06 August 2010

Playthings: Today’s TEDTalks playlist

TED’s on its annual two-week vacation; during the break, we’re posting new playlists from the TEDTalks archive.

Today’s playlist is about toys that inspire learning, innovation — and of course fun! These are the toys of the technological age: they are alive, they think, they perform magic. What were your favorite toys as a kid (or an adult), and what did they inspire in you? See how David Merrill replaces traditional building blocks with electronic tiles that can add, subtract, compose and create.

David Perry describes a new age of video games: games that “think big” and blend the virtual and the real through emotion and complexity.

Pranav Mistry and Pattie Maes announce a big-kid toy, SixthSense. It can help you buy toilet paper, take and share photographs and tell time … and more:

Caleb Chung designs toys that require lots of TLC, including the infamous Furby and the revolutionary Pleo.

What are your favorite stories about toys and play in the TEDTalks archive? Add your suggestions for this playlist to the comments below, or email contact@ted.com with the subject PLAYLIST: PLAY. (Jog your memory with the TEDTalks spreadsheet.)

And look for fresh TEDTalks starting on August 16!

Curator of this playlist: Rachel Tobias

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