We’re at a unique moment in history, says UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking earlier today at TEDGlobal in Oxford. He says we can use today’s interconnectedness to develop our shared global ethic — and work together to confront the challenges of poverty, security, climate change and the economy. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 […]
“Imagine if we could combine the power of a global ethic with our new power to communicate and organize globally.” – UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown “Next time you see someone in a Ferrari, don’t think: ‘They’re greedy.” Think: “This is someone incredibly vulnerable and in need of love.” – Alain De Botton, on the […]
Mark Johnson began the now iconic Playing for Change movement. Before his talk, the YouTube video that started it all jumps on to the screen and we hear the first notes of “Stand by Me,” as performed by artists all over the world. For those who have not yet seen the video, it’s a magical […]
Before we even see Steve Truglia on stage, we’re treated to an action-packed video of his stunts for movie and television, as well as his personal record-breaking, daredevil stunts. There are explosions, car crashes and high falls out of buildings. Truglia is being set on fire, fencing, driving a car through a loop de loop, […]
James Geary is an aphorist. He loves the short, witty sayings we know as aphorisms. As he takes the TEDGlobal stage, he gives us a couple of his favorites: “Baldness is the gradual transformation of the head into an ass, first in shape then in contents” and “No snowflake in an avalanche feels responsible.” Geary […]
Josh Silver makes affordable, adjustable eyeglasses with a dream to solve the vision problems of the world. He begins by asking the audience to raise their hands if they wear glasses or contact lenses, or if they’ve had laser refractive surgery. “It’s too many of you to count,” he says, “but the general statistic is […]
Willard Wigan is a microsculptor, creating iconic sculptures small enough to fit on the head of a pin or in the eye of a needle. This morning at TEDGlobal, he explains why he’s driven to create these tiny masterpieces and shows examples of his incredulous work. He opens the talk saying, “Every human being in […]
A team of volunteer translators who are participating in TED’s Open Translation Project have stepped up to help bring TEDGlobal 2009 TED Blog running notes outside of the English-speaking world. Click through to view the unedited running notes in … Ελληνικά – Türkçe – Shqip – עברית – Deutsch – Hungarian – 中文 – Español […]
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 […]