Technology & Innovation — November 22, 2011

Start-up Depression: the Syndrome & the Stigma

The emotional rollercoaster ride that lies behind they hype of being a high tech start-up founder is seldom talked about. Success, not sadness, sells, but it’s not the whole story.

bigthinkeditor

What’s the Latest Development?

A discussion about depression in the technology and start-up community has been sparked by the death–seemingly by suicide–of a brilliant young founder. Tired of having to hype up their ‘success’ all the time, some entrepreneurs are speaking out about the rollercoaster they have to ride and extreme stress inherent in their work, and not just in their failures.

What’s the Big Idea?

One 25 year-old start-up founder says he’d be surprised to encounter a peer who “hadn’t been through depression.” As one angel investor says, those who take the risk to start a company are already rebelling against the easy path. A venture capitalist says a not too uncommon scenario is raising $1.5m but feeling terrified and worried everyone will discover you have no clue what you’re going to do.

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.

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