Technology & Innovation — May 11, 2012

Invention Out Of Necessity: Warren Littlefield LIVE on Big Think

Warren W. Littlefield embarked on a journey of rediscovery 13 years after he was fired as the President of Entertainment at NBC. With the help of friends like Jerry Seinfeld, Kelsey Grammer, Lisa Kudrow, Anthony Edwards and Debra Messing, he penned Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV, a witty oral history of his time as president.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Three Tips for Innovators: Move Nimbly, Open Wisely and Fail Gracefully

How can small businesses flourish in today’s disruptive age? Bestelling author Vijay Vaitheeswaran has three concise tips that make it easier for upstarts to take on the giants.