Showing posts with label Big Think. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Think. Show all posts

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

How did dinosaurs get so big? | Steve Brusatte


How did dinosaurs get so big? | Steve Brusatte Steve Brusatte is a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. In this clip from our full interview, he explains how dinosaurs got so big. Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk0VyaXjWXQ&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shorts&utm_content=brusatte-short05

Monday, 19 October 2026

The 3 biggest origin mysteries | Paul Davies


The 3 biggest origin mysteries | Paul Davies

Reality isn't objective or subjective — it's a third thing entirely | Lisa Feldman Barrett


We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators. Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett argues that reality is built, not found, and that changes everything about how we interact with each other. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 We spend our lives reaching for something — a phone, a feed, or a distraction — without asking what we actually need. Andrew Holecek has spent years studying what happens when that stops entirely: total, sustained darkness, with no sensory input at all. Some people believe reality is objective – that the world exists separate from us – while others believe it is subjective – dependent on our own points of view. Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett makes the case that it's not quite that simple. Barrett, a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, argues for a third option: relational realism, where reality is built in real time from sensory signals and the remembered past your brain uses to interpret them. Together, those ingredients create your Perception Box, the lens through which every moment reaches you. That means reality exists in relation to you — and in relation to whoever else is experiencing it alongside you. Barrett unpacks what it means for two people to experience the same moment differently, why "objective reality" doesn't hold up in an argument, and why she considers curiosity the key to expanding the reality you have access to. Read more from this interview ► https://ift.tt/oOBqDzI Explore the Perception Box series hub ► https://ift.tt/o4vj8L9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more. https://ift.tt/to97UFl ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business. https://ift.tt/x6K4YFs ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, 16 October 2026

Why are T. Rex arms so pathetic? | Steve Brusatte


Why are T. Rex arms so pathetic? | Steve Brusatte

Pantheism: A third way between religion and atheism | Jack Symes


Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://ift.tt/cqrOlS0 Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 Up next, The strongest arguments for and against the existence of God | Alex O'Connor: Full Interview ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqWTlUOhowk For decades, atheists have used one move to dismantle the case for God: swap in an evil one and show that the arguments work just as well. Philosopher Jack Symes was convinced by it, and was 50,000 words into a book defending atheism when he noticed that the exercise kept tipping toward goodness. He threw out the manuscript and started over. 0:00 Chapter 1: Defeating the Evil-God challenge 5:32 The atheist argument that seemed unbeatable 8:16 Why I scrapped 50,000 words defending atheism 26:17 From atheist to agnostic 28:32 Chapter 2: Multiverse pantheism: A unified answer to life's biggest questions 37:53 The odds against us being here 49:05 What if God is the multiverse? 1:02:01 If God is perfect, what's the point? Read the video transcript ► https://ift.tt/jtypg72 © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://ift.tt/cqrOlS0 ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://ift.tt/P2Q4atO ►Listen to Big Think Interviews on Spotify Insights from the world's biggest thinkers, now as a podcast https://ift.tt/kDrjX5J ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Jack Symes: Dr. Jack Symes is a philosopher at Durham University, UK. His books include Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind (2022), Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence (2024), Defeating the Evil-God Challenge: In Defence of God’s Goodness (2024), and The Lost Philosopher: Travels Across Europe in Search of How to Live (forthcoming). Jack regularly appears on mainstream platforms, such as BBC Television, BBC Radio, The Joe Rogan Experience, Jubilee Surrounded, Piers Morgan Uncensored, Glastonbury Festival, Big Think, The Jordan Peterson Podcast, The Spectator, GB News, and HowTheLightGetsIn. He is also the host of The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast, one of the UK’s most popular higher education podcasts. Jack regularly delivers invited lectures at leading universities, such as Harvard University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Oxford. He also speaks at international policy events, such as the World Economic Forum. In 2024, Jack was awarded the BBC New Generation Thinker Prize.

Thursday, 15 October 2026

The thing that remains when your senses go dark | Andrew Holecek


We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators. Andrew Holecek spends time in complete darkness: no light, no sound, no sensory distractions. Here's what he says happens to the mind after the panic wears off. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 We spend our lives reaching for something — a phone, a feed, or a distraction — without asking what we actually need. Andrew Holecek has spent years studying what happens when that stops entirely: total, sustained darkness, with no sensory input at all. The results aren't peaceful at first, but after enough time, something changes. The mind, with nothing left to grab onto, begins to expand the walls of its Perception Box. True darkness prompts our brain to surface old, unprocessed psychic material, and eventually something Holecek calls the "primordial contraction,” the felt sense of self we normally never question. Read more from this interview ► https://ift.tt/7Uk5vsl Explore the Perception Box series hub ► https://ift.tt/ozpHBtU ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more. https://ift.tt/cESkC4i ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business. https://ift.tt/gRnYKub ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, 30 September 2026

AI and filmmaking | Richard Kelly


AI and filmmaking | Richard Kelly The 25th Anniversary showing of “Donnie Darko” premieres in theaters October 2nd. Get tickets here: https://ift.tt/ldy8ovY

Why compatibility is overrated | Julie Gottman


Why compatibility is overrated | Julie Gottman

Friday, 25 September 2026

How to beat procrastination in 5 minutes | Tal Ben-Shahar: Full Interview


Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://ift.tt/VgsDpYo Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 Up next, The blueprint for becoming an emotionally mature adult, in 68 minutes | Mark Manson: Full Interview ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Swxy4tUE3s Most of us can recite the benefits of exercise, gratitude, and patience while doing none of it. Tal Ben-Shahar calls this the Knowing-Doing gap, and our typical interventions, like retreats and month-long overhauls keep it open. 0:00 Chapter 1: How to stop procrastinating when you’re overwhelmed 4:55 Build one-minute happy habits 16:13 Kickstart your upward spiral 24:02 Beat procrastination in five minutes 29:05 Chapter 2: The essential elements of happiness 33:41 Find meaning in one minute 39:39 Move for 30 seconds, feel better 46:40 Journal for just two minutes 51:03 Hit the 5-to-1 relationship ratio 57:52 Feel it all, then be grateful 1:05:31 Chapter 3: The three R’s of meaningful change 1:09:57 Repeat your way to real change 1:16:06 Work with your nature, not against it Read the video transcript ►https://ift.tt/VSGO2cv © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://ift.tt/VgsDpYo ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://ift.tt/gBG0rOh ►Listen to Big Think Interviews on Spotify Insights from the world's biggest thinkers, now as a podcast https://ift.tt/AtlH1xL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Tal Ben-Shahar: Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is an internationally renowned teacher and author in the fields of happiness and leadership. After graduating from Harvard with a B.A. in philosophy and psychology and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior, Dr. Ben-Shahar taught two of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history: Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership. He then taught Happiness Studies at Columbia University. A prolific writer, Ben-Shahar’s books have appeared on bestsellers lists around the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages. Dr. Ben-Shahar consults and lectures to executives in multinational corporations, educational institutions, and the general public. Topics include leadership, education, ethics, happiness, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting, and mindfulness. Dr. Ben-Shahar is the co-founder of the Happiness Studies Academy, as well as the creator and instructor of the Certificate in Happiness Studies and the Happier School programs. Tal is an avid sportsman and a certified yoga instructor whose work bridges Eastern and Western traditions, ancient wisdom and modern technology, and science and art.

Wednesday, 9 September 2026