The Well

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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.

in partnership with

The Templeton Foundation supports interdisciplinary research and catalyzes conversations that inspire awe and wonder.

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Ancient DNA just proved that ‘pure genetics’ don’t exist
The oldest bones in Britain share almost no DNA with anyone alive today. Here’s what that tells us about human history, genetics, and ethnic “homelands."

by David Reich

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Everything Articles Videos
A vintage-style illustration of a man in a suit with a mustache and top hat, the top of his head open as colorful smoke swirls out, symbolizing creativity.
3mins
The Well
How Picasso and Beethoven hacked creativity
Anyone can learn from this creativity challenge.
Anthony Brandt
John Templeton Foundation
Geometric abstract design featuring overlapping white wireframe curves forming a symmetrical star shape on a black background, evoking the cosmic elegance of the big bang.
The Well
The great Big Bang misconception
Thanks to time-traveling telescopes, we can see more about the Big Bang.
Michelle Thaller
John Templeton Foundation
A man in a suit rides a comet with a face through a star-filled night sky, reflecting on lessons learned from space travel; a top hat floats nearby as the moon smiles in the background.
The Well
How looking at 4 billion years of Earth’s history changes you
Astronaut Chris Hadfield shares how living in space has bettered his life on Earth.
Chris Hadfield
John Templeton Foundation
A person stands in front of a large face, peering into an oversized monocle held by a giant hand, as if searching for traces of free will within the magnified gaze.
5mins
The Well
Is free will an illusion?
Philosophers have been making the claim that free will is an illusion for hundreds of years. Dr. Uri Maoz shares what modern neuroscience has to say about it.
Dr. Uri Maoz
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration of a human brain, drawn with black ink lines on a solid orange background, symbolizing intellectual life.
5mins
The Well
How to live an intellectual life
According to Zena Hitz, the idea of the intellectual has become distorted. She believes “the real thing is something more extraordinary but also more available to us.”
Zena Hitz
John Templeton Foundation
Bronze sculpture of a seated man resting his chin on one hand, appearing deep in thought and embodying genius traits, against a plain background.
2mins
The Well
The common character trait of geniuses
James Gleick, the author of biographies of Isaac Newton and Richard Feynman, discusses what they and other geniuses have in common.
James Gleick
John Templeton Foundation
Learn from the world’s biggest thinkers.
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