Talks to watch as you buy tickets for “Star Trek Into Darkness”Last night, many boldly ventured where no man had gone before: to see Star Trek Into Darkness, which opened in some theaters at midnight. The film, which is a sequel to JJ Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the classic series, has been highly anticipated ever since its lyrical trailer materialized late last year. Writes critic Betsy […]
How much a video weighs and why the chicken crossed the road: 13 great questions from Vsauce creator Michael StevensTED is in the business of online videos. And so we were very intrigued by this question from Michael Stevens, the creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce: how much does a video weigh? In today’s talk, a TED-Ed lesson filmed at TEDActive, he answers. Watch it above to find out how to measure […]
TEDsters, get ready to play Brain GamesYour brain is three and a half pounds of tissue — and yet it’s the key to everything you experience. The National Geographic Channel show Brain Games seeks to give a better understanding of it – by looking at how the brain focuses, processes fears, makes decisions and much more. The show is hosted by […]
9 documentaries that you need to see this yearBy Marianna Torgovnick Some documentaries show us the strange, the exotic and the unfamiliar; others make us feel anew about something so everyday, we barely thought about it before. Some of my favorite TED Talks are built around great documentary films, like Deborah Scranton’s chilling “War Tapes” and Nathaniel Kahn’s moving search for “My Father, the Architect.” Last week, […]
Bill and TED’s Excellent Initiative? A great suggestion from Stephen ColbertThe description of last night’s episode of The Colbert Report reads: “At the Clinton Global Initiative University Meeting, President Bill Clinton discusses foreign aid, poverty, TED Talks, Twitter and the Colbert Galactic Initiative.” So how did TED enter the conversation? Colbert suggested that Clinton, who accepted the TED Prize in 2007 with the talk “On […]
Meet David Peterson, who developed Dothraki for Game of ThronesThere are seven different words in Dothraki for striking another person with a sword. Among them: “hlizifikh,” a wild but powerful strike; “hrakkarikh,”a quick and accurate strike; and “gezrikh,” a fake-out or decoy strike. But you won’t find these words in George R. R. Martin’s epic series A Song of Ice and Fire, which is where Dothraki originated as the language […]
Grey’s Anatomy has a TED momentHas a TED Talk ever happened live from a hospital? Well, not in real life — but yes on television. Last night on Grey’s Anatomy, TED became a part of the surgical action when Dr. Callie Torres was prepping to give a talk on the wonders of cartilage. But when a leaking tanker led to […]
George Takei’s TEDx Talk: On “Star Trek,” musicals and Japanese American internmentGeorge Takei, best known as Captain Sulu of Star Trek, says it’s been his “lifelong dream” to make it to Broadway. He came close in 1960 when he was invited to audition for a show. But he did not get the part. “It was a body blow,” says Takei. “Suddenly, New York turned into a […]
The live meshing of a real life and virtual chorusEric Whitacre has spent most of his career conducting traditional choirs. Then, in 2009, a fan video posted to YouTube sparked a crazy idea: could he take singers from across the globe, have them sing the same piece on video, and edit it together into a virtual choir? The results of this experiment quickly went […]
11 entertainers who sidestepped the usual avenues and found creative ways to make a livingMusician Amanda Palmer has spent her career seeking out connection: first as a living statue on the street, who traded intimate eye contact and a rose for a passerby’s money; then, as one half of the band The Dresden Dolls, who didn’t hesitate to ask fans for support, either in person or over Twitter. “I […]
“William and the Windmill” wins Grand Jury Award at SXSWLast night at SXSW, William and the Windmill was awarded one of the festival’s top two honors, taking home Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature. The film tells the story of TED Speaker William Kamkwamba, who has come to be known by the title of his memoir, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. At age […]
New documentary at SXSW traces William Kamkwamba’s journey from rural Malawi to the TED StageWilliam Kamkwamba built a windmill out of spare parts to provide electricity for his family in rural Malawi, after seeing a similar design in a library book. It’s an incredible story — one that set TEDGlobal 2007 ablaze. Now, Kamkwamba is the subject of a new documentary, William and the Windmill, which makes its world […]
How movies can influence technologyLast night at TED2013, the Motion Picture Association of America hosted a nighttime discussion on the topic of how film has shaped some of modern day’s most cutting-edge technology. The prime example: John Underkoffler’s user interface inspired by his work on Minority Report. We were joined by Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects division of […]
Laying down the beats on the main stage: Pedrito Martinez back at TED2013Pedrito Martinez is back onstage at TED, and this time he’s brought his band, including the dynamite Ariacne Trujillo on keys. “They have almost a psychic communication,” says TED music advisor, Bill Bragin, a longtime fan who describes taking guests who visit New York City to go see Martinez play at the local Cuban restaurant […]
Mouth music: Wang Li at TED2013It sounds like music that could be pumping from the sound system of a packed nightclub. But these electronic-tinged sounds actually come from the mouth of one man, Wang Li, a master mouth harp musician, as he plays the kouxiang. In session 7 of TED2013, Li gives the audience a taste of his sonic stylings. Raised in […]
