"Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation, in turn, becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on to the future."

Sam Harris is embarrassed by the word "spirituality" because of its past misuse as a religious term. Despite its spooky etymology though, he argues that there's no better word in the English language to describe one's personal and intimate exploration of human consciousness.

In case you missed it from earlier this week, retired NBA Commissioner David Stern visited Big Think to discuss the NBA's legacy of diversity.

In case you missed it from earlier this week, retired U.S. Congressman Barney Frank recently visited Big Think to discuss the rhetorical power of humor.

According to President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the reason his nation recovered so swiftly from the financial crisis is because the democratic will of the people was prioritized over the financial interests of the markets.

Word of wisdom from the famed British conductor: "A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

"To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed."