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"Is it possible that consciousness is a much more basic phenomenon in nature and is essentially pervading everything?"

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Consciousness is everything we know, everything we experience. The mystery at the heart of consciousness lies in why our universe – despite teeming with non-conscious matter – is configured in a way where it's having a felt experience from the inside.

Modern neuroscience suggests that our intuitions about consciousness are incorrect. And so, it's possible that we've been thinking about consciousness the wrong way entirely, says bestselling author Annaka Harris.

If this is true, then consciousness may not be something that arises out of complex processing in brains, says Harris. Consciousness could be a much more basic phenomenon in nature, an all-pervading force, like gravity. If we think of it in these terms, we can imagine that all types of processing in nature could include some type of felt experience.

Timestamps:

0:00: The mystery of consciousness

1:31: What is consciousness?

3:31: Ask these 2 questions

8:37: Which systems entail suffering?

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/annaka-harris/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Annaka Harris:

Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and writer and producer of the forthcoming audio documentary series, LIGHTS ON. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine. She is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics. Annaka is the author of the children’s book I Wonder, coauthor of the Mindful Games Activity Cards, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the organization Inner Kids.

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About the video: "I think we need a truly open-ended conversation with 8 billion strangers, and

what makes that hard to do increasingly is a level of political fragmentation and extremism and

partisanship born of our engagement with these new technologies."

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How loneliness is killing us, according to a Harvard professor ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxbYPk1MIyw

Our culture has atomized: We’re all on our own with our phones, laptops, and digital media experiences. No one knows what everyone else is seeing. In some ways, these technologies have caused a shattering of culture, and we can’t seem to agree about our perceptions of the world, says philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris.

To combat this, we need to secure some semblance of human wellbeing. What makes that an increasing challenge is the political fragmentation and extremism born from our engagement with new technologies.

We’re witnessing a zero-sum contest between those of us who want to maintain open societies and those who increasingly want to build closed, belligerent ones that make it impossible to share space. We have to become more intelligent to deal with these threats without losing the values we seek to defend. That’s why dogmatism is an intellectual sin, and overcoming it is key to building a better future for us all, says Harris.

Timestamps:

0:00: A crisis of meaning

2:03: Conversation vs. violence

3:51: Good people, bad ideas

5:37: Eliminating dogma

7:36: Your mind is all you have

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/sam-harris-fragmentation/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Sam Harris:

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction.

Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Nature, The Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere.

Mr. Harris is a graduate in philosophy from Stanford University and holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, where he studied the neural basis of belief with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). He is also a Co-Founder and CEO of Project Reason.

“Most of us aren't sure what to think about everything, but we don't really see that modeled anywhere, right? You're supposed to know for sure, and there's very little intellectual humility on social media or on TV.”

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In times of anxiety and uncertainty, humans tend to split the world into good and evil. It's a natural tendency, a way to feel more comfortable, says best-selling author Amanda Ripley.

Today, you see it among many, many millions of people because there's a lot of anxiety about the future and fear about the present. We assume that the other side is more extreme than it is, partly because we hear so much from them. 95% of political tweets are written by around 10% of users, so we extrapolate and assume everyone on the other side thinks a certain way.

This tendency, which is very understandable, to split the world into good and evil, us and them, can give us short-term comfort. It may temporarily feel good, but it causes us to make a lot of mistakes in the long term. Here's why we should avoid seeing the world in such stark divides, and learn to practice constructive communication. For more on reimagining conflict, visit @thegoodconflict.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/devils-advocate/amanda-ripley-divide/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Amanda Ripley:

Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, Washington Post contributor, and co-founder of consultancy firm, Good Conflict. Her books include The Smartest Kids in the World, High Conflict, and The Unthinkable.

Don’t call yourself “a writer,” just write. Ryan Holiday on how the labels you give yourself can hold you back.

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Who would you be without all the labels and identities you’ve collected over the course of your life?

Ego, titles, and societal expectations often shape who we think we are—or who we think we should be. Author, and for simplicity's sake, bookstore owner, Ryan Holiday explains the simple question “What do you do?” can turn into a trap, making us cling to roles that don’t really define us. But what happens when you let go of these labels? What if, instead of focusing on the identity of being a writer, you focused on the act of writing itself?

