Hundreds of talks from independently organized TEDx events around the world are published on the TEDxTalks website daily. Each Tuesday and Thursday, we’ll choose four of our favorites, highlighting just a few of the enlightening talks from TEDx community, and its diverse constellation of ideas worth spreading. Browse all TEDxTalks here » By analyzing the […]
Great news: TED Books are now available on Apple’s iBookstore. It’s an exciting time for publishing, and we’re glad to work with Apple to make TED Books available to as many readers as possible. TED Books, which launched earlier this year, are an imprint of short nonfiction works designed for digital distribution. Shorter than traditional […]
What if every light bulb in the world could also transmit data? At TEDGlobal, Harald Haas demonstrates, for the first time, a device that could do exactly that. By flickering the light from a single LED, a change too quick to for the human eye to detect, he can transmit far more data than a […]
Many of us have a social media presence — a virtual personality made up of status updates, tweets and connections, stored in the cloud. Adam Ostrow asks a big question: What happens to that personality after you’ve died? Could it … live on? (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 5:30.) [ted […]
In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, “We are losing our listening.” In this short, fascinating talk, Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening — to other people and the world around you. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 7:50.) [ted id=1200] Watch […]
Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN’s World Food Program, talks about why, in a world with enough food for everyone, people still go hungry, still die of starvation, still use food as a weapon of war. Her vision: “Food is one issue that cannot be solved person by person. We have to stand together.” […]
Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists — that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July […]
Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city’s population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for […]
Apply now to join the TED2012 Fellows class, and attend TED2012: Full Spectrum in Long Beach. Artists, scientists, inventors, change-makers … Learn more about the amazing TED Fellows program >> UPDATE: Application deadline is Monday, August 1, 2011, 11:59pm US/Eastern.
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 […]