How the Illuminati conspiracy theory started | BBC Ideas
Is Jay-Z really in the Illuminati? Is Donald Trump? Is Katy Perry? Am I? Everyone from the BBC to Beyoncé has been accused of being part of the Illuminati – a secret group said to comprise of the world’s most powerful people seeking to establish a new world order. Even if you haven’t heard of […]
What children want us to know about climate change | BBC Ideas
If climate change were an animal or plant, I think it would be some sort of parasite, because it’s the only thing that’s actually growing and getting bigger, while everything else starts dying off. The environment is definitely very special because if we get rid of it, there’s nowhere else we can go. It’s a […]
Five simple strategies to sharpen your critical thinking | BBC Ideas
We’re lucky to live in an age where the sum total of human knowledge is pretty much available at the click of a button. We’ve never had access to so much information. But not all of what’s out there is quite what it seems. So here’s a few strategies to navigate your way through. And […]
Three minutes to the centre of the Earth | BBC Ideas
Intro It’s 6,371 kilometres to the centre of the Earth. Follow us down. We’re going all the way to the heart of the planet. The Earth Our world is made of layers, a bit like an onion, and as far as we know, life only exists in the first layer – the crust. In the […]
The science of snowflakes with Brian Cox | BBC Ideas
What is a snowflake? Snowflakes are intricate, beautiful, mysterious, and totally captivating. But for all their complexity – and endless variety – the structure of a snowflake can be explained by a few universal laws of nature. Laws that explain everything from snowflakes to galaxies. Let’s start at the beginning. What is a snowflake? Or, […]
Five mysteries about our Universe 🌌⭐ | BBC Ideas
Introduction Our Universe is a mystery. It’s a collection of mysteries. The more we learn, the more we realise that there’s a lot more that we do not know. Here are five big mysteries. The Multiverse There is no reason to believe that our Universe is unique. It is quite possible that just as our […]
How I overcame self harm | BBC Ideas
I can’t believe that kid that was harming themselves would end up sitting here. I’ve come so far. For the first time, I’m seeing that there’s an abundance of opportunity. I wish I wouldn’t have blamed myself so much for the way I felt and for the self-harm, because that’s made it harder. All I […]
Why algorithms are called algorithms | BBC Ideas
We think of an algorithm as something new, but the term actually dates back about 900 years. The word algorithm comes from the name of a Persian mathematical genius, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. He was born around 780 AD in the region now known as Uzbekistan. His name suggests he came from Khwarizm. Known as […]
How to tell if you’re being bullied at work | BBC Ideas
I found myself dreading going into work. As soon as I saw the door, it was like this weight just went onto me. Inside, it was eating me up. I was smiling all the time, but it hurt. It’s taken somewhere in the region of six years to be able to really regain my confidence […]
How to stay cool…without warming the planet 🌍 | BBC Ideas
If you want to understand the bind the world faces adapting to climate change, there may be no better example than that of the simple air conditioner. As the world warms and heatwaves become more frequent, and more dangerous, people turn up the AC. It’s very effective at cooling buildings and the people inside them. […]