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History and Society
Is the Universe finite or infinite? Does it go on forever or loop back on itself? Here's what would happen if you traveled forever.
Japanese thought can’t be easily characterized by just a few books — but this essential guide is a great place to start.
"Hardcore History" host Dan Carlin recently spoke with Big Think about the history of humanity's drive to create — and whether or not we can control it.
Step back from the AI maelstrom and explore Lem’s "Summa Technologiae" for a detached look at technology’s role in human evolution.
The majority of the matter in our Universe isn't made of any of the particles in the Standard Model. Could the axion save the day?
This map samples some of the digits that make up the DDC system, invented by the brilliant but flawed Melvil Dewey.
The Universe is 13.8 billion years old, going back to the hot Big Bang. But was that truly the beginning, and is that truly its age?
The "first cause" problem may forever remain unsolved, as it doesn’t fit with the way we do science.
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Why most billionaires aren’t geniuses and most geniuses aren’t billionaires, explained by political scientist Brian Klaas.
Although human beings arrived on Earth just ~300,000 years ago, we've transformed the entire planet completely. Here's how we did it.
Well-preserved ancient plants and other finds at the Clarkia fossil beds hint at what kind of evidence any Martian life may have left behind.
From before the Big Bang to Voyager 1, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a whiz-bang tour of the Universe's evolution.
Despite billions of years of life on Earth, humans first arose only ~300,000 years ago. It took all that time to make our arrival possible.
Some physicists are besot with the multiverse, but if we can't detect these other universes, how seriously should we take them?
Although mammals may be the dominant form of life today, we're relative newcomers on planet Earth. Here's our place in natural history.
On the morning of April 20, 1961, all conditions were "go" for an attempt at free flight. A man was on standby with a fire extinguisher. Just in case.
In the infant Universe, particle physics reigned supreme.
For billions of years on Earth, life was limited to simple unicellular, non-differentiated organisms. In a mere flash, that changed forever.
Known as the Great Oxygenation Event, Earth froze over as oxygen accumulated in our atmosphere, nearly driving all life extinct.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been a controversial diagnosis since it was first described, back in the 1940s.
Plagues, war, and genocide were literally frozen in time.
Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.
Volcanologists warn that magma-filled vents evolve over time, leading to an underestimation of the number that might erupt — especially those capable of the biggest explosions
Autocrats like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin fear democracy, yet go to great lengths to present themselves as democratic leaders.
Even if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still use the solar eclipse to measure how long it takes the Moon to orbit Earth.
Joseph Campbell argued that nearly every myth can be boiled down to a hero’s journey. Was he right?
“Chicago May” was a classic swindler who conned her way around the world in the early twentieth century. She was also a sign of hard times.
A rift in thinking about who should control powerful new technologies sent the brothers on diverging paths. For one, the story ended with a mission to bring science to the public.
As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.
A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.