Philosophy

Philosophy

entanglement across space
If all massive objects emit Hawking radiation, not just black holes alone, then everything is unstable, even the Universe. Can that be true?
A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a goatee, wearing a blue jacket over a light shirt, stands in front of a beige, textured background.
The "Doctor Strange" director says mystery shifts your worldview — "not in a metaphorical sense, but in a deeply experiential one."
An old black and white photo showing a man smoking a cigarette.
If you feel like you're missing out on something bigger, you might be feeling saṃvega.
A man sits with his head resting on his hand, surrounded by crossed-out words like "nonsense," "babble," and "rubbish" in red text.
A thesaurus isn’t for finding fancy words; it’s a resource to help you keep your rhythm.
Silhouette of a person with a backpack looking at a phone or book, filled with a galaxy pattern, on a light, swirling background.
In the tears and laughter of a single life, you find the grief and joy of humanity.
A digital illustration of a brain, composed of circuit-like lines, appears against a black background filled with white dots resembling stars.
"Nobody expects a computer simulation of a hurricane to generate real wind and real rain," writes neuroscientist Anil Seth.
Abstract illustration of a figure reaching for a yellow sphere on the left, with colored overlapping circles and concentric arcs—evoking themes of physics and consciousness—set against a vibrant multicolored gradient background.
Many, from neuroscientists to philosophers to anesthesiologists, have claimed to understand consciousness. Do physicists? Does anyone?
David Perell, in a short-sleeve white shirt, sits in front of a blurred background with plants, looking slightly to the side.
You no longer need an army of followers to stand out as a writer — “one great piece is all it takes,” says Perell.
A man with a beard and short hair smiles at the camera; the background features abstract green, purple, and black-and-white graphic patterns—capturing a confident presence that suggests he may share valuable leadership advice.
The cofounder and CEO of red-hot billing platform Metronome unpacks his leadership journey.
tolkien fantasy
According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as "sub-creation." And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.
dark energy accelerated expansion
The fact that our Universe's expansion is accelerating implies that dark energy exists. But could it be even weirder than we've imagined?
Book cover of "The Never Ending Empire" by Aldo Cazzullo, featuring gold text on a red background with an eagle, SPQR emblem, and nods to the Roman Empire’s influence on British culture. Subtext: The Infinite Impact of Ancient Rome.
From medieval myths to Shakespeare's plays and modern cinema, British culture kept the Roman Empire alive long after its fall.
A graphic featuring the text "The Nightcrawler," a black-and-white photo of a lighthouse amid waves that outlast the storm, and a green-tinted portrait of a man.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Aerial view of winding rivers and wetlands showcases lush green vegetation and tan sediment-laden water converging with a larger body of water.
The award-winning nature writer, Robert Macfarlane, talks with Big Think about how to reacquaint ourselves with the rivers in our lives.
Map showing a pink route line from Lagos, Nigeria to Singapore, crossing Europe and Asia. Lagos and Singapore are labeled with bold text and marked with colored dots.
Can you travel by rail from Portugal all the way to Singapore? In theory, yes. In practice? Not so much.
A colorful abstract painting is centered over a black-and-white collage of old newspaper clippings featuring portraits and articles.
Reading obituaries can boost creativity by exposing you to distant ideas, fueling the associations that lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
Man in a dark shirt smiling against a purple background with black scribbles and a white rectangle, reminiscent of "The Year of Living Biblically," embracing the chaos with serene humor.
A.J. Jacobs looks back at what he learned about religion, himself, and modern American culture during “The Year of Living Biblically.”
A collage features a masked life-saver in surgical attire, a palm tree scene, and bold text reading "The Night Crawler" against a geometric background.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
A green planet with rings is shown against a starry black background, with shadowy humanoid figures visible inside the planet’s outline.
Long before the search for biosignatures, scientists imagined a cosmos teeming with intelligent life.
A man in a suit holds up a Hurricane Dorian forecast map in an office, tracing the storm’s projected path and intensity over several southeastern U.S. states and the Bahamas—echoing the urgent clarity of a 1938 science manifesto defending democracy.
As democracy recedes and fascism rises in the USA and around the world in 2025, history provides a lesson in how science can fight fascism.
A man wearing a beanie and dark clothing sits with one arm resting on his knee, inside a blue rectangular frame on a light background with abstract lines, embodying the cool, thoughtful vibe of King Willonius.
The comedian and musician behind the viral hit “BBL Drizzy” shares the books that shaped his thinking and approach to art.
Illustration of a thumbs up and thumbs down, resembling a like button and dislike button, on a black background, both partially covered with red scribble marks.
Will platforms continue to offer the like button as an all-purpose tool — or will each of the button’s various functions exist in new forms?
A vintage-style illustration of a celestial scene, echoing science fiction by scientists, features a textured black planet and a whimsical moon with an eye, all enclosed in a pale green border against a starry background.
What happens when scientists "write what they know"? Some amazing science fiction stories.
Black and white photo of a young woman resting her chin on her hand, set against a green background with circular and brain patterns.
Arendt thought 20th-century philosophy had become too passive and abstract. She called for "active thinking" that prepares us to live in the real world.
A collage with “The Nightcrawler” text, a grayscale photo of a tractor in a field, and a blue-tinted portrait of a man in a suit, layered on blue backgrounds with chart graphics that hint at long-term investing trends.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
You don't need to be a scientist or a philosopher for facts, reality, and the truth to matter. The alternative is simply known as bullshit.
Book cover for "More Everything Forever" by Adam Becker, featuring a cosmic background with vertical blue streaks and white text, blending AI, space, humanity’s future, and echoes of Star Trek’s vision of exploration.
As we shape our future we should ask: Which interpretations of classic sci-fi fables hold sway with today’s powerful tech leaders?