The much-buzzed-about surprise speaker at the first session of TEDGlobal 2009 was finally revealed to be British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A Twitterer himself, the Prime Minster’s appearance on the TED stage quickly drove the #TED tag into Twitter’s top trending topics today. Here’s a slice of what people were tweeting: our Prime Minister was […]
Andrea Ghez is an astronomer and a specialist in black holes. She begins her talk today by asking: How do you observe something you can’t see? It’s a basic question for someone studying black holes. Then, she asks an even more intriguing question: Is there a supermassive one at the center of our gravity? Ghez […]
From TEDGlobal (a group Twitter feed for TED staffers): Stephen Fry is wearing a tie because he heard it was a tradition at #TED not to. That rebel!” Fry seems glad to be in Oxford, home of the 0.9 beta version of the modern university. The perfect 1.0 version is, of course, Cambridge. He talks […]
It’s time for TED! Alain de Botton begins with a meditation on snobbery. What is a snob? He defines it: “Someone who uses a small part of you to come to a global conclusion about who you are.” But he points to a basic desire of ours to ascribe moral values to those who are […]
TED U celebrates the fact that the people who attend TED are just as interesting as the speakers and performers onstage. Here are selected running notes from Tuesday morning’s two sessions: Ian Goldin, from the James Martin 21st-Century School in Oxford, shared six things we will need to know about the year 2030. Among his […]
Nina Jablonski says that differing skin colors are simply our bodies’ adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure. Charles Darwin disagreed with this theory, but she explains, that’s because he did not have access to NASA. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009 in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 14:32) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/1h Watch Nina Jablonski’s […]
As of today, TEDTalks have been translated over 1,000 times, with more than twice that many translations in progress. The TED Open Translation Project has seen great success since its launch in May, recruiting almost 1,500 new volunteer translators and constantly adding new languages. Thanks to the efforts of translators around the world, TEDTalks can […]
Psychopathic killers are the basis for some must-watch TV, but what really makes them tick? Neuroscientist Jim Fallon talks about brain scans and genetic analysis that may uncover the rotten wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. In a too-strange-for-fiction twist, he shares a fascinating family history that makes his work chillingly personal. (Recorded […]
It’s our third anniversary of posting TEDTalks free to the world! We started in June 2006 with our first six talks — including Sir Ken Robinson, Al Gore, Majora Carter … Three years and 486 talks later, we hope you’ll enjoy this mini-documentary, “Behind the TEDTalk.” It stars TED Curator Chris Anderson and the TED […]
The stem cells found in bone marrow are one of the most valuable resources your body produces (they can help treat terminal diseases such as Alzheimer’s and leukemia), but normally the process of retrieving that marrow is a many-injection procedure that takes time, money … and pain. Physician and innovator Daniel Kraft has revolutionized this […]
In the spectacular large-scale projects he’s famous for (such as “Waterfalls” in New York harbor), Olafur Eliasson creates art from a palette of space, distance, color and light. This idea-packed talk begins with an experiment in the nature of perception. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009 in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 09:37) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/1a Watch […]
The man who helped usher in the environmental movement in the 1960s and ’70s has been rethinking his positions on cities, nuclear power, genetic modification and geo-engineering. This talk at the US State Department is a foretaste of his major new book, sure to provoke widespread debate. (Recorded at TED@State, June 2009 at the US […]
TEDGlobal, our annual conference held in Oxford, UK, each summer, has opened registration for next year. TEDGlobal 2010’s theme is “And Now the Good News” — and it’ll be a bracing look at the future we will (and must) create. Headlines remind us daily of the political, economic and environmental woes facing the planet. But […]
From TEDGlobal’s speaker list of more than 90 — including 18-minute talks, demos and TED U courses — 13 of our scheduled speakers already have TEDTalks online from previous TEDs and partners. To find them, check out our new theme, Speaking at TEDGlobal 2009, and watch archive gems from these returning speakers. All of these […]
How are technology, entertainment and design creating a smarter planet? Answer this question in no more than 100 words, and you could win a pass to TEDGlobal, happening July 21-24 in Oxford, UK. TEDGlobal 2009 sponsor IBM is offering the pass to one lucky Wired UK reader. From the offer: For inspiration, visit http://www.ibm.com/think/uk, then […]
Drug-resistant bacteria kills, even in top hospitals. But now tough infections like staph and anthrax may be in for a surprise. Nobel-winning chemist Kary Mullis, who watched a friend die when powerful antibiotics failed, unveils a radical new cure that shows extraordinary promise. (Recorded at TED 2009, February 2009 in Long Beach, California. Duration: 4:35) […]