TEDBlog August, 2011 Archive
31 August 2011
Pay attention to nonviolence: Julia Bacha on TED.com
In 2003, the Palestinian village of Budrus mounted a 10-month-long nonviolent protest to stop a barrier being built across their olive groves. Did you hear about it? Didn’t think so. Brazilian filmmaker Julia Bacha asks why we only pay attention to violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict — and not to the nonviolent leaders who may one day bring peace. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 10:52.)
Watch Julia Bacha’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.
30 August 2011
Happy birthday, Sylvia Earle!
“As the ocean gives us life, we must give back — an enduring gift from us to the future.” — Sylvia Earle
Today we celebrate 2009 TED Prize winner Sylvia Earle‘s birthday by celebrating the many successes in ocean protection that took place in 2011.
Sylvia recently told us the good news: “[This year there was] a significant increase in protection by the U.K. for the Chagos Archipelago, by Chile for the waters around Sal y Gomez, by Costa Rica for the Cocos Islands in addition to greater protection for sharks in Hawaii, the Republic of Palau, Honduras and the Maldives — and more! Pacific Island nations are collaborating in an effort to greatly increase the size and scope of safe havens for ocean wildlife. Awareness is growing about the need to reform fishing policies. Momentum is growing on many fronts, from the Sargasso Sea to the Ross Sea and beyond.”
But there is plenty more to do to build on this recent success. Recently Sylvia helped launch OceanElders, a group of leaders from around the world including Ted Turner and Sir Richard Branson, who have come together to shine a global spotlight on the need for ocean conservation.
We want to know how you are helping fulfill Sylvia’s wish. Join us in a new TED Conversation to discuss what steps you are taking to protect the ocean.
You can also follow Sylvia on Facebook and Twitter.
– Casson Rosenblatt
30 August 2011
DNA clues to our inner Neanderthal: Svante Pääbo on TED.com
Sharing the results of a massive, worldwide study, Svante Pääbo shows the DNA proof that early humans mated with Neanderthals after we moved out of Africa. (Yes, many of us have Neanderthal DNA.) He also shows how a tiny bone from a baby finger was enough to identify a whole new humanoid species. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 17:02.)
Watch Svante Pääbo’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1000+ TEDTalks.
29 August 2011
Beware conflicts of interest: Dan Ariely on TED.com
In this short talk, psychologist Dan Ariely tells two personal stories that explore scientific conflict of interest: How the pursuit of knowledge and insight can be affected, consciously or not, by shortsighted personal goals. When we’re thinking about the big questions, he reminds us, let’s be aware of our all-too-human brains.. (Recorded at TED University 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 5:35.)
Watch Dan Ariely’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.
26 August 2011
Read an excerpt from “Blindsight,” Simon Lewis’ astonishing story
Last year, Simon Lewis spoke at the INK Conference in India, telling — for the first time onstage — his story of recovery from terrible brain damage, and the surprising new understanding of consciousness that he gained. (Watch the TEDTalk.)
Now, over at the online magazine The Atavist, writer Chris Colin has produced a thoughtful and well-reported story of Lewis’ life, both before and after the crash that destroyed a third of the right hemisphere of his brain. (Before the crash, Lewis was a film producer — he helped make Look Who’s Talking.) Spending days with Lewis, Colin shows a man seeking to reconnect with life — but also possessed of a new way of seeing the world, a new way he wants to try to share.
One early review: “Colin tells Simon Lewis’s story of wreckage and rebirth with economy, vividness, and grace.” — Nicholson Baker, author of House of Holes, Vox and The Mezzanine
Read an excerpt from “Blindsight” on TheAtlantic.com >>
Buy “Blindsight” for Kindle and iPad/iPod >>
26 August 2011
Playlist: To infinity and beyond
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks Monday!)
The wonderful thing about the universe is not just how big it is, but how every time we look into it we find something new and extraordinary. Here are four talks about the vastness of space, and the things that may or may not be found in it.
1) Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco shows images from the Cassini voyage to Saturn, focusing on its largest moon, Titan, and on frozen Enceladus, which seems to shoot jets of ice.
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2) Stephen Hawking asks some Big Questions about our universe — How did the universe begin? How did life begin? Are we alone? — and discusses how we might go about answering them.
