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Starts With A Bang Podcast #109 – Launching a galactic cone

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/starts-with-a-bang-podcast-109-launching-a-galactic-cone/

Published: September 7, 2024 16:29

When you think of an active galaxy, what picture comes to mind? Do you think about a monstrous supermassive black hole feasting on tremendous stores of gas and other forms of matter? Do you picture an enormous disk of accreted matter, being accelerated,…

“Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon Chu on the American Dream and silencing your inner critic

https://bigthink.com/high-culture/crazy-rich-asians/

Published: September 7, 2024 15:00

In 1964, a steamship passed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and entered the San Francisco harbor. Aboard was Lawrence Chu, a young man from Sichuan who, like so many Chinese immigrants, came to the United States in search of an American Dream. Three…

Everyday Philosophy: Freud and the Buddha debate what to do about desire

https://bigthink.com/thinking/everyday-philosophy-the-buddha-and-freud-debate-what-to-do-about-desire/

Published: September 6, 2024 14:30

I have an insoluble dilemma: I’m interested in everything. After a while, I get bored with everything, and I like change and movement. But it seems that other people are satisfied with a single career, a single role. Why can’t I do that? Violette, Belgium…

How to evaluate social norms as an independent thinker

https://bigthink.com/series/great-question/christine-emba-social-norms/

Published: September 6, 2024 13:00

Why do cultures develop social norms? They provide a general guidebook of how to behave in society, sometimes in an effort to help members of that culture live an easier life.  But how do we evaluate if social norms are still valuable in this day and age?…

The “Peter Principle”: Why most companies are filled with people out of their depth

https://bigthink.com/business/the-peter-principle-why-most-companies-are-filled-with-people-out-of-their-depth/

Published: September 6, 2024 13:00

Peter is a fresh-faced new recruit who can’t wait to start his new job. He walks into the office, clutching his lunchbox to his chest like a soldier on parade, and smiles as he sits in his cubicle. Peter is great at his job, and his bosses quickly notice.…

Math is art. Here’s how to appreciate it that way.

https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-to-appreciate-math-like-an-artform/

Published: September 6, 2024 13:00

If you’ve taken a math class, it’s likely you’ve asked yourself “What am I really going to use this for?” Mathematician Talithia Williams has the answer.  The key to understanding math outside of the classroom, Dr. Williams explains, is appreciating how…

Ask Ethan: Could we determine if UAPs/UFOs are aliens?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/determine-uap-ufo-aliens/

Published: September 6, 2024 06:00

Whenever we’re outside on a clear, starry night, our eyes are inexorably, almost irresistibly, drawn skyward, as if we can’t help ourselves from pondering and contemplating the great expanse of space that lies above us, separated only by our thin…

The key to detecting life trillions of miles away from Earth

https://bigthink.com/13-8/the-key-to-detecting-life-trillions-of-miles-away-from-earth/

Published: September 5, 2024 15:30

In August, scientists announced they had discovered a whole lot of water on Mars. Using the same seismographic techniques used to probe Earth’s interior, researchers found evidence of enough sub-surface water to cover the Red Planet in a one-mile-deep…

The unconventional philosophy behind “founder mode”

https://bigthink.com/business/the-unconventional-philosophy-behind-founder-mode/

Published: September 5, 2024 13:00

A few days ago, the investor Paul Graham published an essay with a provocative central insight: when it comes to growing a business, the conventional wisdom is almost always wrong. Instead of shifting to “manager mode” as a company expands — i.e.…

Physics heresy: projectiles don’t actually make parabolas

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/projectiles-dont-make-parabolas/

Published: September 5, 2024 06:00

As a new school year kicks off across most of the world, a new crop of high school and college students will take physics for the first time, starting off with mechanics and motion. And, as has been the case for hundreds of years, going back to the time of…

3 steps to align AI with the ancient philosophy of human flourishing

https://bigthink.com/sponsored/ancient-philosophy-and-artificial-intelligence/

Published: September 4, 2024 15:00

Artificial intelligence is transforming our world, prompting us to revisit fundamental philosophical questions about human existence and purpose. In this interview, Brendan McCord, founder of the Cosmos Institute, examines how philosophical insights from…

Why Earth’s oceans aren’t all equally salty

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/salinity-of-seas-and-oceans/

Published: September 4, 2024 13:54

“Water, water, every where / Nor any drop to drink,” laments the Ancient Mariner. That’s because the ocean surrounding his ship is too salty. Our bodies can’t process the salt in seawater, and drinking it would actually dehydrate you further. You could…

Inflation and dark matter are not like string theory

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/inflation-dark-matter-string-theory/

Published: September 4, 2024 06:00

There are two things that never seems to fall out of fashion when it comes to theoretical physics: people proposing wild new ideas that attempt to make sense of the Universe, and people declaring that some of the best and most well-established theories…

