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October 2013

Some very scary TED-Ed characters

Culture

Some very scary TED-Ed characters

on

TED-Ed lessons are for kids, teenagers and, well, anyone with a passion for learning. And yet, sometimes these animated lessons get downright scary. Here, a collection of terrifying creatures from TED-Ed lessons—in gif form, naturally—to help you get in the Halloween spirit. From the lesson: Beware of nominalizations (AKA zombie nouns) From the lesson: Diagnosing a []

My City: An artist spray-paints Cairo’s uncertain future

Ideas

My City: An artist spray-paints Cairo’s uncertain future

on

Early one morning, hours before the sun would rise, Lebanese-Egyptian artist, activist and historian Bahia Shehab was alone on the streets of Cairo, spray-painting a stenciled message that spoke out against the stripping of veiled women. It’s a campaign she discussed in “A thousand times no,” her inspiring TED Talk, and it was not only []

A story of people, not of radiation: A conversation about those still living near Chernobyl and Fukushima

Q&A

A story of people, not of radiation: A conversation about those still living near Chernobyl and Fukushima

on

If your home had been devastated by a disaster, would you stay? Why do people choose to remain in potentially life-threatening places? These are just a few of the complex questions that photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart and filmmaker Holly Morris explore in their respective work, documenting the lives of people living in Chernobyl and Fukushima. []

Those who stayed in Chernobyl and Fukushima: An excerpt from the new TED Book brings you inside Control Room 4

Culture

Those who stayed in Chernobyl and Fukushima: An excerpt from the new TED Book brings you inside Control Room 4

on

In the new TED Book, Would You Stay?, photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart travels to Chernobyl and Fukushima to try to understand why people refuse to leave these areas despite the risks. Pulling together stunning photos, moving words, recorded interviews and multimedia maps, Rothbart weaves a complex narrative and poses an even tougher question: If your hometown []

An interview with a part-time superhero who has Tourette’s syndrome

Art

An interview with a part-time superhero who has Tourette’s syndrome

on

Jess Thom wants you to know that it’s okay to laugh. “You’re going to hear the words ‘biscuit’ and ‘hedgehog’ a lot in the next few minutes,” she says at the beginning of her talk from TEDxAlbertopolis. That’s because Thom has Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological condition that causes involuntary movements and noises commonly referred to as []

9 ways mushrooms could drastically improve the world

Biology

9 ways mushrooms could drastically improve the world

on

In today’s TED Talk, biologist Mohamed Hijri directs our attention to an incredible biotechnology — not one he invented, but one that’s been around for 450 million years. They are: mycorrhiza, microscopic mushrooms that grow in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants. These mushrooms are incredible at helping plants find phosphorous, an essential []

My City: Why Shanghai is the ultimate hackerspace

Ideas

My City: Why Shanghai is the ultimate hackerspace

on

In 2005, at the start of my first visit to Shanghai, the city clothed itself in a growling thunderstorm. When dusk fell and neon began to score the sky, the city was more Blade Runner-y than I thought a real place possible to be. I remember diving into a luxe spa for a post-train massage, []