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3) Filmmaker David Hoffman shares footage from his feature-length documentary Sputnik Mania, which shows how the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to both the space race and the arms race — and jump-started science and math education around the world.
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4) Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love.
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Playlist by Becca McClain
25 August 2011
Playlist: All kinds of minds
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.)
“If you could only see the world the way I see it …” Four TEDTalks from non-neurotypical thinkers, people whose minds work in extraordinary and unusual ways.
1) Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works — sharing her ability to “think in pictures,” which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.
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2) At TED’s Full Spectrum Auditions, comedian Joshua Walters, who’s bipolar, walks the line between mental illness and mental “skillness.” In this funny, thought-provoking talk, he asks: What’s the right balance between medicating craziness away and riding the manic edge of creativity and drive?
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3) Daniel Tammet has linguistic, numerical and visual synesthesia — meaning that his perception of words, numbers and colors are woven together into a new way of perceiving and understanding the world. The author of “Born on a Blue Day,” Tammet shares his art and his passion for languages in this glimpse into his beautiful mind.
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4) Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnet syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.
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Playlist by Emily McManus.
24 August 2011
Playlist: Artfully unconventional
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.)
Art can be beautiful, inspirational, thought-provoking, and… funny? Here are four talks by artists across the spectrum.
1) How do you stage an international art show with work from 100 different artists? If you’re Shea Hembrey, you invent all of the artists and artwork yourself — from large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush. Watch this funny, mind-bending talk to see the explosion of creativity and diversity of skills a single artist is capable of.
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2) Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat explores the paradox of being an artist in exile: a voice for her people, but unable to go home. In her work, she explores Iran pre- and post-Islamic Revolution, tracing political and societal change through powerful images of women.
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3) Engineer and artist Golan Levin pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with audiovisuals and technology. In an amazing TED display, he shows two programs he wrote to perform his original compositions.
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4) Janet Echelman found her true voice as an artist when her paints went missing — which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material. Now she makes billowing, flowing, building-sized sculpture with a surprisingly geeky edge. A transporting 10 minutes of pure creativity.
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Playlist by Becca McClain.
23 August 2011
Playlist: You did what?
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.)
From the day-to-day to the once-in-a-lifetime, sometimes people are driven to do extraordinary things. Here are five talks about jobs and adventures that will make your jaw drop, and maybe inspire you undertake your own spectacular feats.
1) Five years ago, Roz Savage quit her high-powered London job to become an ocean rower. She’s crossed the Atlantic solo, and just started the third leg of a Pacific solo row, the first for a woman. Why does she do it? Hear her reasons, both deeply personal and urgently activist.
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2) Author, philosopher, prankster and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about the year he spent living biblically — following the rules in the Bible as literally as possible.
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3) Lewis Pugh talks about his record-breaking swim across the North Pole. He braved the icy waters (in a Speedo) to highlight the melting icecap.
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4) Mike Rowe, the host of “Dirty Jobs,” tells some compelling (and horrifying) real-life job stories. Listen for his insights and observations about the nature of hard work, and how it’s been unjustifiably degraded in society today.
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5) In a lively show, mathemagician Arthur Benjamin races a team of calculators to figure out 3-digit squares, solves another massive mental equation and guesses a few birthdays. How does he do it? He’ll tell you.
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Playlist by Becca McClain
22 August 2011
Playlist: High energy! Four speakers who bounce around the stage
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.)
To propel us into the week: four speakers whose infectious high energy animates what they have to say.
1) Clifford Stoll captivates his audience with a wildly energetic sprinkling of anecdotes, observations, asides — and even a science experiment. After all, by his own definition, he’s a scientist: “Once I do something, I want to do something else.”
2) You’ve never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called “developing world.”
3) In a presentation that can only be described as epic, comedian Charles Fleischer delivers a hysterical send-up of a time-honored TED theme: the map. Geometry, numbers, charts and stamp art also factor in (somehow), as he weaves together a unique theory of everything called “Moleeds.”
4) Here’s a crazy idea: Persuade the world to try living in peace for just one day, every September 21. In this energetic, honest talk, Jeremy Gilley tells the story of how this crazy idea became real — real enough to help millions of kids in war-torn regions.
Playlist by Emily McManus.
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