British MP Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan after 9/11, talking with citizens and warlords alike. Now, a decade later, he asks: Why are Western and coalition forces still fighting there? He shares lessons from past military interventions that worked — Bosnia, for instance — and shows that humility and local expertise are the keys to […]
Ever been brainjacked? Or Breitbarted? Perhaps you’re a kangatarian or a newpreneur. If not, you can still be a wordnik. Come with us as we peek into the notebook of lexicographer Erin McKean in Aftercrimes, Geoslavery, and Thermogeddon: Thought-Provoking Words from a Lexicographer’s Notebook, her revealing look at a torrent of new words and phrases—in […]
Fresh from stage at TEDGlobal 2011, last week in Edinburgh: It’s been 25 years since the first PC virus (Brain-A) hit the internet, and what was once an annoyance has become a sophisticated tool for crime and espionage and a global problem. Computer security expert Mikko Hypponen tracks down the authors of Brain-A, tells us […]
At TEDGlobal 2011, portraitist Siegfried Woldhek sat down in the Autodesk Café with an iPad and some special drawing software, and proceeded to sketch, with lightning speed, anyone who took a seat in front of him. You can see his work in his iPad Portraits Flickr set — attendees, TEDx hosts, Coffee Common baristas, and […]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/26467679 w=525&h=294] Starting on Saturday night, an army of workers began to build TEDGlobal 2011: The Stuff of Life. Music: “Tidal,” from the wonderful Imogen Heap. Photos and timelapse: James Duncan Davidson.
The third TEDTalk posted from TEDGlobal 2011, happening now in Edinburgh: Economics writer Tim Harford studies complex systems — and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were built through trial and error. In this sparkling talk from TEDGlobal 2011, he asks us to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes. (Recorded […]
Lara Stein acknowledges TEDx organizers during TEDGlobal 2011, July 11-15, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED All week during TEDGlobal, some TEDx Organizers — many attending a TED Conference for the first time — have been sharing their experiences, and reflecting on the TEDx Organizer community, on the TEDx blog: I […]
TED-Ed is a new initiative to build a deep, tagged archive of educational videos — expanding the reach and power of great video (including TEDTalks) into the classroom by making them easier for teachers to find. Above, TEDsters use BlackBerry PlayBooks to watch and tag educational videos in the Café at TEDGlobal 2011; below, TED-Ed’s […]
Media pioneer Pat Mitchell hosts Session 8: Embracing Otherness: “I suspect all of us have at one point or another have been the other.” Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED Actor Thandie Newton: “The key to my success as an actor is the very lack of self that used to make me feel so anxious […]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/26434597 w=525&h=294] Video: At TEDGlobal 2011, Tom Wujec, a Fellow at Autodesk and a repeat TED speaker, showed his spectacular note-taking technique to the TED Blog’s Karen Eng.
Movement expert Daniel Wolpert on the relationship between brain and body: “Our brains map our own body’s motions and correct our perception. That’s why you can’t tickle yourself.” Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED Sheril Kirshenbaum talks about the science behind an ancient behavior, kissing: “We’re interpreting the world through our mouths more than we […]
Underworld investigator Misha Glenny: “There are two types of companies in the world: those that know they’ve been hacked and those that don’t.” Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED Cybersecurity expert Mikko Hypponen advocates for an “Internetpol” — an Interpol for the net. He says: “In the vast majority of online attacks, we don’t even […]
The second TEDTalk posted from TEDGlobal 2011, happening now in Edinburgh: Why do transnational extremist organizations succeed — where democratic movements have a harder time taking hold? Maajid Nawaz, a former Islamist extremist, asks for new grassroots stories and global social activism to spread democracy in the face of nationalism and xenophobia. A powerful talk […]
The eETIQUETTE space at TEDGlobal 2011. Photo: Robert Leslie / TED Can you put your phone down for 1 hour? Not many people can without an increase in stress levels. Designer Julia Leihener of Deutsche Telekom Laboratories’ Creation Center took the time to bring e-etiquette to techies and power users at TEDGlobal 2011. TED Blog’s Corvida Raven […]
Matt Ridley, rational optimist, hosts Session 5: Emerging Order, on July 13, during TEDGlobal 2011, July 11-15, 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: James Duncan Davidson / TED Svante Paabo, geneticist: “Today, people living outside of Africa have 2.5% of their DNA from Neanderthals. We have always mixed — with other early humans, and with each […]
The first TEDTalk posted from TEDGlobal 2011, happening now in Edinburgh: In this powerful talk, Rebecca MacKinnon describes the expanding struggle for freedom and control in cyberspace, and asks: How do we design the next phase of the Internet with accountability and freedom at its core, rather than control? She believes the internet is headed […]