Big Think

When I was in my twenties, I spent long nights going through The Book of Questions with the man who was then my closest friend. Today I stumbled upon a website that takes that same idea - simple, direct and thought-provoking questions - and brings it to the web, and best of all, to well known "movers and shakers".

On Big Think, Mary Robinson, Deepak Chopra and poet Billy Collins (just to tell you with whom I spent this afternoon) along with politicians, writers, business moguls and nonprofit leaders answer easy and not so easy questions in short videos. The videos are relaxed and informal, leaving the "experts" to comfortably stumble and wander through their answers. My visit gave me the odd sensation of having shared a cup of coffee with Mary Robinson, and gotten up up the nerve to ask her about her philosophy on life.

Then, after telling me he believes life is about learning to "smash moments", Billy Collins accepted my invitation to recite Questions about Angels!

Altogether, quite an afternoon.