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June 2014

An overgrown asylum, an abandoned power plant and a handmade village on a river: TED Fellows create popup experiences in Berlin’s secret spaces

Fellows Friday

An overgrown asylum, an abandoned power plant and a handmade village on a river: TED Fellows create popup experiences in Berlin’s secret spaces

on

A crumbling former asylum, a massive brick power station, and an alternative community built by hand by a river. In the hours before TEDBerlin Salon kicked off, three TED Fellows led conference attendees on a treasure hunt through the sprawling streets of sunny Berlin to these locations. Guided by the mobility app Moovel — which recommends the most effective []

7 fascinating things I learned at the TEDSalon Berlin

News

7 fascinating things I learned at the TEDSalon Berlin

on

Yesterday, nearly every seat of the theatre at the Admiralspalast was filled for the TEDBerlin Salon, the first official TED event in Germany (and, with TEDGlobal’s move to Rio in October, the only one taking place in Europe this year). In two sessions hosted by Bruno Giussani, 15 speakers and performers covered an eclectic array of topics, whizzing from tech-driven social []

Remembering Felix Dennis, 1947-2014

News

Remembering Felix Dennis, 1947-2014

on

[ted id=562] We want to remember Felix Dennis, who passed away this week at the age of 67, as he’d probably wish—with this trenchant, funny aside from his 2004 TED Talk. “You guys, you know, you’re going to totally transform everything. Cloning will transform everything. Voice navigation will transform everything … But human nature doesn’t change, []

A filmmaker/butcher, an opera singer and a pair of computational biologists: Meet the latest class of TED Fellows

News

A filmmaker/butcher, an opera singer and a pair of computational biologists: Meet the latest class of TED Fellows

on

In the video above, get to know the 20 newest TED Fellows, who are joining our global network of 300+ innovators who color far outside the lines. This class of Fellows, who will be attending TEDGlobal 2014, represents 16 countries as well as bold ideas in photography, healthcare, food distribution, conservation, street art and, well, you name []

Drone’s-eye view of Berlin: Watch the TEDSalon intro video

Film

Drone’s-eye view of Berlin: Watch the TEDSalon intro video

on

This wow of a video premiered today in Berlin at the first TEDSalon in Germany. Filmmaker Christopher Kippenberger, a pioneer in using drones, asked artists and independent filmmakers to pick a Berlin landmark and use camera-equipped drones to capture it on video. Some of them flew the aircraft daringly over places that have never been []

A fractal film noir uses a dark narrative to help teach math

Inside the Animator's Studio

A fractal film noir uses a dark narrative to help teach math

on

The TED-Ed Lesson “The case of the missing fractals” isn’t just an introduction to the intricate and beautiful world of fractal geometry; it’s also a fully-realized film noir short complete with plot, drama and a smattering of ridiculous puns. This cinematic creation is the product of a TED-Ed dream team, with writing by veteran TED-Ed Educators George Zaidan and []

The Snowdenbot’s next adventure?

Technology

The Snowdenbot’s next adventure?

on

Edward Snowden hasn’t forgotten about the remote presence robot that allowed him to speak on the TED2014 stage and roam the halls of the conference, chatting with attendees. While in exile in Russia, Snowden has apparently used this system, affectionately dubbed the “Snowdenbot,” on a semi-regular basis. Andy Greenberg writes in Wired about how Snowden []

“It’s like climbing a mountain—you take one step at a time”: TED Prize winner Charmian Gooch talks campaigning to end anonymous companies

Q&A

“It’s like climbing a mountain—you take one step at a time”: TED Prize winner Charmian Gooch talks campaigning to end anonymous companies

on

Earlier this month, the Queen announced legislation to clamp down on corporate secrecy in her speech at the opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom. This may be news to the rest of the world, but it was a hard-won victory for the campaigners at Global Witness, an international non-governmental organization known for hard-hitting field investigations []

TED Fellows take over the Oval Office, Elon Musk opens Tesla’s patent trove, Sebastian Thrun on the NanoDegree and much more

In Brief

TED Fellows take over the Oval Office, Elon Musk opens Tesla’s patent trove, Sebastian Thrun on the NanoDegree and much more

on

Several members of the TED community appeared in the news this week. Below, some highlights: Yesterday marked the first-ever White House Maker Faire, which brought together 100 students, entrepreneurs, engineers and tinkerers from across the country. A 17-foot robotic giraffe attended, as did TED Fellows Jane Chen, David Lang, Manu Prakash and Jose Gomez-Marquez, plus []

Obama pledges support for massive new Pacific Ocean “hope spots,” echoing a TED Prize wish

Oceans

Obama pledges support for massive new Pacific Ocean “hope spots,” echoing a TED Prize wish

on

On June 17, 2014, US president Obama pledged support to create 700,000 square miles of new Pacific Ocean “hope spots” — no-fish, no-drill zones to help the ocean recover. As Sylvia Earle asked in her 2009 TED Prize wish:

I wish that you would use all means at your disposal — films, expeditions, the web, new submarines — and campaign to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas — hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet. How much? Some say 10 percent, some say 30 percent. You decide: how much of your heart do you want to protect?