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“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen”: those famous accolades have followed George Washington—first U.S. President and the beardless half of today’s Presidents’ […]
Most short lists of greatest living artists will have names such as David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, (BigThink.com’s own) Ai Weiwei, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, or Jeff Koons. But who would […]
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the comments to my last post, “Are You A Paster, Presentist, Or Futurian?” Some readers proclaimed their temporal orientation with pride. Others shared insights into […]
With bookstores vanishing, the Pulitzer committee skimping on Pulitzers, and the Amazon dragon twining its bright yellow coils around every publisher on Earth, the book industry finds itself in dire peril. But lo! What […]
Three things stood out to me yesterday amid all the Trayvon Martin related hoopla surrounding the arrest of George Zimmerman on a charge of murder in the second degree. I […]
No journalist worth his or her salt should rejoice in the downfall of another. There are plenty of commentators in particular that I could name who infuriate me, who have […]
Kanye West‘s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy came out too late to be nominated for the Grammy Awards being held tonight, so we’ll have to wait until next year […]
Are tiny homes just a trend for wealthy minimalists or an economic necessity for the growing poor?
Geologically, it might be the most intense Hawaiʻian eruption in over 200 years. But not a single person has died, thanks to science. Hawaii, a chain of islands in the Pacific […]
Philosophers rarely change their minds. These thinkers did — often at social and professional cost.
As we gain new knowledge, our scientific picture of how the Universe works must evolve. This is a feature of the Big Bang, not a bug.
It's the origin of our entire observable Universe, but it's still not the very beginning of everything.
The Universe isn't just expanding; the expansion is accelerating. If different methods yield incompatible results, is dark energy evolving?
Philosophers once prophesied that evolution would lead to minds far greater — and stranger — than our own.
With "Karla's Choice," Nick Harkaway had an impossible mission: maintain his father’s legacy while staying true to his voice.
An atheist's case for why American democracy needs a more Christlike Christianity.
Here in our Universe, time passes at a fixed rate for all observers: one second-per-second. Before the Big Bang, things were very different.
From acclaimed novels to heretical treatises, sometimes a writer just doesn't want to put their name on the cover.
Since the mid-1960s, the CMB has been identified with the Big Bang's leftover glow. Could any alternative explanations still work?
The cat-and-mouse game between China and the world’s semiconductor companies is already having enormous consequences.
Many beloved fantasy adventures take place in worlds that bear a striking resemblance to our own.
Almost everyone asserts that the Big Bang was the beginning of everything, followed by inflation. Has everyone gotten the order wrong?
Many mavericks look to Einstein as a unique figure, whose lone genius revolutionized the Universe. The big problem? It isn't true.
Today, the deepest depths of intergalactic space aren't at absolute zero, but at a chill 2.73 K. How does that temperature change over time?
In all directions, at great distances, the Universe looks younger, more uniform, and less evolved. Does that mean Earth must be the center?
With the right prompts, large language models can produce quality writing — and make us question the limits of human creativity.
The world needs a moral defense of progress based in humanism and agency.
Acclaimed writer Mauro Javier Cárdenas used AI in his latest work to surprising effect.
In the 20th century, many options abounded as to our cosmic origins. Today, only the Big Bang survives, thanks to this critical evidence.
Throughout the world, traditional political organizations are increasingly seen as dysfunctional. But can democracies live without them?