For our first-ever list of the 30 top thinkers under 30, we were hunting for intellectuals in the social and behavioral sciences who, because of their brilliance or originality of thought or ambition or charm or whatever, are likely to be famous in five to 10 years. The goal was to find the world’s not-yet-known Milton Friedmans and Philip Zimbardos and Margaret Meads.
We think we’ve succeeded. Our final list includes whiz-kid teens, an anti-college advocate, a bunch of early-career professors, and even a married couple. All have an abiding love for the beautiful stories that research can tell, and they understand the aesthetics of a good idea and the elegance of a well-conducted study. To find this group, we canvassed colleges, combed through dozens of CVs, questioned working academics, and begged friends to ask friends of friends. We worked hard, searching high and low, but we’re sure we missed plenty of talent, which is why we’re accepting nominations for future lists. If you have somebody to recommend, use the form below to submit your idea to our editors.
We may select contributions for publication on PSmag.com.
