Want to be happy? Be grateful: Brother David Steindl-Rast at TEDGlobal 2013David Steindl-Rast is a monk, and a composed, serene figure to wrap up the last session of TEDGlobal 2013. His theme, gratefulness, is also appropriate for the end of a long and intense week. After all, he points out, we all share the same essential goal: to be happy. And gratitude provides the key. “We […]
Got social problems? Business can help: Michael Porter at TEDGlobal 2013Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter is here to make the case that business can help tackle social problems. Issues such as healthcare, access to water and climate change are bread-and-butter concerns for TEDsters in the room, who clearly agree with his early statement that we’re all very aware that these problems exist. Many of them also […]
The battle between public and private: Alessandro Acquisti at TEDGlobal 2013Stories of NSA spying have been rippling through the press in the past week or so, and Carnegie Mellon professor Alessandro Acquisti is here to tell us just how blurry the boundary between private and public has become in recent years. He begins by reminding us of the story of Adam and Eve, banished from the Garden of […]
Reinventing education for millennials: Anant Agarwal at TEDGlobal 2013Anant Agarwal runs EdX.org, the Harvard-MIT open-education site, and he’s here to talk MOOCs, those “massively open online courses” that have generated both excitement and skepticism throughout the chattering world of the digital classes. Agarwal shows a picture of a lecture hall in MIT from 50 years ago. Then one of the scene from today. What has […]
Tech Impact: The speakers in session 11 at TEDGlobal 2013Technology is such an integral part of everyday life, it can be hard to remember how far we’ve come — and how fast. This session at TEDGlobal 2013 introduces a cadre of technological innovators who are helping to change the world yet further–and thinking about the implications of technology on society at large. Here are […]
In case you missed it: Some highlights of day 3 of TEDGlobal 2013: Think AgainThe final full day of TEDGlobal 2013 comprised three jampacked sessions. “State of the Nations” included insights from China, the Middle East, and thoughts for fixing the dysfunctional global system of governance. “Forces of Change,” curated by TED Senior Fellows Erik Hersman and Adrian Hong, introduced us to fresh thinking about Africa, and provided a […]
Piano soul and swagger: Jamie Cullum at TEDGlobal 2013Musical relief in this session comes courtesy of the British pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum, supported by his brother Ben on bass and Brad Webb on drums. The first song, he tells us, “is about a boy at school who couldn’t get noticed by any of the girls, so he decided to become very […]
The power of poetry: Stephen Burt at TEDGlobal 2013“I read poetry all the time, I write about poetry frequently, and I take poems apart to see how they work,” says Stephen Burt as he takes the TEDGlobal stage. “I’m a word person. I understand the world best and most fully through words, rather than pictures or numbers. When I have a new experience, […]
Scientific research and … improv? Uri Alon at TEDGlobal 2013“In the middle of my PhD, I was hopelessly stuck,” confesses scientist Uri Alon. “Every research direction I tried led to a dead end. It seemed my basic assumptions stopped working.” Alon felt like a failure. And even though he got through it, the experience stuck with him … especially when it happened again. While […]
Imagined Beauty: The speakers in Session 10 at TEDGlobal 2013Beauty is always a key theme at TED, and in this session, Imagined Beauty, there’s something for everyone, with speakers including a couple whose professions have required the coining of new words. Meet the “cloudspotter,” the “mathemagician,” and the others who presented to us in this session of TEDGlobal. Click on their name for a […]
Want to see real innovation? Check out Africa: Toby Shapshak at TEDGlobal 2013The publisher and editor of the South African edition of Stuff magazine, Toby Shapshak is here to challenge our perceptions of his home continent. First, he asks us, who bought a pay-as-you-go SIM card on arriving in Edinburgh? Hands wave. “You’re using African technology,” he says proudly. “‘Pay-as-you-go’ was an idea pioneered in Africa by Vodacom […]
Why mayors should rule the world: Benjamin Barber at TEDGlobal 2013“Democracy is in trouble,” announces political theorist Benjamin Barber as he makes his way onto the TEDGlobal stage. He continues: “We live in a 21st-century world of interdependence and brutal interdependent problems. Yet when we look for solutions in politics and democracy, we are faced with political institutions designed 400 years ago.” What can one do […]
Let’s talk about sex: Shereen El Feki at TEDGlobal 2013TEDGlobal Fellow, and author of Sex and the Citadel, Shereen El Feki comes on stage to tell us about Faiza, a woman she met on a recent trip to Casablanca. Unmarried, and a new mother, Faiza proudly told El Feki her story as she showed off her young son. “It was a remarkable tale, but Faiza saved […]
“Oud”-standing: Le Trio Joubran at TEDGlobal 2013The brothers who make up Le Trio Joubran are part of a long line of oud makers and players. What’s an oud, you ask? Why, it’s a beautiful, lute-like stringed instrument, of course. Accompanied by Youssef Hbeisch on percussion, Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran captivate the TED audience with their intricately picked tunes. Communicating with each […]
Hey, that paralyzed rat just walked upstairs: Gregoire Courtine at TEDGlobal 2013Grégoire Courtine is the head of the Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute of the Life Science School at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). He starts his TED Talk with a story of a mentor of his, the late Christopher Reeve, who spent the last years of his life in a wheelchair after a paralyzing spinal […]
