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Ideas that inspire a life well-lived
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional?
Life’s biggest questions rarely have simple answers. That is precisely why they continue to occupy the world’s most thoughtful minds. The Well is a place to engage those questions, drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and the humanities.
Created by the John Templeton Foundation in partnership with Big Think, The Well brings together ideas that inspire deeper understanding and a more considered approach to living.
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The Templeton Foundation supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder.
Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotion
If you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at a concert, when the audience’s voice and the musician’s instruments align, you have felt awe. And, according to professor Dacher Keltner, who has spent his life studying it, it’s one of humankind’s most unifying traits:
"Groupthink" gets a bad rap. In reality, we need groups to focus our thinking and to build on the ideas of others.
John Templeton Foundation
4mins
Ancient societies revered dreams. Modern science tells us why.
5mins
Geniuses and prodigies are captivating. But generalists rule the world.
John Templeton Foundation
Neuroscience is beginning to provide clues about the emergence of human consciousness.
John Templeton Foundation
7mins
This network physicist is mapping the world's most significant data to create the most beautiful visualizations of information we have ever seen.
John Templeton Foundation
6mins
Aimless wandering is essential for understanding yourself. Here’s why.
Man does not live by measurement alone.
John Templeton Foundation
4mins
Science has opened so many doors to humanity’s understanding of the world. Scientism shuts them. Here’s how to tell the difference.
4mins
Forget AI. Gene editing is still our most powerful — and dangerous — technology.
Thinking about the problem of meaning is unsettling because it introduces us to a list of solutions that all feel a bit insane.
John Templeton Foundation
6mins
From DMT elves, to God, to the figures in our dreams — why are humans so obsessed with the supernatural?
5mins
Humans, like animals, are driven by instincts. But we also have wants. Here’s what that means for our lives.
How humans came to feel comfortable among strangers, like those in a café, is an under-explored mystery.
John Templeton Foundation
6mins
This scientist made an algorithm to predict which artists succeed — all without even looking at their art.
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How World War II codebreaker Alan Turing invented modern AI.
The acceptance of our cosmic loneliness and the rarity of our planet is a wakeup call.
John Templeton Foundation
4mins
People say we are better off than ever. Are they right?
8mins
How America became a fragile nation — and how it can get its resilience back.
Adolescents actively shape the transformation of religion and become the bearers of new religious patterns, worldviews, and values.
John Templeton Foundation
6mins
This is not your average dream interpreter. Nightmares, as explained by a neuroscientist.