As Holiday got older, he learned that being busy “doing the verb” is far more valuable than obsessing over the noun. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to fit into the “right” categories and titles, but that often means copying, comparing, and losing sight of what really matters.

Read more from this interview ► https://bigthink.com/videos/ryan-holiday/

Explore the Perception Box series hub ► https://bigthink.com/perception-box/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.

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About Ryan Holiday: Ryan Holiday is a bestselling author, marketer, and one of today’s leading voices in modern Stoicism. He’s known for taking ancient wisdom and making it relatable and practical for everyday life. Before becoming an author, he led marketing at American Apparel. Now, he writes about strategy, self-discipline, and leadership, weaving history into real-world advice.

“What's happening now in the world is tension between organic animals and an inorganic digital system which is increasingly controlling and shaping the entire world.”

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Part of existing as an “organic entity” such as a human is that we live our lives by cycles: Day, night. Winter, summer, Growth, decay. Sometimes we’re active, other times we need rest. But algorithms and computers never need rest – they are ‘on’ all the time.

In a world that is becoming increasingly more digital, humans are being forced to adapt to the “always on” schedule of these systems, says @YuvalNoahHarari, the best-selling author of 'Sapiens' ‪and ‘Nexus,’‬ while in conversation with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin @92NY.

Adapting to these schedules has made our lives more and more public, creating a life that mirrors “one long job interview,” says Harari, as any of our actions can be chronicled and follow us around for decades. At its crux, this is destructive to how we function. Here’s how we got here, and how we can course-correct, according to the historian.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/devils-advocate/yuval-noah-harari-inorganic-evoluton/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Yuval Noah Harari:

Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us, and Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. His books have sold over 45 Million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today.

Creativity is a powerful force for social change. Learn how Creativity Pioneers are shaping our future by applying creative solutions to tackle the world’s most pressing global issues.

We created this video in partnership with the Moleskine Foundation.

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Can creativity really change the world? Creativity Pioneers argue that it can. By using art, culture, and imagination, these innovators are tackling some of the most pressing social issues of our time.

From building recording studios in African prisons to using graphic novels to address homophobia, corruption, and environmental destruction, these visionaries are showing that creativity is more than just a luxury—it’s a powerful tool for global transformation.

This message is clear: creativity is not just about producing art; it’s about fostering environments where innovative ideas flourish. It’s about combining the intellectual with the emotional, the practical with the poetic, and the local with the global.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/sponsored/creativity-pioneer/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Adama Sanneh:

Adama is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Moleskine Foundation. Adama brings a unique hybrid background in management and cultural studies to his work designing and building innovative organisations able to generate social impact.

Adama graduated in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation from the University of Milan, obtained a Master in Public Management (MPM) from the Bocconi School of Management and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Geneva. After graduating, he worked as a management and strategy consultant for various public and not-for-profit organizations among which the United Nations, in education, social entrepreneurship, and innovation.

As the CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, he is committed to explore and leverage the intersection of business, education, culture, and social development to create new and meaningful public value.

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About the video: “The problem with conspiracy theories is they're not just telling you a story, they're telling you a really good story. There's a hidden cabal behind everything that's happening, there's a secret pattern that you just have to be smart enough to detect.”

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The modern world is full of conspiratorial thinking: People see an event and come up with an extraordinary story, a “hidden truth” that explains everything. These extravagant stories are so sticky in our minds because we are predisposed to finding patterns and we're allergic to explanations that involve either randomness or banality, explains Brian Klaas, a professor and political scientist.

This allergy to randomness is one of the reasons there is so much polarization and democratic breakdown around the world; because we simply inhabit different realities due to the fact that there has been such a surge in global conspiratorial thinking. So how can we fight these increasingly pervasive falsehoods?

Our brains are driven to find explanations that fit a pattern and fit a narrative, a story that really compels us. When it comes to understanding conspiracy theories, there are 3 main cognitive biases that you need to grapple with.

