Search Results

Remembering Frank Drake, who transformed the search for alien life & extraterrestrial intelligence into a full-fledged scientific endeavor.

Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod saved countless lives, but some religious leaders denounced his invention.

“I watched closely for the sun or stars to appear, to correct my chronometer, on the accuracy of which our lives and the success of the journey would depend.”

Before Herbert came along and wrote Dune, few if any sci-fi stories were set in fully realized universes.

Some neurology experiments — such as growing miniature human brains and reanimating the brains of dead pigs — are getting weird. It's time to discuss ethics.

Smallpox was nothing new in 1721.

Think of the nicest person you know. The person who would fit into any group configuration, who no one can dislike, or who makes a room warmer and happier just […]

It was a concept borrowed from the Iroquois, and one that America never quite mastered.

Cybercriminals have a wide variety of motivations for their attacks, and, correspondingly, there are a wide variety of targets. While few of us will find ourselves in positions where we […]

How do great people get so much done? If you're Ben Franklin, you lay out a detailed schedule.

Accomplishments? Yes, Aretha Franklin had them.

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Oxford historian Peter Frankopan on two millennia of the flow of germs, ideas, commerce, and more from East to West and vice versa.

And England almost burned themselves down as a result. “When Benjamin Franklin inveted the lightning rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it […]

Has technology advanced enough that we could stitch together body parts and reanimate the dead? Bill Nye one-ups that old-school Frankenstein vision with newer (and cooler) scientific possibilities.

Having studied the ancient philosophers and their ideas of the virtues required to be an ideal man, Benjamin Franklin created his own list of thirteen virtues.

Bill Nye once thought of GMO foods as ethically hazardous, but with thorough industry regulations and growing food pressures, he's come to embrace the genetic mutants on our plates.

Rosalind Franklin is most known for her role in first capturing the blueprint for life. Her efforts provided the evidence to deduce the double helix structure of DNA.

Words of wisdom from the 32nd president of the United States: "More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars." FDR's words are inspiring, but are they feasible?

As religiosity plays a major role in American society, Barney Frank advises other atheist politicians not to draw too much attention to the word "atheist" because it is too often perceived as a repudiation of religion (and, therefore, American values).

"There is an urge and rage in people to destroy, to kill, to murder, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged; everything that has been built up, cultivated and grown, will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again."

In case you missed it from earlier this week, retired U.S. Congressman Barney Frank recently visited Big Think to discuss the rhetorical power of humor.

The retired Massachusetts congressman shares his philosophy on the therapeutic and polemic power of humor. Ridicule, says Frank, was one of his greatest weapons in Congress.

Ridicule, says Frank, was one of his greatest weapons in Congress. The retired Massachusetts congressman shares how humor can help win friends and arguments.

Architect Frank Gehry’s raised many controversial buildings over the years, but few as controversial as the middle finger he recently raised during a press conference in Spain. During a press […]

The retired congressman discusses his long history as a supporter of marijuana legalization.

Former US House Representative Barney Frank argues that the ignorance underlying resistance to same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization is similar. In both cases, he says, reality will overcome prejudice and […]

Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank discusses why we need regulations in place for future technology. This video is a highlight of Frank’s presentation at Exponential Finance 2014, presented by Singularity […]

"Early in life, I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasions to change." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Wright wanted to give people the option to escape the city at a moment's notice, but today there is no escape, at least there is no outside to escape to. But what about escaping to the inside?

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank