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.
Featured Interviews
“We know that when people imbue their goals or relationships with sacred meaning, that they exert more effort and they benefit more from those relationships.”
Jacob Mchangama is a lawyer, human-rights advocate, author, podcast host, and founder and executive director of the think tank Justitia. He has written about free speech and human rights in[…]
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Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor and bestselling author in the University of Michigan’s top ranked psychology department and[…]
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3 min
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Jacob Mchangama is a lawyer, human-rights advocate, author, podcast host, and founder and executive director of the think tank Justitia. He has written about free speech and human rights in[…]
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2 min
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Featured Article
Sikh American scholar and historian Simran Jeet Singh on helping kids imagine — and create — a more empathetic world.
“Empathy doesn’t just fully appear on its own. In large part, it has to be nurtured, and ages 1 to 6 is a prime window. While temperament plays a role, so does a child’s environment, including the people and stories they’re exposed to.”
All Stories
“Resilience” is being able to withstand hardship; “antifragility” goes one step further.
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11 min
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If the “self” is not real, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate.
We’re often ashamed to say, “I don’t know” — but this professional poker player thinks it’s one of our greatest strengths.
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7 min
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There are 3 key principles that separate a good conversation from a great one — and they’ll completely change how you communicate.
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6 min
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NASA’s Michelle Thaller explains what happens when the densest stars in the galaxy collide.
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5 min
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Humanity is never fully in control of its creations. This lesson from Mary Shelley has remained relevant for over 200 years.
From marketing to social media, today’s world preys on your values. Here’s how to reclaim them and find true happiness.
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6 min
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A physicist discusses the boundaries of reality and experimentation.
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6 min
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Quantum wormholes are mathematically possible — but might also be physically impossible. Physicist Janna Levin explains Hawking’s famous information paradox.
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12 min
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Is true equality achievable — or even desirable? Go on a journey through the strange and unsettling “Land of Justice.”
Do humans share one consciousness? This psychologist says yes.
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6 min
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Gravity defies quantum mechanics. What does that mean for a theory of everything?
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6 min
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This biologist built a living robot from frog cells — and it could hold the key to the future of regenerative medicine.
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8 min
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Ever wonder what would happen if we got sucked into a black hole? Turns out we could live in it for a while — if it was big enough.
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9 min
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How do “you” emerge from a collection of cells? A biologist explains.
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5 min
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Scientists can’t define spirituality. But we can study its healing effects, says this Columbia psychologist.
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6 min
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Spirituality declines, depression rises. Is there a link?
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9 min
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How the simple act of watching twilight can radically transform our perception of the world and our role within it.
Evolution doesn’t fix things — it reinvents them. A biologist explains.
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We know that humans are an intelligent species. But this biologist breaks down the intelligence of each of our cells — and it will blow your mind.
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