Miwa Matreyek travels from waterscape to starscape to cityscape and back again, magically interacting with visually striking animations.
Neil Gershenfeld is trying to re-implement biology with semiconductors, conductors, insulators — to literally grow technology. He says “If a program is a structure, it can become a thing.”
Tan Le shows a next-gen gaming interface: the Emotiv headset, which reads your brainwaves. The headset also has real-world applications like opening and closing blinds, turning on lights — and steering a wheelchair.
Eben Bayer wants to use mushrooms that act a lot like plastics as materials for products. Advantage: they’re made from crop waste, and totally disposable.
Voting system designer David Bismark: Our democracies rely on elections. Unfortunately people will do bad things for power. Voters should be able to check that their vote is counted, without breaking secrecy.
Emily Pilloton shares the story of Bertie County, North Carolina — prime example of the demise of rural America.
Photos: TED / James Duncan Davidson