Laurie Santos looks for the roots of human irrationality by watching the way our primate relatives make decisions. A clever series of experiments in “monkeynomics” shows that some of the silly choices we make, monkeys make too. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 19:46) [ted id=927] Watch Laurie Santos’ talk on […]
(Cross-posted from the TEDx Blog) TEDxAmsterdam has thought up a creative way to curate their audience — pose a global challenge to transform an ‘idea worth spreading’ to an ‘idea worth doing.’ Entrants are encouraged to realize an idea before October 19 — and document their progress through photos, video, testimonials or press. 100 winners […]
Break down the oil slick, keep it off the shores: that’s grounds for pumping toxic dispersant into the Gulf, say clean-up overseers. Susan Shaw shows evidence it’s sparing some beaches only at devastating cost to the health of the deep sea. (Recorded at TEDxOilSpill, June 2010 in Washington, DC. Duration: 16:43) [ted id=925] Watch Susan […]
At the start of Session 12 of TEDGlobal 2010, Chris Anderson announced a mystery guest. “There’s a site some of you may know, called WikiLeaks.” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange steps onstage for a surprise appearance at TEDGlobal 2010, in a Q&A with Chris. We learned how WikiLeaks works: “We’re using state-of-the-art encryption and anonymizers to […]
Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices — and how we feel about the choices we make. At TEDGlobal, she talks about both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: […]
Our announcement last week of TEDWomen has touched off some really vibrant conversations online. Some have embraced the idea; others have reservations. At TED, we’ve been reading with interest and weighing in on occasion. After reading a number of blog posts and articles, I thought I’d take a moment to weigh in here, and clarify […]
Arthritis and injury grind down millions of joints, but few get the best remedy — real biological tissue. Kevin Stone shows a treatment that sidesteps the high costs and donor shortfall of human-to-human transplants with a novel use of animal tissue. (Recorded at TED University 2010, February 2010 in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 6:52) Watch […]
Tan Le’s astonishing new computer interface reads its user’s brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 10:38) Watch Tan Le’s talk on TED.com, […]
Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov and his colleagues search for Earth-like planets that may, someday, help us answer centuries-old questions about the origin and existence of biological life elsewhere (and on Earth). How many such planets have they found already? Several hundred. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 18:31) http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf Watch Dimitar Sasselov’s […]
In “THE 99,” Naif Al-Mutawa‘s new generation of comic book heroes fight more than crime — they smash stereotypes and battle extremism. Named after the 99 attributes of Allah, his characters reinforce positive messages of Islam and cross cultures to create a new moral framework for confronting evil, even teaming up with the Justice League […]
The controversial website WikiLeaks collects and posts highly classified documents and video. Founder Julian Assange, who’s reportedly being sought for questioning by US authorities, talks to TED’s Chris Anderson about how the site operates, what it has accomplished — and what drives him. The interview includes graphic footage of a recent US airstrike in Baghdad. […]
Aside from being software engineers, Michael May and Peter Ma (above) have another cool thing in common: they both won a contest to attend TEDGlobal 2010. Peter Ma is a winner of Snaptic’s first Move Your App! Developer Challenge. An offshoot of Jamie Oliver’s 2010 TED Prize wish, Move Your App! gives prizes for programs […]
Listening to stories widens the imagination; telling them lets us leap over cultural walls, embrace different experiences, feel what others feel. Elif Shafak builds on this simple idea to argue that fiction can overcome identity politics. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 19:46) http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf Watch Elif Shafak’s talk on TED.com, where […]
The TEDx blog has a charming report on the TEDxLive events happening around the world during TEDGlobal: For this year’s TEDGlobal, TEDx organizers were offered the chance to host a TEDxLive — a gathering around a live webcast of the conference. Among them was TEDxDubaiLive, who enjoyed TEDGlobal talks from Jamil Abu Wardeh and Naif […]
Founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange talks to Chris Anderson about the controversial nature of his website’s practice of finding and releasing classified documents to the public. Stefan Wolff says that ethnic conflict and civil war have been in overall decline in recent years. But, we need leaders who are willing and able to make peace, […]
Johan Rockstroem calls for transformative change in the way we treat the environment. He says we’re putting a quadruple squeeze on the planet: Population growth, climate agenda, ecosystem decline and the element of surprise. Vice-president of WWF, Jason Clay is not just encouraging consumers to buy sustainable products, but leveraging companies to create a future […]