Over the past few centuries, Western cultures have been very good at creating general prosperity for themselves. Historian Niall Ferguson asks: Why the West, and less so the rest? He suggests half a dozen big ideas from Western culture — call them the 6 killer apps — that promote wealth, stability and innovation. And in […]
TV executive Lauren Zalaznick thinks deeply about pop television. Sharing results of a bold study that tracks attitudes against TV ratings over five decades, she makes a case that television reflects who we truly are — in ways we might not have expected. (Recorded at TEDWomen, December 2010, in Washington, DC. Duration: 13:12.) [ted id=1224] […]
Artist Kate Hartman uses wearable electronics to explore how we communicate, with ourselves and with the world. In this quirky and thought-proviking talk she shows the “Talk To Yourself Hat”, the “Inflatable Heart”, the “Glacier Embracing Suit”, and other unexpected devices. (Recorded at TED 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 9:06.) [ted id=1222] Watch Kate Hartman’s talk […]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/28859809 w=525&h=294] Watch video >> Kevin Stone: A new method for escaping tall buildings Exclusive video from TED2011: We’ve been building high-rises for a hundred years. But there’s still no good way, in an emergency, to get people out of tall buildings quickly. Kevin Stone asked: Why? At TED2011, he shares what his “Why?” […]
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/14528924 w=601&h=398] Scientific Ph.D. dissertations are notoriously difficult to explain. That’s why, for the past three years Science Magazine has sponsored the Dance Your Ph.D. competition. Scientists, from graduate students to professors, are invited to film an interpretive dance illustrating their research. If that sounds crazy, well, that’s probably because it’s run by John Bohannon […]
TEDxYouthDay is a series of TEDx events designed to empower and inspire youth and kids across the globe! TEDxYouthDay will take place all over the world from Saturday, November 19th through Monday, November 21, 2011 — all around Universal Children’s Day. For 3 days, TEDx organizers across the globe will host events for (and by) […]
Before life existed on Earth, there was just matter, inorganic dead “stuff.” How improbable is it that life arose? And — could it use a different type of chemistry? Using an elegant definition of life (anything that can evolve), chemist Lee Cronin is exploring this question by attempting to create a fully inorganic cell using […]
Watch video >> Naif Al-Mutawa: Crossover comics: bridges or propaganda? Exclusive video from TEDGlobal 2011! Following up on his TEDTalk last year, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of comic The99, talks about what happened after his Islam-inspired superheroes met the Justice League of America in a crossover comic. In the US, a backlash against the animated […]
Sarah Kaminsky tells the extraordinary story of her father, Adolfo, and his activity during World War II — using his ingenuity and talent for forgery to save lives. (Recorded at TEDxParis, January 2010, in Paris, France. Duration: 14:01.) [ted id=1120 lang=eng] Watch Sarah Kaminsky’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment […]
Every new invention changes the world — in ways both intentional and unexpected. Historian Edward Tenner tells stories that illustrate the under-appreciated gap between our ability to innovate and our ability to foresee the consequences. (Recorded at TED 2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 16:10.) [ted id=1217] Watch Edward Tenner’s talk on TED.com, where you […]
Buddhist roshi Joan Halifax works with people at the last stage of life (in hospice and on death row). She shares what she’s learned about compassion in the face of death and dying, and a deep insight into the nature of empathy. (Recorded at TEDWomen, December 2010, in Washington, DC. Duration: 13:19.) [ted id=1216] Watch […]
MIT researcher Skylar Tibbits works on self-assembly — the idea that instead of building something (a chair, a skyscraper), we can create materials that build themselves, much the way a strand of DNA zips itself together. It’s a big concept at early stages; TED Fellow Tibbits shows us three in-the-lab projects that hint at what […]
In 2003, the Palestinian village of Budrus mounted a 10-month-long nonviolent protest to stop a barrier being built across their olive groves. Did you hear about it? Didn’t think so. Brazilian filmmaker Julia Bacha asks why we only pay attention to violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict — and not to the nonviolent leaders who may […]
Sharing the results of a massive, worldwide study, Svante Pääbo shows the DNA proof that early humans mated with Neanderthals after we moved out of Africa. (Yes, many of us have Neanderthal DNA.) He also shows how a tiny bone from a baby finger was enough to identify a whole new humanoid species. (Recorded at […]
In this short talk, psychologist Dan Ariely tells two personal stories that explore scientific conflict of interest: How the pursuit of knowledge and insight can be affected, consciously or not, by shortsighted personal goals. When we’re thinking about the big questions, he reminds us, let’s be aware of our all-too-human brains.. (Recorded at TED University […]
(TED is on its annual two-week vacation. During the break, we’re posting playlists from the TEDTalks archive. We’ll be back with new talks on August 29th.) Today’s playlist are some of our favorite TEDTalks to come out from TEDActive in sunny Palm Springs, California. Sebastian Wernicke shares a hilarious statistical analysis of TEDTalks to come […]