Timestamps:

0:00: The modern world and conspiratorial thinking

1:56: 3 cognitive biases

2:14: Narrative bias

3:13: Magnitude bias

4:49: Teleological bias

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/great-question/brian-klaas-conspiracy-theories/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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About Brian Klaas:

Dr. Brian Klaas is an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, an affiliate researcher at the University of Oxford, and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He is also the author five books, including Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters (2024) and Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us (2021). Klaas writes the popular The Garden of Forking Paths Substack and created the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, which has been downloaded roughly three million times.

Your brain is wired to repeat the familiar. Change this wiring, and it will change your life.

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Nicole Vignola, a neuroscientist and organizational psychologist, explains how deeply rooted beliefs can limit our potential and keep us trapped in patterns of thought. These perceptions, often shaped by our upbringing and environment, aren’t necessarily our own—but they can be changed.

Nicole shares how the brain’s natural biases, like negativity bias and confirmation bias, reinforce these limiting beliefs. However, with the right approach, it’s possible to reshape our mental patterns. By practicing metacognition—observing and naming our thoughts—we can start to rewire our perception and create new, empowering narratives.

Our brains are capable of change at any age. By focusing on small wins and challenging automatic thoughts, we can break free from old beliefs and begin using a mindset that better serves ourselves and our futures.

Read more from this interview ► https://bigthink.com/videos/nicole-vignola/

Explore the Perception Box series hub ► https://bigthink.com/perception-box/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.

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About Nicole Vignola:

Nicole Vignola is a neuroscientist, author and corporate consultant. With a BSc in Neuroscience and an MSc in Organizational Psychology, Nicole works with companies and individuals worldwide, educating them on the science of human optimisation, health and longevity, and how to enable employees to perform better in their daily lives and in turn, bring peak performance to the workplace. Recent clients include Lloyds Bank, Makers Mark and Smeg Ltd.

The ability to create and destroy friction in different circumstances is what defines an organizational genius.

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When a customer, an employee, or a senior leader has set their sights on a certain course of action and then runs into obstacles that make it slower, harder, more frustrating, we call this organizational friction. Many times, that can be a bad thing, but best-selling author and organizational psychologist Bob Sutton argues that we can actually harness it to benefit us.

One thing that Sutton emphasizes in his book The Friction Project is that you should first ask yourself if your course of action is the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ thing to do. If it's the right thing to do, it should happen fast and be relatively frictionless. The ‘wrong’ thing to do is often full of friction, but the right thing, although it may have some ‘constructive friction,’ is often able to push forward and make progress without harsh obstacles.

Here are 2 easy tricks to solve any problem and make friction your secret weapon.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/bob-sutton-friction/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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Kaelynn Partlow shares her story about life with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, and how finding the right diagnosis helped her embrace her neurodivergent identity.

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Kaelynn Partlow, an author, autism advocate, and registered behavior technician, shares her own experiences living with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and more. She talks about how these diagnoses shifted her self-perception from feeling "stupid" to understanding her unique challenges and strengths.

Kaelynn opens up about the misunderstandings neurodivergent people face and the difficulty of connecting in a world that often doesn't accommodate different ways of thinking. She also shares her fears—like wondering if her social difficulties will ever improve—and how she copes with loneliness, especially when not focused on work.

Through it all, Kaelynn emphasizes the value of recognizing your own strengths, even when it’s hard. By taking on challenges and thriving under pressure, she found new opportunities, from public speaking to creative writing. Her story shows that growth often comes from facing fears and redefining success on your own terms.

Read more from this interview ► https://bigthink.com/videos/kaelynn-partlow/

Explore the Perception Box series hub ► https://bigthink.com/perception-box/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.

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About Kaelynn Partlow:

In 2015, Kaelynn Partlow joined Project Hope Foundation as a Registered Behavior Technician. She is now a Lead Technician, providing services to middle and high-school-aged clients and contributing to staff training development.

In 2021, Kaelynn was featured on the Netflix series Love On The Spectrum. She has also been a guest on numerous national podcasts and has published several articles, offering insights from an autistic perspective.

With a large following on various social media platforms, Kaelynn uses her reach for autism advocacy, connecting with millions globally. In addition to her online work and role at Project Hope, she is an international public speaker, passionate about sharing tangible strategies for best practices when interacting with individuals on the autism spectrum