The Well - Big Think

Skip to content

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

“My lab has found that there’s almost nothing better for a human being than a moment of awe…

It makes us more altruistic. It combats loneliness. Even if you find awe alone — gardening, reading poetry, watching a great film — you’ll feel more connected. It makes us humble and curious about others. It even decreases ideological polarization around the hot issues of our time.”

Dacher Keltner

Psychologist, UC Berkeley

This content is for subscribers only.

Become a Member Login

How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness

▸

13 min

—

with

A beam of light shines through clouds in a painted sky, with the word "AWE" in large yellow letters centered in the image.

Why Einstein called awe the fundamental emotion

Dacher Keltner is a social psychologist who focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has[…]

▸

14 min

—

with

A detailed black and white illustration of a toad on a green background, with the word "Car" written below it.

Even AI is self-censoring. Here’s why that matters.

Jacob Mchangama

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[…]

▸

3 min

—

with

Jacob Mchangama

Close-up of a sepia-toned drawing showing a person with crossed arms, wearing a robe with highlights, against a background with a partial view of a stone wall.

This research team studies gratitude. Here’s what they’ve found.

Woman with long brown hair, wearing a blue top, pearl necklace, and earrings, smiling outdoors with greenery in the background.

Sarah Schnitker

Dr. Sarah Schnitker, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University and Director of the BRIGHTS Center, researches virtue development in youth. Specializing in patience, self-control, and gratitude, she[…]

▸

3 min

—

with

Sarah Schnitker

Featured Article

A painting of a man with a beard.

Is the universe conscious? Panpsychism, religion, and the modern search for meaning

Panpsychist philosopher Philip Goff, PhD on mysticism and the future of faith.

“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.”

Man with a dark beard and mustache wearing a blue turban and blue sweater, standing against a plain light gray background, looking at the camera and smiling.

Simran Jeet Singh

All Stories

Statue of Liberty against an orange background with a horizontal torn bar obscuring the middle section of the statue.

Tyler Cowen: America is at a critical point in history

“There’s a sense of crisis today that we did not have in the 1980’s or 90’s” — economist Tyler Cowen on progress in America.

▸

5 min

—

with

Illustration of Earth with labeled axes, equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and magnetic and geographic poles. Orange lines indicate Earth's tilt and rotation.

How Earth’s axis and rotation created human ritual

Why do so many cultures celebrate holidays at the same time of year?

▸

4 min

—

with

Close-up of two figures; one extends an apple towards the other near a tree trunk. The scene references the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

Are humans wired for conflict? Charles Darwin vs. “Lord of the Flies”

In 1965, six boys were stranded on an island. Fifteen months later, the survivors were rescued. How many were there?

▸

7 min

—

with

A man in a suit stands facing a mirror, but the reflection shows the back of his head instead of his face.

How to stop toxic self-talk, explained in 6 minutes

If your inner voice is cruel, try these steps to reclaim your mind.

▸

7 min

—

with

A sequence of human silhouettes in shades of blue and green shows progressive motion of a person walking from left to right.

Bayes’ rule: A powerful thinking paradigm

Think via Bayes’ rule to become more rational and less brainwashed.

▸

4 min

—

with

Illustration of a volcanic eruption with thick clouds of smoke, ash, and flowing lava rising from the volcano’s crater.

Stop chasing utopia. Create “protopia” instead.

Pessimism sounds smart. Optimism sounds dumb. Don’t fall for it, says Wired’s Kevin Kelly.

▸

7 min

—

with

A whimsical vintage illustration depicts people in Victorian-era attire flying in futuristic airships and vehicles above a cityscape.

A futurist sets the stage for the next 1,000 years

We don’t need one Elon Musk. We need 8 billion empathic futurists.

▸

8 min

—

with

Three shadow-like human figures appear in sequence on a textured, speckled background, with each figure becoming more distorted towards the top.

Are near-death experiences real?

A psychiatrist studied 1,000 near-death experiences. Here’s what he discovered.

▸

7 min

—

with

Dr. Bruce Greyson

Microscopic image of cells with red and green outlines and blue nuclei on a black background.

CRISPR: What will humanity create?

CRISPR’s gene drive can defy evolution. Here’s how, explained by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna.

▸

6 min

—

with

Jennifer Doudna

Black cerebral blood vessels are shown against a red background, resembling a brain scan or angiogram image.

What trauma does to your brain and body

The ultimate definition of trauma, explained by leading psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk.

▸

8 min

—

with

Bessel van der Kolk

Three purple coneflowers at different life stages: dried and dead, wilting, and fully blooming, shown against a black background.

The happiness paradox, explained in 7 minutes

To be happy, you have to become antifragile first. Harvard’s Tal Ben-Shahar explains.

▸

7 min

—

with

Black and white engraving-style illustration of a human eye in close-up, with detailed lines depicting the iris, pupil, and eyelids—capturing the intense focus and clarity of the flow state.

Flow state: How to trigger the best performance of your life

‘Flow state’ is a peak performance mental state experienced by the world’s highest achievers. Learn how it works in just 7 minutes.

▸

with

Why consciousness is one of the most divisive issues in science today

Is science destined to crack the code of consciousness—and how would we even go about it?

▸

8 min

—

with

tribalism

Humans are not “tribal”

From politics to culture, we blame “tribalism” for humanity’s problems. This explanation is entirely wrong.

Two figures, their heads covered in white cloth, face each other closely against a dark background, evoking the mysterious science of love.

The science of love with Dr. Helen Fisher

We all want to have a good, stable relationship with somebody, says Dr. Helen Fisher. So it’s important to understand how intense romantic love affects our long-term goals.

▸

with

A horned, fanged figure lies on the ground with a foot pressing down on its neck; red drapery is visible above.

The 3 “demons” that haunted legendary scientists

Darwin, Descartes, and Maxwell all believed in these science ‘demons.’

▸

7 min

—

with

A clock face with a spiral effect, showing multiple overlapping clock dials against a solid blue background, evokes the question: is time an illusion?.

Time: Do the past, present, and future exist all at once?

The concept is so complex that scientists still argue whether it exists or if it is an illusion.

youth

I study America’s youth. Here’s what I found

Today’s young people are intelligent and kind, but they are overworked and burned out.

A classical-style portrait of a person with their face obscured by a large white starburst shape.

How enlightenment permanently alters your brain

Enlightenment is a traditionally mystical and slippery concept, but when it is subjected to the rigors of empirical analysis, there is a lot to be learned about our brains and ourselves.

▸

10 min

—

with

Illustration of the top view of a human brain, showing detailed grooves and folds, with a textured, etched style on a dark background—evoking the complexity of mental feedback loops.

Why confirmation bias kills your brain

Humans tend to hunker down in our own minds and trust what we already believe to be true. This emotion-based way of thought isn’t often the best way to think about anything, and often leads to gridlock.

▸

with