Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste? Think of Pavan Sukhdev as nature’s banker — assessing the value of the Earth’s assets. Eye-opening charts will […]
Surgeons are taught from textbooks which conveniently color-code the types of tissues, but that’s not what it looks like in real life — until now. At TEDMED Quyen Nguyen demonstrates how a molecular marker can make tumors light up in neon green, showing surgeons exactly where to cut. (Recorded at TEDMED, October 2011, in San Diego, […]
What is a mistake? By talking through examples with his improvisational Jazz quartet, Stefon Harris walks us to a profound truth: many actions are perceived as mistakes only because we don’t react to them appropriately. (Recorded at TEDSalon NY 2011, November 2011, in New York, New York. Duration: 13:11) [ted id=1298] Watch Stefon Harris’s talk on TED.com, […]
How can something as simple as a smile be so deceptively complex? That’s the mystery and magic explored in Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, a new TED Book by Ron Gutman about the sensation and science of the smile. From the broad beaming grin of a toddler to the oily smirk of […]
For the first time in the history of the TED Prize, it is being awarded not to an individual, but to an idea. It is an idea upon which our planet’s future depends: The City 2.0. The City 2.0 is the city of the future… a future in which more than ten billion people on […]
After re-purposing CAPTCHA so each human-typed response helps digitize books, Luis von Ahn wondered how else to use small contributions by many on the Internet for greater good. At TEDxCMU, he shares how his ambitious new project, Duolingo, will help millions learn a new language while translating the Web quickly and accurately — all for […]
We’re taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets. (Recorded at TEDSalon NY 2011, November 2011, in New York, New York. Duration: 16:51) [ted id=1287] Watch Kathryn Schulz’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, […]
Build a better mousetrap, the adage goes, and the world will beat a path to your door. That may sound good if you’re into killing small rodents—and many are: more than 4,400 patents for new mousetraps have been issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office—but in the rough-and-tumble world of business, it’s not so […]
Today, TED and The Huffington Post are launching a year-end collaboration around 18 groundbreaking ideas that premiered on TED.com in 2011 and may very well reshape the world in 2012. For 18 days, The Huffington Post will count down these big ideas from TED in a list curated by Chris Anderson, with essays from each […]
Charles Limb performs cochlear implantation, a surgery that treats hearing loss and can restore the ability to hear speech. But as a musician too, Limb thinks about what the implants lack: They don’t let you fully experience music yet. (There’s a hair-raising example.) At TEDMED 2011, Limb reviews the state of the art and the […]
At Thursday’s TEDxWomen, a wide range of amazing women, and a few good men, will speak onstage in New York and Los Angeles. And you can take part wherever you are, by joining in a range of amazing events and happenings. Attend a TEDxWomen watch party. All over the world, amazing TEDx organizers have been […]
Once you’ve watched John Bohannon’s talk and dance performance from TEDxBrussels (watch it on TED.com), you may have the same question the TED Blog had: How in the world did you do that? So we asked, and here’s what he sent us in reply: A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Artists of the United States […]
Use dancers instead of powerpoint. That’s science writer John Bohannon’s “modest proposal.” In this spellbinding choreographed talk from TEDxBrussels he makes his case by example, aided by dancers from Black Label Movement. (Recorded at TEDxBrussels 2011, November 2011, in Brussels, Belgium. Duration: 11:08.) [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlDWRZ7IYqw&feature=player_embedded%5D Watch John Bohannon’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, […]
TED iPhone developer Matt Drance at TED2011. Photo: Robert Leslie At the launch of the TED iPhone app, the TED Blog sat down with project leader Thaniya Keereepart and engineer Matt Drance to talk about working together, building new features and what’s coming next from our mobile team. Thaniya Keereepart: I work for TED, I […]
We’re thrilled to announce that TED’s official app is now available for iPhone, optimized for a small screen and introducing several much-requested features! Adapted from our award-winning iPad app, the new TED iPhone app allows users to browse and watch TEDTalks, videos ranging from 3 minutes to 18 minutes in length. TEDTalks feature great ideas […]
Deadline extended to submit your short video: Dec. 5! For our next conference — TED2012: Full Spectrum — we’re looking for 10 of the world’s best teachers to take the TED stage during a special session we’re calling The Classroom. We’re accepting video nominations to help track these people down. You can nominate yourself or […]