The “peacemaker’s paradox”: Why you should embrace the arguments made against you

https://bigthink.com/smart-skills/embrace-counterarguments/

Published: September 3, 2024 17:13

If you ever want to have your day ruined, talk to an economist. One of the things economists are fond of pointing out is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. What they mean by this is that there is a cost to everything. If you say you’re excited to…

The one cosmic secret that demands a new particle collider

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/cosmic-secret-demands-particle-collider/

Published: September 3, 2024 06:00

Here in our Universe, there are some cosmic puzzles that loom very large, casting a grand veil of uncertainty over our attempts to understand all of reality. Some of the biggest ones include: Why does the Universe obey the rules that it does, as opposed…

Mapping time: The surprising overlaps of history’s most influential minds

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/the-big-map-of-who-lived-when/

Published: September 2, 2024 14:30

“Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards,” Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard noted in his diary in 1843. But it’s not just your own life that’s best understood in the rearview mirror: If you look back on the world’s most famous…

How math brings order to our universe

https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-math-brings-order-to-our-universe/

Published: September 2, 2024 13:00

What does math have to do with theology? According to Dr. Talithia Williams, a math professor and science communicator, quite a lot.  In just under three minutes, Williams explains how mathematics connects the natural world with deeper ideas of order and…

5 ways to escape “survival mode” and reduce stress at work

https://bigthink.com/business/5-ways-to-escape-survival-mode-and-reduce-stress-at-work/

Published: September 2, 2024 13:00

Stress at work is something we’ve all experienced, but when it becomes a constant, unrelenting presence, it can push our nervous systems into what’s known as “survival mode.” This state is characterized by heightened anxiety, decreased focus, and a…

The anxious history of the American summer camp

https://bigthink.com/the-past/history-of-summer-camp/

Published: September 1, 2024 18:03

In the summer of 1861, weeks after Confederate troops fired the first shots of the Civil War, educator and abolitionist Frederick Gunn assembled his own troops—about 30 boys and a dozen girls who were students at his Washington, Connecticut, boarding…

ChatGPT is great at summarizing books. But will AI ever write a true work of literature?

https://bigthink.com/high-culture/chatgpt-ai-literature/

Published: September 1, 2024 15:00

It’s 2024 and fantasy author George R.R. Martin has officially spent 12 years working on The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth installment in the series that inspired the HBO hit Game of Thrones. With no release date in sight, one tech-savvy fan…

Are you a workaholic? How to spot the signs

https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/are-you-a-workaholic/

Published: August 31, 2024 22:39

An accountant who fills out spreadsheets at the beach, a dog groomer who always has time for one more client, a basketball player who shoots free throws to the point of exhaustion. Every profession has its share of hard chargers and overachievers. But for…

The AI chip startup that could take down Nvidia

https://bigthink.com/the-future/the-ai-chips/

Published: August 31, 2024 15:00

This article is an installment of Future Explored, Freethink’s weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Saturday morning by subscribing here. It’s 2028, and a “crazy” bet some Harvard…

The perpetual quest for a truth machine

https://bigthink.com/thinking/truth-machine/

Published: August 30, 2024 19:20

In the 13th century, the young married patrician Ramon Llull was living a licentious life in Majorca, lusting after women and squandering his time writing “worthless songs and poems.” His loose behavior, however, gave way to a series of divine revelations.…

Everyday Philosophy: Why does it seem like philosophy is dead?

https://bigthink.com/thinking/everyday-philosophy-why-do-people-dislike-philosophy/

Published: August 30, 2024 14:30

Why has no major philosopher appeared recently? Philosophy in its various forms seems to be no longer of interest except to its students. What are the reasons for this? – Wassan, Iraq Oh my, there’s quite a barrel-full of assumptions in this question,…

Why Texas and Florida are America’s NEW economic powerhouses

https://bigthink.com/series/explain-it-like-im-smart/joseph-politano-state-migration/

Published: August 30, 2024 13:00

In the wake of COVID, rising populations are shifting out of states like New York and California and moving to previously less-popular landscapes. The biggest beneficiaries of the post-pandemic economy have been states in the American South, including…

How do scientists measure—and define—life?

https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-do-scientists-define-and-measure-life/

Published: August 30, 2024 13:00

Have we found a new way of defining life? This scientist thinks so. Lee Cronin, the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, proposes that Assembly Theory may hold the key to discovering how life began and evolved. His theory introduces…

Ask Ethan: Why are inertial and gravitational mass equivalent?

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/why-inertial-gravitational-mass-equivalent/

Published: August 30, 2024 06:00

Here in our Universe, we don’t have just one different kind of mass that objects can possess. Instead, there are different types of mass that arise in different contexts. If you want to accelerate a mass — i.e., to change its motion — you’re interested in…

The psychology of the psychic

https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/psychology-of-psychic-telepathy/

Published: August 30, 2024 02:00

There is a hidden cause behind a fun little demonstration of an ostensibly paranormal experience that I often include in public talks on anomalistic psychology, especially when I have a reasonably large audience. I explain to my audience that an important…