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Big Think
By bigthinkEducation
Big Think episodes
- Kevin O’Leary: I invested in FTX. Here’s the big problem with crypto.
Crypto is a lot of things, but it isn’t a currency according to Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful." What would it take to get there?
Is the collapse of a $25 billion cryptocurrency startup a death knell for the industry? Not according to Kevin O'Leary, an investor, businessman, and author. He sees the failure of FTX as a speed bump rather than a roadblock, underscoring the distinction between speculative assets like Bitcoin and more stable entities like Stablecoins.Despite the turmoil, O'Leary maintains that the potential of cryptocurrencies remains vast. He foresees their integration into the global economy but contends that this can only happen successfully with appropriate regulation to curtail the sector's “Wild West” tendencies. As the cryptocurrency community awaits the final outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and other companies, it remains to be seen whether or when digital assets will be incorporated into our daily economic lives.0:00 FTX's "utter catastrophe"0:58 What crypto is missing1:23 Speculative assets vs. Stable coins3:10 Should we trust the government to regulate crypto?5:45 Where do we go from here?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Kevin O’Leary:Kevin O’Leary, known as “Mr. Wonderful” and “Uncle Kevin,” is a businessman, TV personality, and investor. Co-founder of SoftKey International, he orchestrated its $4.2 billion acquisition by Mattel. O’Leary later ventured into asset management and became a prominent investor on the TV show “Shark Tank,” where he delivers candid business advice and cuts deals with his famous no-nonsense approach. He is also currently chairman of O’Leary Ventures and promotes financial literacy by empowering individuals with pragmatic guidance and best-selling books, such as “Cold Hard Truth” and “The Cold Hard Truth on Men, Women, and Money.”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19---------------------
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10 min - The science of spirituality, and how it can change your brain
We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.
Humans have always had religion. What does this say about our minds? Reza Aslan, PhD, Lisa Miller, PhD, and Rob Bell, MDiv, explain.Why has religion been part of humanity since the beginning? Religious scholar Reza Aslan, PhD, clinical psychologist Lisa Miller, PhD, and former pastor Rob Bell, MDiv, explore innate spiritual instincts, the neuroscience of belief, and how faith and science both seek truth. They discuss substance dualism, religion’s role in resilience and mental health, and why our brains may be wired to find meaning, connection, and a sense of something greater.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Reza Aslan, PhD:Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, writer, and professor. Author of Zealot, he explores faith, identity, and culture, bringing religious history into contemporary conversations.About Lisa Miller, PhD:Lisa Miller is a clinical psychologist and Columbia University professor. She researches spirituality and mental health, authoring The Spiritual Child and The Awakened Brain on the science of faith.About Rob Bell, MDiv:Rob Bell is an author, teacher, and former pastor known for Love Wins. He explores spirituality, creativity, and the intersection of faith and modern lif--------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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6 min - How we fundamentally misunderstand ‘well-being’ | Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
### 🧠 What *True* Well-Being Really Means
Most people think of well-being as just the absence of illness or stress.
But neuroscience and social science show it's much deeper — **it's about balance** and the **flexibility to manage yourself**.
#### 🔑 Key Takeaways:
- **Well-being is both a capacity and a state**: It’s not just a feeling, it’s a skill you build.
- **It's created from within**: Through your own actions and mindset, not something applied from outside.
### 💡 Practical Ways to Build Well-Being:
1. **Nurture strong relationships** – Prioritize time with people you care about.
2. **Take control of tech habits** – Limit addictive scrolling and overstimulation.
3. **Do what you love with people you love** – Joy and connection matter.
4. **Reflect regularly** – Ask yourself: What’s this all for? What matters?
5. **Give to others** – Acts of kindness reflect back to us emotionally.
### 🌱 A Modern View of Well-Being Includes:
- **Personal agency** – Feeling in control of your choices.
- **Connection to others** – A sense of belonging and shared meaning.
- **Purpose** – Living in alignment with what matters to you.
