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Big Think
By bigthinkEducation
Big Think episodes
- 3 game theory tactics, explained
How to maximize wins and minimize losses, explained by four experts on game theory.
Game theory is a useful tool for decision-making in situations where the outcome depends on multiple parties. It provides a systematic way to analyze the interdependence of individuals or organizations and their potential strategies.Not only does game theory help you identify the optimal strategy for achieving your goals, it can also help you avoid the sunk-cost fallacy — the tendency to persist in an endeavor because of the resources you've already invested.By taking into account the potential actions and responses of other players, game theory allows you to minimize your losses and make informed choices that lead to better outcomes. Whether you're negotiating a business deal or making investment decisions, game theory can be a valuable asset in helping you make smarter choices and achieve your objectives.0:00 What is game theory?1:08 War: Learn from Reagan and Gorbachev2:58 Poker: The sunk cost fallacy5:56 Zero-sum games: The minimax strategyRead the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-t...----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Kevin Zollman:Kevin Zollman is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also an associate fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, visiting professor at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (part of Ludwig-Maximilians Universität), and an associate editor of the journal Philosophy of Science. His research focuses on game theory, agent based modeling, and the philosophy of science. Zollman is the co-author of The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting: How the Science of Strategic Thinking Can Help You Deal with the Toughest Negotiators You Know--Your Kids, with Paul Raeburn.About Annie Duke:Annie Duke has leveraged her expertise in the science of smart decision making to excel at pursuits as varied as championship poker to public speaking. For two decades, Annie was one of the top poker players in the world. In 2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. The same year, she triumphed in the $2 million winner-take-all, invitation-only WSOP Tournament of Champions. In 2010, she won the prestigious NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship. Thanks to this fellowship, she studied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.About Liv Boeree:Olivia "Liv" Boeree is a poker player, TV presenter and model from England who won the 2010 European Poker Tour in Sanremo. Born in Kent, Boeree studied at Ashford School before going on to earn a First Class Honours degree in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. She was the #1 ranked female player on the Global Poker Index as of November 2015, and #6 on the female all-time live poker winnings list.About Julia Galef:Julia Galef is a New York-based writer and public speaker specializing in science, rationality, and design. She serves on the board of directors of the New York City Skeptics, co-hosts their official podcast, Rationally Speaking, and co-writes the blog Rationally Speaking along with philosopher of science Massimo Pigliucci. She has moderated panel discussions at The Amazing Meeting and the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, and gives frequent public lectures to organizations including the Center for Inquiry and the Secular Student Alliance. Julia received her B.A. In statistics from Columbia in 2005.---------------------------------------------------------06:30-19---------------------
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10 min - Why the ultra rich get rich, explained in two charts | Brian Klaas
**💸 The Genius Myth: Why Billionaires Aren’t Always Brilliant**
We’ve been sold a lie — that extreme wealth is the mark of genius. But when you peel back the layers, you find that **luck, not talent**, is often the true engine behind billionaire success.
While talent follows a normal curve — nobody is *a billion times more talented* than anyone else — **wealth doesn’t follow the same rules**. It’s wildly uneven, with a few sitting on astronomical fortunes and many scraping by. This disconnect points to something else at play: **luck striking in the middle of the talent curve**, not at the extremes.
A striking study simulating a world with randomly distributed talent and random events found that the **richest individuals weren’t the most talented** — just marginally above average people who got lucky again and again. Real-world outcomes echo this.
**Enter Elon Musk.** Sure, he has some talent — but he's also a prime example of someone who mistook wealth for genius. His Twitter/X debacle revealed that success in one domain doesn’t guarantee competence elsewhere. The myth of his infallible intellect unraveled when **his “genius” failed to translate across industries**.
But there’s another trait common to billionaires: **greed**. Unlike most people who might be content with enough, many billionaires obsessively chase more. It’s not just brilliance or even luck — it’s an insatiable hunger that propels them to hoard wealth, not distribute it.
