The 2009 World Science Festival kicked off its third day of festivities on Friday with a truly original and delightful event called WSF Spotlight, which stripped away the trimmings of what you might think of as “traditional” science presentations (flat lighting? a vast echoey lecture hall? dry droning delivery?), and replaced them with a dramatically […]
Photo: Robert Leslie. Courtesy WSF Last night, the TEDBlog attended the World Science Festival‘s second night of proceedings, specifically the session titled “Nothing: The Subtle Science of Emptiness.” The evening began with a warm welcome for the illustrious journalist John Hockenberry, who described himself as our “launch vehicle into an area of sophisticated science.” He […]
Dr. JoAnn Kuchera-Morin works on the AlloSphere, one of the largest scientific and artistic instruments in the world. Based at UC Santa Barbara, the AlloSphere maps complex data in time and space. Dr. Kuchera-Morin, a composer, demoed the AlloSphere at TED2009 in February, showing five films of scientific data mapped visually and sonically into compelling […]
From the LA Times’ “Culture Monster” blog, this item by Mark Swed: “Linda Ronstadt hails Gustavo Dudamel in testimony on Capitol Hill”: In a remarkable testimony by Linda Ronstadt to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies Tuesday, the pop singer made an impassioned plea for government support of the arts. And […]
To celebrate March 8, International Women’s Day, we suggest these four TEDTalks gems from some amazing speakers — artists, scientists and economists who think deeply about the role of women. Author and activist Isabel Allende discusses women, creativity, feminism — and the power of passionate thinkers and doers: The former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Ngozi […]
Jose Abreu is well known for his inspiration of disadvantaged Venezuelan youth. His work with El Sistema and the beautiful music that it has produced are an inextricable part of the country and the region’s culture and history. El Sistema has given huge numbers of children direction, purpose and opportunity that they may otherwise never […]
Today’s TEDTalk, from Kary Mullis, touches on a powerful topic — how modern science is funded, and how the availability of money can drive scientific inquiry just as powerfully as curiosity or necessity can. Several other TEDTalks discuss this often-hidden driver of scientific research. Alan Russell offers a searing vision of how current research is […]
Each Friday recently, we’ve been featuring a TEDTalk that was posted early on in the TED.com experiment. Today’s hidden gem is from architect Thom Mayne, who says early on in his TEDTalk: “No matter what I’ve done, what I’ve tried to do, everybody says it can’t be done.” Mayne talks about the job of an […]
By recognizing that the Golden Rule is fundamental to all world religions, the Charter for Compassion can inspire people to think differently about religion. This Charter is being created in a collaborative project by people from all over the world. It will be completed in 2009. You can help write the charter. Or inspire others […]
Looking for a little inspiration — a shot of energy to get involved in making the world a better place? Check out this 4-minute version of Dave Eggers’ 2008 TEDTalk, where he talks about something meaningful you can do right in your neighborhood: Learn more about Dave’s wish at TEDPrize.org and at Once Upon a […]
All around Los Angeles this week, Phantom Galleries LA has arranged screenings of James Nachtwey’s photographs of the XDR-TB epidemic. Here’s the full schedule, starting with two showings today, October 5, in downtown LA and in Long Beach: Sunday, October 5, 2008: Elevate Film Festival Nokia Theater at LA Live Downtown Los Angeles 2pm-8pm University […]
Isabel Allende writes novels about self-reliant women who thrive in the midst of political turmoil. In her passionate TEDTalk, Allende praises women whose grit and selflessness transform the meaning of modern feminism — mentioning, in particular, three women of rare courage: Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam and Rose Mapendo. Watch Isabel Allende’s TEDTalk, then read what […]
The TED.com staff’s favorite psychology research blog, the BPS Research Digest, reports on a study on forgiveness from the University of Sussex and the New School for Social Research. The study examines how groups which have committed atrocious acts against one another come to break the cycle of resentment and forgive. [The researchers] surveyed 180 […]
Casson at the TEDPrize.org blog (get the RSS feed) points us toward this cover story in the May/June Boston Review: “Is It Africa’s Turn?” Reacting to recent economic data from Africa — showing some growth and progress across the continent — economist Edward Miguel writes: “Economic growth rates are at historic highs and democratization appears […]
TED’s Matthew Trost reports from this Saturday session of the World Science Festival: Nobel Prize winner and cell biologist Paul Nurse moderates a discussion between the leader of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins, physician and geneticist James Evans, and sociologist Nikolas Rose after an introductory piece of context by Misha Angrist, who recently had […]
Gore gets it! – the prize, and the crisis. Deeply rooted in science, Al Gore has established climate crisis as a moral and spiritual imperative. Now we must act with speed on an unprecedented scale. Speed and scale. — John Doerr I have seen the VP’s passion since my early days photographing him in Washington […]