At TED University Session 1, we learned about modernist cooking … saw a flower unfold in sped-up time … met a woman who grows her own clothes … and heard one of the most exquisite musical instruments ever made. A few highlights from this session:

Cellist Joshua Roman, a TED Fellow, played his (borrowed) Stradivarius.

Nathan Myhrvold’s new cookbook Modernist Cuisine cuts food, pots, pans, even ovens in half to explain the science behind cooking. Here he’s explaining how he and his team got this shot of the inside of a pot of noodles.

TED Fellow Suzanne Lee, a fashion designer, describes the process of growing your own completely organic fabric. Including the jacket she’s wearing onstage.

Joe Crump from Razorfish studied digital development in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro — where, he says, the digital divide is dead: in Brazil, 9 out of 10 PCs are bought by the emerging class, many who live in the favelas themselves.

All photos: TED / James Duncan Davidson