So the next time someone equates riches with brilliance, remember: **lightning didn’t strike them because they were the tallest tree — it struck where there were just more trees.**
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10 min - Physics: Are we forever trapped in the arrow of time? | Sabine Hossenfelder
Why does time move forward but not backward? Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder explains.
Why does time move in only one direction? This still-unsolved question was posed in 1927 by the British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, and the concept came to be known as the arrow of time.As theoretical physicist @SabineHossenfelder explains, there's a longstanding mystery in the foundations of physics: If we look at the laws for microscopic constituents, like elementary particles, they work the same way forward in time as they do backward in time. But the same does not hold true on macroscopic scales.In this Big Think video, Hossenfelder dives into this mystery and explores how it has captivated the minds of so many scientists and science fiction writers.0:00 The arrow of time1:14 Why doesn’t anyone get younger?2:39 Can we stop human aging with entropy control?4:01 Is ‘maximum entropy’ how the universe will end?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Sabine Hossenfelder:Sabine Hossenfelder is a physicist, author, and creator of "Science Without the Gobbledygook". She currently works at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy in Germany.--------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19---------------------
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8 min - Stop avoiding your problems and start addressing them | Oliver Burkeman for BT+
Most of us are quietly waiting for our life’s problems to subside. We feel that after “solving” them, everything will be perfect, and we’ll achieve complete happiness.
In actuality, learning to live in the problems that come our way can make us happier, and expecting a frictionless life actually causes more strife for us. Journalist Oliver Burkeman reframes challenges as the path to a more meaningful life.-------------------------------------------------------------About Oliver Burkeman:Oliver Burkeman is a bestselling author and journalist. He is best known for Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (2021), a self-help book on reframing productivity for happiness. He also publishes The Imperfectionist, an email on productivity, mortality, the power of limits, and building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment.------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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13 min - Do we actually live in a multiverse? | Dr. Ethan Siegel
"Welcome to the multiverse. Or should I say our one universe within a multiverse of possibilities?"
Do we have proof of a multiverse?
Our idea of the multiverse stems from the notion of quantum mechanics: The idea that every time we enter a situation there are potentially infinite possibilities to arise as the outcome. But when we make a decision, we only get one of these outcomes.
Science fiction as well as our media and films are bewitched by the concept of the multiverse. But what can science tell us about its legitimacy? Dr. Ethan Siegel explores.
Chapters for easier navigation:-
0:00 Is there a multiverse?
3:32 The “many worlds” interpretation
4:43 The notion of infinity
8:45 Types of infinity
10:16 Degrees of freedom
17:01 Quantum mechanical spreading
19:22 The universe beyond our universe
21:46 How fast do universes get created?
27:15 The hope of the multiverse
The idea of the Multiverse suggests that every quantum possibility—every outcome that could happen—does happen, in a different universe. From choices we make to random atomic events, reality may split endlessly.
Cosmic inflation—a rapid expansion after the Big Bang—might have created countless "bubble universes." Each one with different physical laws or histories. These bubbles never touch, separated by ever-expanding space.
But here's the twist: Quantum mechanics produces a combinatoric explosion of outcomes—far more than the exponential growth from cosmic inflation. So, can the inflationary Multiverse actually contain all quantum possibilities?
Only if inflation has been going on forever, into the infinite past and future.
Otherwise, the full-blown sci-fi-style Multiverse? It's just in our minds.
About Ethan Siegel:
Ethan Siegel is a Ph.D. Astrophysicist and author of "Starts with a Bang!" He is a science communicator, who professes physics and astronomy at various colleges. He has won numerous awards for science writing since 2008 for his blog, including the award for best science blog by the Institute of Physics. His two books "Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive" and "Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe" are available for purchase at Amazon.
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37 min - Harvard professor’s 6-step guide to Zen Buddhism | Robert Waldinger
Eastern religion meets Western psychology: meet the Harvard professor who’s also a Zen priest as he explains how to relieve suffering using both faith and neuroscience.
