Archives > Monthly

July 2012

TED Talks from inspiring teachers

Education

TED Talks from inspiring teachers

on

Professor John Keating of “The Dead Poets Society.” Calculus teacher Jaime Escalante of “Stand and Deliver.” Marine-turned-teacher Louanne Johnson of “Dangerous Minds.” Hollywood might want to take note of a new award-winning teacher on the block, Stephen Ritz, who gave this fast-paced, highly inspiring talk at TEDxManhattan. A parent and teacher in the South Bronx, []

A movie trailer for awe

Art

A movie trailer for awe

on

. “Performance philosopher” Jason Silva creates brightly colored, fast-moving films about ideas. At TEDGlobal 2012, Silva delved into the concept of radical openness. In this new short film, Silva explores another big question: Is feeling awestruck good for us? In the movie trailer-esque video, Silva quotes recent research by three Stanford professors, which found that []

An Olympic phenom gives out gold, silver and bronze medals to his favorite TEDTalks

Playlist

An Olympic phenom gives out gold, silver and bronze medals to his favorite TEDTalks

on

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imGfY8nb9jw&w=530&h=298] . Track and fielder Steve Mesler never imagined himself at the Winter Olympics, standing atop a freezing mountain preparing to compete. But after repeated injuries in his original sport, he realized that his Olympic dream wasn’t going to happen on the track he’d planned. Mesler opted to channel his drive and ambition into becoming []

8 extremely popular Chinese internet memes

Culture

8 extremely popular Chinese internet memes

on

When it comes to the internet, the Chinese government may have taken inspiration from the Great Wall of China and created the largest digital boundary in the world, blocking 500 million users from accessing the global-standard social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. But blogger Michael Anti, whose real name is Jing Zhao, explains in []

6 stunning photos from Giles Duley

Art

6 stunning photos from Giles Duley

on

When Giles Duley left behind life as a music and fashion photographer and began criss-crossing the globe, photographing forgotten people — those with mental illness, living on the streets, residing in refugee camps and surviving in the crossfire of war — he felt a certain level of separation from his subjects. But then something happened []

The London Olympics opening ceremony … in TED Talks

Entertainment

The London Olympics opening ceremony … in TED Talks

on

Last night’s Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics was filled with symbolism and storytelling over centuries of UK history. Intrigued by the stories and players? Dive into these related TEDTalks! The Olympic pageant begins with an idyllic vision of green fields — coolly surveyed by a top-hatted engineer with grand plans to build the UK []

Why do slugs need slime?

Education

Why do slugs need slime?

on

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_gUgirgJIg&w=530&h=298] . What kind of talk would a 9-year-old give? At TEDxKids@Sunderland, the first TED event held for those yet to celebrate their 10th birthday, we got to find out. With the help of their teachers, students at Thorney Close Primary School created their own TED talk, centered on a question they had often asked []

In Short: Encyclopedia Brown remembered, original prototypes for the iPhone unveiled

Culture

In Short: Encyclopedia Brown remembered, original prototypes for the iPhone unveiled

on

Enjoy these great finds from around the internet: Kathryn Schulz, who gave the blockbuster TEDTalks “On Being Wrong” and “Don’t Regret Regret,” fondly remembers Encyclopedia Brown as the character who taught her “the crucial unity of these terms: intellectual pleasure.” The author of the series about a 5th grade detective, Donald J. Sobol, passed away []

Playlist: Bathroom talks from the TED2013 Talent Search

Playlist

Playlist: Bathroom talks from the TED2013 Talent Search

on

Amsterdam, Bangalore, Doha, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New York, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Tunis and Vancouver. TED headed to 14 cities on six continents for the 2013 Talent Search, looking to bring you fresh perspectives for TED2013. Despite the fact that the 293 speakers who participated in the search came from wildly different backgrounds, []

Architectural forms as complex as snowflakes? Here’s what they look like up close

Art

Architectural forms as complex as snowflakes? Here’s what they look like up close

on

Architect Michael Hansmeyer is not one for the T-square. As he explains in a fascinating talk from TEDGlobal, this “computational” designer took inspiration from nature — specifically from morphogenesis, aka the splitting of cells — and created algorithms that help him design highly unusual shapes. Instead of the same old boring Doric, Ionic and Corinthian []

Civilization reboot: Fellows Friday with Marcin Jakubowski

Q&A

Civilization reboot: Fellows Friday with Marcin Jakubowski

on

Founder of Open Source Ecology Marcin Jakubowksi is creating open blueprints for the building blocks of civilization, starting with the Global Village Construction Set. This set of 50 low-cost machines will allow anyone to build all the infrastructure a community needs – including, at Factor E Farm, one of his own. The Global Village Construction []

A new kind of creature … brought to life

Art

A new kind of creature … brought to life

on

. At TED2007, artist Theo Jansen shared his work creating a new form of life — which can actually survive on its own — from plastic tubes and bottles. In this 3D-animation film, David Lance imagines Jansen’s creature walking through a park, morphing into metal and becoming a spider-like form that can jump cars, fly []