years things have begun to escalate. "Nutty fringe ideas" are making their way into the mainstream.

You are not your government. An Iraqi is not theirs. Is it time to retune your perspective?

"You" might not be as real as you think you are. Here's what Buddhism has to say about living ego-free, and how Freud misunderstood it.

How do you go from background extra to leading man? Listen to acting legend Bryan Cranston's pragmatic advice.

The famed author and public intellectual has a bone to pick with the American legal system.

Consider stress junk food for your brain, while meditation is the gym that can repair and reshape you after years of a bad brain diet.

Want to predict someone's next move, or know if someone is telling you a lie? Learn to read body language like a poker pro.

From a low-brow adolescent distraction to a sophisticated art form and educational tool, comic books are finally having their moment in the sun.

If you believe there is intelligent extraterrestrial life out there, have you ever stopped to wonder why?

Some say that great ideas come out of thin air. Neuroscientist David Eagleman posits that perhaps all great ideas are simply built upon old ideas, because thats what fuels the creative brain.

Sometimes the best strategy is to think completely outside the box. Or not have a strategy at all.

History is littered with thousands of things that tried to appeal to everyone and yet failed miserably. If you want true success, try to appeal to a core group.

Getting your vote to where it matters can be harder and more corrupt than it should be. Could blockchain technology build a better system and rebuild people's trust?