Delve into the teachings of Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and Zen priest, as he explores the essence of Zen Buddhism.Waldinger, who directs the long-running Harvard Study of Adult Development, discusses how Zen can help people discover the transformative power of impermanence, mindfulness, and the art of relieving suffering. He shares practical wisdom on cultivating loving-kindness, maintaining a beginner’s mind, and fostering fulfilling relationships.Whether you’re seeking inner peace or navigating relationships, Waldinger offers practical guidance for a more fulfilling existence.-----------------------------------------------------------------About Robert Waldinger:Dr. Robert Waldinger is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Psychodynamic Therapy and Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. He is a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, he teaches Harvard medical students and psychiatry residents, and he is on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. He is also a Zen priest.Dr. Waldinger earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his MD from Harvard Medical School.----------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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13 min - Are children the losers of the sexual revolution? | Richard Reeves, Judith Butler, & more
Our biggest thinkers on marriage, family, and the sexual revolution.
How has the sexual revolution reshaped our understanding of relationships and family? After the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s began upending traditional norms, Americans started seeing greater personal freedoms and a more flexible understanding of relationships, sexuality, and family roles.One lasting impact is that marriage is now based primarily on choice rather than societal expectations, and men are no longer always expected to be the head of the household.But despite the clear benefits of increased egalitarianism and personal liberty, the sexual revolution arguably came with trade-offs. As journalist Louise Perry notes, one example is that far more children are being raised in broken homes today than they were decades ago, even though nearly every conceivable metric shows that it’s better for children to have married parents.In this Big Think video, we explore the sexual revolution and its impacts on romantic relationships, families, and children in the modern world.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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18 min - The lost art of accomplishment without burnout | Cal Newport for Big Think +
### 🐢 Slow Down to Speed Up: Cal Newport’s Cure for Burnout
😮 **Tired of pretending to be busy all day?**
Your boss can now see your Slack pings, your emails, your every move. Work doesn’t end at 6pm—it follows you home, shows up on weekends, and eats into your peace of mind.
We’re burning out, and **it's time to rethink productivity.**
## 💡 Enter: *Slow Productivity*
👨💻 **Cal Newport**, computer scientist and author of *Slow Productivity*, says the way we work is broken—and it’s stressing us out.
Back in the day, **productivity was simple math**:
> “How many cars did we make per hour?”
But in today’s **knowledge economy**, there’s no assembly line. Everyone’s doing different stuff, in different ways.
So we created **“pseudo-productivity”**:
👉 If you're doing *visible* stuff (emails, meetings, typing like a maniac), you *look* productive—even if you're not doing anything meaningful.
🧠 Result?
We’re stuck performing busyness instead of doing valuable work.
## 🧭 The Fix: 3 Pillars of Slow Productivity
### 1️⃣ **Do Fewer Things (at once!)**
> Multitasking isn’t a flex—it’s a **cognitive disaster**.
🧠 Your brain can’t switch tasks smoothly. Every shift leaves behind **“attention residue,”** making your thinking slower and your mood worse.
💥 Focusing deeply on one task leads to:
- Higher quality work
- Faster results
- Less stress
### 2️⃣ **Work at a Natural Pace**
> Humans were never meant to work at full throttle 52 weeks a year.
⛅ Like farmers follow seasons—plant, harvest, rest—we need **ebb and flow** in our schedules.
Have busy weeks. Have quiet ones. Don’t guilt-trip yourself.
🧘 Less burnout = more creativity + better ideas.
### 3️⃣ **Obsess Over Quality**
> Forget looking busy. Focus on what *really matters* in your job.
🧩 Ask: What’s the **one thing** I do that adds the most value?
🎯 Then go all in. Get better tools. Block distractions. Practice your craft.
📝 Cal even bought a fancy lab notebook when he was broke, just to take his work more seriously—and it worked.