- **Shared storytelling** – Creating narratives of meaning and possibility with others.
About Mary Helen Immordino-Yang:
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD, is an expert on the psychological and neurobiological foundations of social emotion, self-awareness, and culture, and how they impact learning, development, and education.
She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education, a Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute, a faculty member in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, and the Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE).
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5 min - The science of the “self” — explained by a biologist | Michael Levin
How do “you” emerge from a collection of cells? A biologist explains.
The concept of the “self” has long been considered philosophically significant: a foundation for exploring who we are and why we’re here. But where does the self begin?Developmental biologist Michael Levin explores this question, explaining how the “self” is constantly being constructed and created, starting in the early moments of embryogenesis.Levin argues against binary categorizations of selfhood, emphasizing that it is a continuous phenomenon with no sharp lines between different stages of development. Using the example of self-organizing cells in the formation of the embryo, Levin also asserts that the self is not a singular entity — rather, it is a collection of structures working together toward a specific goal.-------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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7 min - The beauty of collective intelligence, explained by a developmental biologist | Michael Levin
The strange science experiment that blew a worm’s head off… and blew our minds.
Michael Levin, a developmental biologist at Tufts University, challenges conventional notions of intelligence, arguing that it is inherently collective rather than individual.Levin explains that we are collections of cells, with each cell possessing competencies developed from their evolution from unicellular organisms. This forms a multi-scale competency architecture, where each level, from cells to tissues to organs, is solving problems within their unique spaces.Levin emphasizes that properly recognizing intelligence, which spans different scales of existence, is vital for understanding life's complexities. And this perspective suggests a radical shift in understanding ourselves and the world around us, acknowledging the cognitive abilities present at every level of our existence.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Michael Levin:Michael Levin is a developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, where he is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor and serves as director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts and the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.Prior to college, Michael Levin worked as a software engineer and independent contractor in the field of scientific computing. He attended Tufts University, interested in artificial intelligence and unconventional computation. To explore the algorithms by which the biological world implemented complex adaptive behavior, he got dual B.S. Degrees, in CS and in Biology and then received a PhD from Harvard University.He led an independent laboratory from 2000 to 2007 at Forsyth Institute, Harvard. Now, his lab at Tufts studies anatomical and behavioral decision-making at multiple scales of biological, artificial, and hybrid systems.--------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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13 min - The #1 way to strengthen your mind is to use your body | Wendy Suzuki
Exercise gives your brain a “bubble bath of neurochemicals,” says Wendy Suzuki, a professor of neural science.
Exercise can have surprisingly transformative impacts on the brain, according neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. It has the power not only to boost mood and focus due to the increase in neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline, but also contributes to long-term brain health. Exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells, particularly in the hippocampus, improving long-term memory and increasing its volume. Suzuki notes that you don’t have to become a marathon runner to obtain these benefits — even just 10 minutes of walking per day can have noticeable benefits. It just takes a bit of willpower and experimentation.0:00 My exercise epiphany1:35 What is “runner’s high”?2:40 The hippocampus & prefrontal cortex3:32 Neuroplasticity: It’s never too late to move your body----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Wendy Suzuki:Dr. Wendy A. Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Human Anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, studying with Prof. Marion C. Diamond, a leader in the field of brain plasticity. She went on to earn her Ph.D. In Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego in 1993 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before accepting her faculty position at New York University in 1998. Dr. Suzuki is author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better.------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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10 min - Why haven’t we found aliens? A physicist shares the most popular theories. | Brian Cox
Chances are, we’re not alone in the universe. But if that’s true — why can’t we seem to find our neighbors?
