Big Data raises concerns about more than just privacy. The debate opening up before us is an essential one for a culture dominated by science and technology. Who determines if a technology is adopted? Who determines when and how it will be deployed? Who owns our data? What are our rights in this new world?

Given the resistance that has grown in this country to any form of science that treads too closely to someone's cherished ideology, celebrating science for the gift that it is with a big, honking festival seems like a good idea, says commentator Adam Frank.

Big Data promises a future where our Big Cities become more flexible and responsive to human needs, argues commentator Adam Frank. While danger may lurk in the data sets, the fact is that we may need to mine Big Data for solutions to our everyday problems.

Mario Livio's new book profiles five brilliant scientists and thinkers who, despite their seminal contributions to our understanding of the world, were also wrong about some big questions. Commentator Adam Frank says Livio's engaging work highlights how the collective process that is science always gets it right in the end.

Religion is often organized in terms of a god, or gods. It's a system of beliefs embodied in a being or beings. But that's not always the case. It can mean more, a lot more, says Adam Frank after finding inspiration in the writing of Ronald Dworkin.

Dark detective tales never get old. It's the same old story every time, even when events take place off world and the people are nothing more than machines. It's a form we love to relive and revive with every generation, says commentator Adam Frank.

Refining our capacity to notice is an act of reverence that we can bring to everywhere and everywhen. It's an invitation, bringing the world's most basic presence into view, opening our horizons and restoring our spirits.

There was a time when superheroes confined themselves to the pages of comic books piled up in a kids room. Now they're on the big screen and in the mainstream of pop culture. Commentator Adam Frank says there are winners and losers in this transformation.

Time is special. How we see it helps determine how we see the rest of the Universe. Physicist Lee Smolin has a new book out that says we've been looking at time the wrong way. Adam Frank digs in and offers his own perspective on Smolin's argument.

Scientists can't just agree to disagree. It's not because we are stubborn or ornery (OK, maybe we are). It's because science faces a fundamental problem when it can't agree on numbers like the value of the Hubble Constant. The whole point of science is to establish an understanding of the cosmos on which we can all agree.

Did the seeds of life on Earth begin on Mars? Are we part of Earth's first alien invasion? Adam Frank says we may be looking at a future full of discoveries in our own solar system that could reset our understanding of life and its origin.

Are you one of the last humans who will ever live? Commentator Adam Frank takes us through the famous Doomsday Argument and what it means.

Can we really see the Universe in a grain of sand, even as we slog through traffic? Can we really hold infinity in our hands, even as we drop off the kids to Violin practice? Commentator Adam Frank says we can if we take the time to notice the beauty of the natural world surrounding us.

The wilderness is not just a thing, it's a need. It's an idea that has grown up with humans and it will follow us from this planet to the next, and beyond. Commentator Adam Frank plots our future course.

Big Data is no flash in the pan. It's a revolution that will transform how we live. It's another in a long line of human attempts to bring order to the universe. As such, commentator Adam Frank also says it will change how we do science.

What "Big Data" really means in under 9 minutes. It's a video, so you can just sit back and watch as Christopher Barnatt digs into this topic.

It may be far more likely that our first evidence of intelligent life in space will come by detecting their industrial waste. Commentator Adam Frank highlights a study on how we might spot the signs from Earth.

Why Aristotle thinks Beyonce would make a great scientist.

This year, Americans saw a strangely warm winter, a ridiculously hot summer and extreme drought conditions. As Hurricane Sandy advances on the East Coast, folks may be wondering if climate change has come to pass. Let's see what science can tell us.

The vast web of geometries traced out in light shows you cities as a kind of infestation. They're like living networks spreading across the planet.