Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Welcome to The Well, a publication by the John Templeton Foundation and Big Think.
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Featured Interviews
“Throughout time, we earthlings have all sort of come to the same points in the year, and the same points in life to mark…
Disparate cultures, who had no way of communicating, found the same moments to create ceremonies and traditions around. Birth, coming of age, death- and also the solstices and equinoxes. So many of our rituals and traditions are about processing change and coming to terms with who we are on this little, particular planet.”
Author
Bessel van der Kolk is a psychiatrist noted for his research in the area of post-traumatic stress since the 1970s. His work focuses on the interaction of attachment, neurobiology, and[…]
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Julia Galef is a New York-based writer and public speaker specializing in science, rationality, and design. She serves on the board of directors of the New York City Skeptics, co-hosts[…]
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Ari Wallach is an applied futurist and Executive Director of Longpath Labs. He is the author of Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs by HarperCollins and the creator[…]
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Featured Article
From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.
“How we talk about society’s problems matters.
Invoking the notion of ‘tribalism’ for the world’s current problems is misleading at best and insulting at worst.”
Anthropologist
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All Stories
We evolved to be kind – and die for others.
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Kids don’t always make you happier. Here’s why people have them anyway.
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There are two kinds of suffering. One is pure pain. The other makes life worth living.
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You’ve heard of Stephen Hawking. Ever heard of Renata Kallosh? Didn’t think so.
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Eugenics is bad – but understanding DNA is good.
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According to author and entrepreneur Steven Kotler, at some point this century, we will confront the prospect of immortality.
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Science doesn’t fit neatly into ideology.
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Almost all our school improvements fail. Here’s why.
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“If 90% of children had ADHD and only 10% of children could sit still at a desk, how would we design school?”
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We all play the genetic lottery – and the outcome matters a lot.
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The US reduced smoking rates from 50% to 15% with a simple habit hack.
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According to renowned physicist Christophe Galfard, physics can’t explain our universe – yet.
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Willpower alone likely isn’t enough to replace a bad habit with a good one.
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Practice doesn’t actually make perfect. Here’s the willpower equation necessary for elite athletes and musicians.
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There’s a psychological reason you haven’t created healthier habits in your life.
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Habit-forming rituals are subconsciously controlling your life. Here’s how to master them.
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Signals from the environment, such as those detected by your sense organs, have no inherent psychological meaning. Your brain creates the meaning.
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Are physicists about to decode a mysterious field of science that could have huge implications for your health?
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Basic and breath-taking – Dr. Frank Wilczek addresses symmetry’s critical role in nature’s laws and what we consider to be beautiful.
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Popular media often frame scientists as having a cold, sterile view of the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Is this video four minutes long? Not necessarily.
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Our world would be impossible without quantum mechanics — but we still don’t have a narrative of how it works.
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Why are we here? What is everything made of? This theoretical physicist says science isn’t the right way to answer these questions.
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Mathematics and religion both embody awe-inspiring, eternal truths.
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Dr. Amrisha Vaish explains the science of remorse, guilt, and an effective apology.
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People believe that slow and deliberative thinking is inherently superior to fast and intuitive thinking. The truth is more complicated.
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What lies in store for humanity? Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku explains how different life will be for your descendants—and maybe your future self, if the timing works out.
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Theoretical physicist Brian Greene explores the potential particles of time and why we could, in theory, travel forward in time but not back.
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Many atheists think of themselves as intellectually gifted individuals, guiding humanity on the path of reason. Scientific data shows otherwise.
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Dr. Sara Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist, who is questioning the very nature of life and how we’re attempting to find it elsewhere.
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