bigthinkeditor

Inspired by the state’s earthquakes, California researchers have predicted where future crimes will occur by using seismological methods intended to measure aftershocks.

Which will prove better: austerity or deficit spending? The respective approaches taken by Britain and America to recover the economy may prove a useful historical experiment.

“A man’s shaved head—whether it’s to-the-skin or with slight stubble—can suggest a sigh-inspiring combination of intellectual depth and machismo.”

“The moon is pockmarked with cold, wet oases that could contain enough water ice to be useful to manned missions.” A recent NASA mission found evidence of life’s cornerstone.

Surveys show that religious people prefer secular justifications for their political stances while secularists presume they don’t. Is religion getting an undeserved bad name?

“As the sales of e-books finally start to soar, what effect will this digital revolution have on publishers, readers and writers? Will the novel as we know it survive?”

“Many reasons have been given for the West’s dominance over the last 500 years. But, Ian Morris argues, its rise to global hegemony was largely due to geographical good fortune.”

In the greatest leak in the history of the United States military, WikiLeaks plans to publish 391,832 classified documents on the Iraq on the Internet.

The life of a microcredit loan is often very short—lengthening the repayment window would allow borrowers the opportunity to create bigger gains, says Forbes’ Eva Pereira.

“A Swedish study finds that 70-year-olds in 2000 did better on intelligence tests than 70-year-olds had done in 1971.” Scientific American reports on the aging process.

“Because the coldhearted equations of classical economics neglect emotion, their description of our decisions remained woefully incomplete.” The Frontal Cortex on the irrational consumer.

The last day of The Daily Beast’s ideas forum in New Orleans features talks from political thinkers like James Carville and business leaders from India and China.

Insects’ benefits are valued at £134bn and coral’s at £109bn in a pioneering report equating biodiversity to cash in the hope of encouraging conservation.

Heuristics are cognitive rules of thumb we all use in routine decision-making and yet the concept is little known outside the labs and offices of academia.

“We would all be better off — Muslim Americans first and foremost —if we could have a more open discussion about Islam, Islamic militancy and what … it means to be Muslim.”

“I’m as concerned about startups using Rapleaf’s API as I am about how the company continues to mine data from huge data-rich social services such as LinkedIn.”

“California is not just deciding whether pot should be legal. It’s determining the shape of a major new American industry.”

Ross Douthat: “I’m cautiously optimistic that the Cameron government is taking the right course in Britain — and somewhat more pessimistic about America’s capacity to follow suit.”

Finding frozen water in some parts of the moon has implications for space exploration including the possible supply of water and oxygen for a manned moonbase.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel says multiculturalism has been an utter failure in Germany… But is it really such a bad thing when immigrant groups prefer to be among themselves?”

“A marathoner’s worst nightmare — hitting ‘the wall’ — may be completely avoidable if athletes adhere to personalized pace limits proposed by a biomedical engineer and runner.

“Foreign occupation, not religious fervor, is the primary motivation behind this form of terrorism.”

There is a popular narrative in the West that Islam is sexist. But aside from fundamentalist practices like honor killings, does moderate Islam actually deny women freedoms?

Do you acquire power and exercise control with assertive authority like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—or do you lead with sociable consensus like media queen Oprah Winfrey? Take this Big Think quiz to find which well-known female leader your style is most like.

“Today, artificial light is a constant companion. Darkness implies a situation to be remedied.” A new book tells the story of how artificial light has revolutionized our way of life.

“American poetry is in a period of ‘fertile uncertainty’—in other words, it’s confused. That’s a good thing.” The Atlantic begins a series on appreciating contemporary poetry.

“Televisions which pump out the smells of cookery on screen could become reality after developments by scientists at Keio University in Tokyo.”

A review of David Guggenheim’s new documentary: “The only hope for the future of our society, especially for poor black and Hispanic children, is escape from public schools.”

Can social network friends be real friends when relationships are pursued and developed in such facile and costless ways? Philosopher Roger Scruton says real friendship involves risk.

Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla plans to create an investment fund for companies fighting poverty in India and Africa that provide social services like health, energy and eduction.