After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers says it’s better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, […]
His Holiness the Karmapa talks about how he was discovered to be the reincarnation of a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism. In telling his story, he urges us to work on not just technology and design, but the technology and design of the heart. He is translated onstage by Tyler Dewar. (Recorded at TEDIndia, November […]
Human growth has strained the Earth’s resources, but as Johan Rockstrom reminds us, our advances also give us the science to recognize this and change behavior. His research has found nine “planetary boundaries” that can guide us in protecting our planet’s many overlapping ecosystems. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 18:11) […]
Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation’s success by its productivity — instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn’t have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You […]
This Saturday’s TEDTalks playlist is about animals with a nasty sting or a deadly bite — but as our speakers reveal, these creatures have more to fear from humankind than we have to fear from them. Romulus Whitaker is smitten with snakes, and fearful for their future. He urges us to protect the river systems […]
Physics and marketing don’t seem to have much in common, but Dan Cobley is passionate about both. He brings these unlikely bedfellows together using Newton’s second law, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the scientific method and the second law of thermodynamics to explain the fundamental theories of branding. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. […]
In the Gulf oil spill’s aftermath, Lisa Margonelli says drilling moratoriums and executive ousters make for good theater, but distract from the issue at its heart: our unrestrained oil consumption. She shares her bold plan to wean America off of oil — by confronting consumers with its real cost. (Recorded at TEDxOilSpill, June 2010 in […]
Cartoonist Jim Toomey created the comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon, a wry look at underwater life starring Sherman the talking shark. As he sketches some of his favorite sea creatures live onstage, Toomey shares his love of the ocean and the stories it can tell. (Recorded on Mission Blue Voyage, April 2010 in the Galapagos Islands. […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs1cC9Pec8k] On September 20, live in New York and webcast around the world, TEDxChange will examine the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs. (Watch TEDxDubai’s video, above, for a preview.) Established 10 years ago in September 2000, the eight MDGs are an audacious set of goals for changing the world — with an equally audacious […]
Science columnist Lee Hotz describes a remarkable project at WAIS Divide, Antarctica, where a hardy team are drilling into ten-thousand-year-old ice to extract vital data on our changing climate. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 9:45) [ted id=938] Watch Lee Hotz’ talk on TED.com where you can download it, rate it, […]
David McCandless turns complex data sets like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates and more into beautiful yet simple diagrams. He proposes design as the tool we use to navigate today’s information glut, finding unique patterns and connections that may just change the way we see the world. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July […]
By now, we’re used to letting Facebook and Twitter capture our social lives on the web — building a “social layer” on top of the real world. At TEDxBoston, Seth Priebatsch looks at the next layer in progress: the “game layer,” a pervasive net of behavior-steering game dynamics that will reshape education and commerce. (Recorded […]
Jamil Abu-Wardeh jump-started the comedy scene in the Arab world by founding the Axis of Evil Middle East Comedy Tour, which brings standup comedians from the West to laughing audiences all over the region. He’s found that, by respecting the “three B’s” (blue material, beliefs and “bolitics”), the Axis of Evil comics find plenty of […]
A founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, standup comic Maz Jobrani riffs on the challenges and conflicts of being Iranian-American — “like, part of me thinks I should have a nuclear program; the other part thinks I can’t be trusted …” (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 9:15) […]
Upwards of 20 million people are suffering from the massive flooding in Pakistan, according to the United Nations — more than the number affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. Following record-breaking monsoon rains, at least 1,600 people have been killed, an estimated 72,400 homes […]
Peter Molyneux demos Milo, a hotly anticipated video game for Microsoft’s Kinect controller. Perceptive and impressionable like a real 11-year-old, the virtual boy watches, listens and learns — recognizing and responding to you. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 11:16) [ted id=932] Watch Peter Molyneux’s demo on TED.com where you can […]