Think Tank | Big Think

Is The Great Gatsby the Most Overrated Literary Novel of All Time?

Daniel Honan — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:48:23 -0400

In the spirit of maintaining an open mind, and in an attempt to purge myself of past prejudices, I will be re-reading The Great Gatsby this weekend. After all, this is the perfect time of year to read Gatsby, as Big Think blogger Andrea Chalupa pointed out in this recent tribute, noting that ...

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We May Be Getting Dumber Much Faster Than We Think

Daniel Honan — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:24:11 -0400

The legacy of the Victorian era - the time defined by Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 until her death in 1901 - is a mixed bag. It gave us Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, unprecedented advances in science and engineering, the musical theatre of Gilbert and Sullivan, the poetry of Robert ...

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Brainstorming about the BRAIN Initiative

Big Think Editors — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:30:35 -0400

Last month President Obama launched the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative to enable scientists to create a dynamic picture of brain function. As Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, writes on BRAINfeedback.nih.gov ...

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Dawn Kasper's Spontaneous Web

Daniel Honan — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:56:32 -0400

"There is an electricity transmitted between a performer and a live audience," says Los Angeles performance artist, Dawn Kasper. "The exchange between the performer and the audience is powerful, intimate and specific." That is distinctly different from the act of making a video in the privacy of ...

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Brooke Candy's Awesomely Erratic Freestyle Mix

Daniel Honan — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:39:20 -0400

"None of my videos have any common tie to them," says Brooke Candy, a rapper who has offered her picks of YouTube as part of an original MOCAtv series called "YouTube Curated By." "It's all pretty erratic, like myself," she says. Indeed, Candy's picks are quirky and eccentric and speak to both ...

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You Are Not So Smart and You Are in Very Good Company

Daniel Honan — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Psychology can be humbling, and being humbled can be a great gift. It can even be fun, exhilarating. That was the impression I had after reading David McRaney's marvelous book that now holds a commanding presence atop my shelf, You Are Not So Smart. McRaney offers succinct explanations and ...

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How the Moon Changed the Course of the Civil War

Big Think Editors — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:30:21 -0400

Stonewall Jackson, the legendary Confederate commander, was killed by friendly fire at the moment of his greatest triumph. As darkness set in following Jackson's flanking attack on the Union Army at the Battle of Chancellorsville, a North Carolina regiment mistook the general for the enemy, calling ...

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14 Concrete Steps to Boosting Diversity on Corporate Boards

Big Think Editors — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:30:10 -0400

We know that diversity on corporate boards is good for business and good for the world, so what steps can we take to boost women’s representation on boards worldwide? A roadmap was unveiled at the third annual WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Global Institute that is being held this week in New ...

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Big Idea Redux: Science Experiment Results in Expulsion, Felony Charges

Big Think Editors — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:00:00 -0400

In yesterday's lesson, astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson advised parents to buy their children binoculars, and then get out of the way, if they want to instill a sense of curiosity. But it normally doesn't happen that way. Curiosity means spilling things, breaking things. In some cases, it ...

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How to Think Like Shakespeare: The Positive Value of Negative Capability

Daniel Honan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

What does it mean to think like Shakespeare? The poet and playwright was much more than just a clever wordsmith. Shakespeare has long been admired for his deeply sympathetic identification with all things human. The psychological portraits Shakespeare painted, with a masterful touch of ...

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