## 🛠️ Why This Works
When you slow down and focus on quality:
✅ You finish important tasks *faster*
✅ Your work gets *better*
✅ You feel *happier* doing it
Meetings, emails, and busywork stop looking like “work” and start looking like what they are: distractions.
### 🚀 Bottom Line:
**Slow is not lazy. It’s smart.**
Want to do great work *without* losing your mind?
Go slow. Go deep. Get better.
### 🔑 Keywords:
Slow productivity, Cal Newport, burnout recovery, knowledge work, productivity redefined, deep work, work-life balance, pseudo-productivity, attention residue, multitasking problems, natural work rhythm, seasonal productivity, workplace wellness, meaningful work, focus, cognitive performance, better work habits, performance without pressure, remote work culture, email overload, Slack fatigue, outcome-based productivity, MIT, high quality output, sustainable work, value-driven productivity
Timestamps:
0:00 - Burnout
0:50 - Slow productivity
1:35 - Pseudo-productivity
2:25 - Principle 1
3:32 - Principle 2
4:23 - Principle 3
About Cal Newport:
Cal Newport is an MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University who also writes about the intersections of technology, work, and the quest to find depth in an increasingly distracted world.
Folllow this Podcast for daily Episodes----------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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10 min - We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us | Yuval Noah Harari
“Why is it that the quality of our information did not improve over thousands of years? Why is it that very sophisticated societies have been as susceptible as stone age tribes to mass delusion and the rise of destructive ideologies?”
We belong to a world that is more interconnected, and yet more volatile than ever before. The masses of information that make this connectivity possible present the largest and most pressing threat to humanity, says historian and the best-selling author of 'Sapiens' @YuvalNoahHarari. Sitting down with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin @92NY, Harari discusses the way our information systems are flawed, and how, despite our leaps in technology over the past centuries, we still remain as susceptible to deception and delusion as our ancestors were thousands of years ago. Harari says that if we don’t fix the flaws in our information systems, they could drive us to total disaster.In an exclusive hour-long interview, the Nexus author discusses truth, AI, fears, our possible future, and key ideas from his new book 'Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI'.Timestamps: 0:00: Who is the arbiter of truth?0:59: Low-quality information6:16: Objective physical reality and cooperation11:29: GPT-4 deception18:11: Alien intelligence22:30: Democracy and information30:23: Setting information free34:44: Algorithmic fear38:36: The power of curation46:49: The annihilation of privacy53:26: Israel and Palestine1:04:02: Human-AI relationships1:09:52: The enormous potential of AI
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.
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1 hr 23 min - The science of sex drive and sexual frustration | Emily Nagoski
The science of sex drive and sexual frustration from Dr. Emily Nagoski.
Is our desire for sex fundamentally similar to our drive for necessities like food, water, and sleep? Sex educator Emily Nagoski argues that the answer is no. Although a lack of sex can lead to frustration, this feeling is fundamentally different from what we experience when deprived of the biological necessities of life. After all, nobody has ever died from a lack of sex.The implication is that common ideas about the existence of a “sex drive” are flawed. Check out this Big Think interview with Nagoski to learn more about the nature of sexual desire, and why pursuing connection and pleasure might be better than pursuing sex itself.0:00 Why sex is not a biological “drive”1:42 Sexual frustration on the other hand…3:48 The damage of the “sex drive” myth----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Emily Nagoski:Emily Nagoski is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling Come As You Are and The Come As You Are Workbook, and coauthor, with her sister, Amelia, of New York Times bestseller Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. She earned an M.S. In counseling and a Ph.D. In health behavior, both from Indiana University, with clinical and research training at the Kinsey Institute. Now she combines sex education and stress education to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies. She lives in Massachusetts with two dogs, a cat, and a cartoonist.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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9 min
About Big Think
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Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content -- with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster.…
Get actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers & doers. Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields. We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life.
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