This question is known as the Fermi paradox, and it continues to go unsolved. However, some theories could offer potential solutions.Physicist Brian Cox explains the paradox and walks us through our best guesses as to the reason for our quasi-isolation.0:00 Who is Enrico Fermi?0:22 What is the Fermi Paradox?1:29 Rare Earth Hypothesis2:41 Extinguished Civilizations3:51 Technological Singularity4:34 Vast Distances5:14 Cosmic Quarantine7:31 The Great Filter9:51 The Great Silence-----------------------------------------------------------06:30-19Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - How social media sabotages your brain’s friendship mechanism | Arthur Brooks
Thanks to modern-day social media, it’s easier than ever to connect with the people you care about. But is this really the case? Professor Arthur Brooks discusses how social media is actually harming our ability to socialize, and proposes a way to fix it.
Oxytocin, the bonding neuropeptide in our brains, needs eye contact and touch—things we don’t get from Zoom or social media. This lack leaves us feeling hungrier for connection, which only fuels the loneliness epidemic, and causes us to further distance ourselves from others.
Does this mean we should ban social media and prevent young people from using it? Brooks says no, social media can be a wonderful complement to real-life interactions, like when it is used to arrange plans to meet up with friends. If social media substitutes for real-life relationships, it harms our happiness. If it complements them, it can be beneficial. We need connection now more than ever, and using social media wisely can help us stay connected and support our mental well-being.
About Arthur Brooks:
Arthur C. Brooks is a professor at both the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, where he teaches public and nonprofit leadership and management practice. Before joining Harvard in July 2019, he spent ten years as the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a well-known public policy think tank in Washington, DC.
Brooks has written 11 books, including the bestsellers "Love Your Enemies" (2019), "The Conservative Heart" (2015), and "The Road to Freedom" (2012). He writes a column for The Atlantic, hosts the podcast "The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks," and is featured in the 2019 documentary "The Pursuit." He also serves on the board of the Legatum Institute, a think tank in London
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6 min - Brian Cox on quantum computing and black hole physics
**We might be living inside a cosmic hologram.**
At the cutting edge of physics and engineering lies a baffling truth: quantum computers and black holes might share the same secrets about how information is stored. Unlike classical computers that rely on copies for error correction, quantum memory is fragile—any touch from the environment can erase it. Engineers are now creating systems that *protect* data using redundancy, eerily similar to how nature encodes reality itself.
Decades ago, physicist Jacob Bekenstein discovered that a black hole’s information capacity is determined not by its volume, but by the *surface area* of its event horizon—measured in minuscule square Planck units. This shocking revelation hints at a deeper truth: **the universe might function like a hologram**, with the true data of our 3D world encoded on a distant 2D boundary.
Juan Maldacena’s mathematical work adds fuel to this idea: a complete quantum description of gravity inside a space might actually *live on its boundary*. This isn't science fiction—it's one of the most radical frontiers in modern physics. We don't fully understand it yet. No one does. But we’re catching glimpses of a universe built not from space and time—but from information itself.
**Could our reality be encoded like a quantum memory system—resilient, redundant, and ultimately... Holographic?**
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10 min - Who is attracted to policing jobs? | Brian Klaas
Brian Klaas argues that the key to police reform is changing who wants to be a cop.
Could revamping police recruitment strategies pave the way to a more accountable and community-oriented police force? Political scientist Brian Klaas thinks so.He contends that it's just as crucial to comprehend who is drawn to policing and the nature of recruitment processes as it is to oversee police conduct. He brings this idea to life by contrasting the militaristic recruitment approach of Doraville, Georgia, with New Zealand's community-focused strategy that led to a diverse influx of applicants.Klaas also highlights worrying statistics of high domestic abuse rates among US police officers, advocating for stricter screening during recruitment. Although such changes won't completely eliminate issues like police violence, Klaas believes they're significant steps toward meaningful reform.0:00 Attitudes toward police reform1:14 Police ad #1: America2:06 Police ad #2: New Zealand3:12 Who is attracted to policing?4:09 “I’m not naive enough to think…”----------------------------------------------------------------------------------About Brian Klaas:Associate Professor of Global Politics at University College London, Contributing Writer for The Atlantic, author of Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, and Creator/Host of the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06:30-19
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7 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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