History and Society

History and Society

Two Guy Fawkes masks in a pixelated, digital art style with one mask smiling and the other frowning, set against a dark background with faint green patterns.
Hackers are in an arms race with cyber defenders. Will AI tip the balance?
Collaged image of text and a black-and-white scene with a dinosaur and mountainous backdrop. The year "1950" is visible in the bottom left corner.
Dinosaurs and other beasts were once thought to be the “undisputed masters” of Venus.
A map depicting historical migration paths with two human figures positioned in different regions, illustrating ancient travel routes. The map shows various colored regions representing different terrains.
Early modern humans interbred with Neanderthals — and scientists recently pinpointed a key site of contact.
A large telescope observatory under construction at dusk with a visible moon and stars in the sky. Cranes and construction equipment are present around the structure.
Comet A3, also known as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, has sprung to life since 2024's last equinox. Here's how to catch the show for yourself.
Collage of scientific discovery elements including a portrait, butterfly, globe, molecular diagrams, a tree diagram, and a hand holding a test tube against a plain background.
Are breakthroughs really a matter of chance, or are they simply waiting to be uncovered by the right person at the right time?
An open book with a red page showing a black, abstract, circular design on the left and a black-and-white illustration of a person practicing Daoism while riding an ox next to a tree on the right.
"In that conversation with Laozi’s text, I began to see the shape of my own life, the questions that opened seams, the patterns that pooled and shimmered."
Two individuals are holding and inspecting a large white balloon outdoors, with a silhouette of trees visible in the background at dusk.
Make Sunsets is bringing solar geoengineering from sci-fi to reality.
A collage features images of a person smiling, ants, a penicillin bottle, another person's face, and an autonomous car, with the title "The Nightcrawler" at the top against a dark background.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
A man with long hair, a beard, glasses, and a bandana on his head, reminiscent of David Foster Wallace, poses for a portrait against a plain background.
The writer’s tragic death at age 46 has led many to view him as a tortured artist. Here’s why this label is reductive.
A deep-space image captured by the JWST showcases numerous galaxies of various shapes, sizes, and colors scattered across a dark background, potentially setting a new cosmic distance record.
Despite many ultra-distant galaxy candidates found with JWST, we still haven't seen anything from the Universe's first 250 million years.
A black and white portrait of a smiling man in a gray sweater is centered against a vibrant, abstract digital background with blue, purple, and green sections, evoking the essence of humanity striking back.
Mike Bechtel, chief futurist with Deloitte Consulting LLP, joins Big Think for a wide-ranging look at what’s next — and why.
A visual representation of the hole in the ozone over Antarctica, depicted in varying colors to indicate different ozone concentration levels, against a black background.
A scientist’s first-hand account shows the world can tackle a global environmental crisis.
A close-up of gloved hands handling a cryogenic storage device with straw container tubes inside, emitting visible vapor.
How technology could change everything we thought we knew about reproduction.
entanglement across space
It's possible to remove all forms of matter, radiation, and curvature from space. When you do, dark energy still remains. Is this mandatory?
A vivid depiction of a cosmic event showing a jet of orange and red energy extending from a bright source in the vastness of space, surrounded by stars and interstellar matter.
With the discovery of Porphyrion, we've now seen black hole jets spanning 24 million light-years: the scale of the cosmic web.
Open book showing two pages: the left page has a red-toned illustration of early humans, while the right page features a blue-toned photo of an ocean wave, capturing the hyperefficient balance between art and nature.
From hunter-gathers to desk jockeys, we work best when short, intense sessions are followed by lighter fare.
Parker Solar Probe
It would get rid of our hazardous, radioactive, and pollutive waste for good, but physics tells us it's a losing strategy for elimination.
Map of Greece with different surname suffixes highlighted by region, such as -akis, -opoulos, -adis, and -oglou. Inset displays Cyprus with the suffix -ou.
The hidden story behind Greek surnames and how they trace family origins across the country — starting with the name of a would-be U.S. president.
A blurred black-and-white image of an American flag, with the stars and stripes visibly distorted, subtly reflecting political polarization.
"We’re acting more like fans of a football team going to a game than a banker carefully choosing investments."
A stylized digital shield in the center, surrounded by red pixelated designs, with quantum code fragments displayed on the shield. The background has black, swirling patterns, reminiscent of encryption tools at work.
Quantum computing brings significant opportunities — but equally significant cybersecurity risks.
Collage featuring a surfer, hands holding a Rubik's cube, and text "The Nightcrawler." Abstract elements include graphs, car parts, and a cityscape interwoven with life lessons.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Top image: Close-up of hands slicing a piece of raw meat with a knife, emphasizing precision akin to the longevity sought in business immortality. Bottom image: Close-up of two Zildjian cymbals of different sizes on a grid pattern background.
In a world of distractions, several remarkable companies show why focus is the ultimate strategy for endurance.
Two breathtaking pictures of a galaxy and a star taken by the Hubble telescope, highlighting the beauty and cosmic magnitude that fuels the Hubble tension.
In the expanding Universe, different ways of measuring its rate give incompatible answers. Nobel Laureate Adam Riess explains what it means.
The image shows a bright spot labeled "JADES-GS-z13-1-LA," seemingly an impossible light captured by the JWST, surrounded by measurement markers, including a scale bar for 1 kpc and 0.28 arcsec. Filters and colors are listed at the bottom.
The Lyman-α emission line has never been seen earlier than 550 million years after the Big Bang. So why does JADES-GS-z13-1-LA have one?
Film strip collage of abstract images—including faces with X marks, colorful patterns, and nature elements—evokes the vibrant allure of "Crazy Rich Asians.
"No matter how long you’ve been doing a job or how good people say you are, you need to care as if you’ve never done it before."
uap ufo UAPs UFOs
Although a great many unidentified sights have been seen in the skies, none have conclusively demonstrated the presence of aliens. So far.
A world map displays global climate zones with colors representing varying levels of temperature and precipitation: green for temperate, yellow for arid, orange and red for hotter regions, and blue for wet zones.
The salinity of the oceans is not just a matter of taste. Saltier water behaves differently, too.