10 January 2007

National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis on TEDTalks

In this stunning talk, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world's indigenous cultures, many of which are disappearing, as ancestral land is lost and languages die. (50 percent of the world's 6000 languages are no longer taught to children.) Against a backdrop of extraordinary photos and stories that ignite the imagination, Davis argues that we should be concerned not only for preserving the biosphere, but also the "ethnosphere," which he describes as "the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness." An anthropologist and botanist by training, Davis has traveled the world, living among indigenous cultures. He's written several books, including The Serpent and the Rainbow and Light at the Edge of the World. (Recorded February 2003 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 22:44)

Download this talk: Audio (MP3) | Video (MP4)

More TEDTalks: TEDTalks website | iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video)

Blog this video: Use this code to run the video on your own site:

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="320" height="285" id="VE_Player" align="middle"><param name="movie" value="http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf"><PARAM NAME="FlashVars" VALUE="bgColor='FFFFFF'&file=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/WADEDAVIS_high.flv&autoPlay=false&fullscreenURL=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html&forcePlay=false&logo=&allowFullscreen=true"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="scale" value="noscale"><param name="wmode" value="window"><embed src="http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf" FlashVars="bgColor=FFFFFF&file=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/WADEDAVIS_high.flv&autoPlay=false&fullscreenURL=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html&forcePlay=false&logo=&allowFullscreen=true" quality="high" allowScriptAccess="always" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" scale="noscale" wmode="window" width="320" height="285" name="VE_Player" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></object>

Subscribe to TEDTalks for free, automatic updates.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blog.ted.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-tb.cgi/2952

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis on TEDTalks:

saving the ethnosphere from Global Culture
In a passionate defense of real multiculturalism delivered back in 2003 at TED, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis used the wealth of his experiences with some of the most fascinating indigenous cultures of the world to build a powerf... More...

Discuss Blog Post

juan – January 22 2007

You can find a transcript of the highlights of Dr. Davis talk in the saving the ethnosphere post, part of the Global Culture blog.
finch – January 16 2007

I am stunned at the information Mr. Davis gives us. Presented in such contrast to such a silly gadget-bound culture that we have become. It seems that only on TED would one see the importance of both the iPhone and the concepts that Mr. Davis shares. Important being that one moves us farther from the other through distraction, while the other moves us farther from the other because it is rooted to the earth and its people.
Apple uses the "i" in its branding. It continues to suggest that there is no "we" anymore, and others are not part of the world...as I write this from my iBook. A double edge sword in the most deadly of ways.
Zack Perry – January 10 2007

Amazing thoughts on moving forward into a global community. Thank you for posting.