Roads need constant repair. Rain, snow and other moisture seeps into the asphalt and — if it freezes — expands, breaking it apart and creating potholes. In today’s talk, given at TEDxDelft, civil engineer Erik Schlangen reveals a fascinating solution: a road that is able to heal. He gives a demonstration of a new type […]
The day was February 12, 1809. The place was Shrewsbury, England. The person born there: Charles Darwin. With the publication of his classic, On the Origins of Species, Darwin set the wheels in motion for a dramatic transformation of the way human beings understand the world and how we came to exist in it . […]
TED is ready to learn every word to “O Canada.” For TED2014 — our 30th anniversary spectacular themed “The Next Chapter” — we are moving our annual West Coast conference to Vancouver, Canada. There, we’ll enjoy sweeping views of the harbor and North Shore Mountains, a theater custom-built to maximize the impact of talks and […]
From age 6 through age 11, Shabana Basij-Rasikh risked her life to go to school. The Taliban had banned girls in Afghanistan from studying at universities and other educational institutions and, thus, Basij-Rasikh dressed as a boy, posing as an escort for her older sister. Together, the two would place their books in grocery bags […]
The 2013 Grammy Awards, which aired last night, offered up many a surprise with indie-tinged acts grabbing major awards over more established contenders. British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons (above) won the award for Album of the Year for Babel while electronic master Gotye took home Record of the Year for his infectious song “Somebody That […]
TED playlists are collections of talks around a topic, built for you in a thoughtful sequence to illuminate ideas in context. This weekend, two new playlists are available: “Design of useful things” and “Maestros, if you please … !” Maestros, if you please … ! These 7 extraordinary maestros bring you into the world of […]
Here, some staff picks of smart, funny, bizarre and cool stuff on the interwebs from this (and last) week: The true story of Kid President: Watch this behind-the-scenes video of everyone’s favorite new politician. [YouTube] And make sure to watch his pep talk, posted on TED last week. An absolute must-read by Michael Specter, on […]
As a young musician in Pakistan, TED Fellow Usman Riaz learned to play in the percussive guitar style by watching YouTube videos of Kaki King and her influences, including the founder of the technique, Preston Reed. Now, Riaz is among the artists and musicians calling for Pakistan to lift its seven-month-old ban on YouTube. Talking […]
The TED Prize’s Charter for Compassion reached Pope Benedict XVII this week, just days before the Pope announced to the world that he would be resigning. A plaque engraved with the Charter was presented to the Pope on Wednesday in Vatican City by TED’s European director, Bruno Giussani. The meeting, pictured above, took place on the margins […]
On November 17, 2012, in a village in Assuit-Egypt, a train crashed into a school bus killing 51 children. These kinds of accidents have always been brushed aside as random acts of chance. The minister of transportation resigned as a result, and the families of the children were compensated financially. There was a huge public outcry […]
In the Northeastern United States, there is only one thing on the mind today: snow. What should you do if you get snowed in, with an internet connection? Watch these TED Talks to get in the arctic spirit: Ken Kamler: Medical miracle on Everest Paul Nicklen: Tales of ice-bound wonderlands Nathalie Miebach: Art made of storms […]
Edi Rama — the mayor of Tirana, Albania, for 11 years — was an artist before a politician. “I still paint. I love the joy that color can give to our lives and to our communities,” says Rama in today’s talk, filmed at TEDxThessaloniki. “I try to bring something of the artist in me to […]
From ordering movie tickets to booking a dentist appointment, mobile and web apps have made the tasks of daily life easier. But there are some things that an app can’t do. Standing in line at the pharmacy is one of them. In today’s talk, Lee Cronin asks: “Could we make a really cool universal chemistry […]
How is it that science classes have become about memorization and filling in the right circle on a Scantron sheet, rather than about doing hands-on experiments and activities that reveal the wonder of the world around us? It’s a problem that Tyler DeWitt tackled in yesterday’s talk, “Hey science teachers — make it fun.” And […]
As he approached his 30th birthday, artist Cesar Kuriyama noticed that time seemed to be evaporating. And thus, he began work on a project called 1 Second Everyday. “Basically, I’m recording one second of every day of my life for the rest of my life—chronologically compiling these one-second, tiny slices of my life into one […]
In today’s TED Talk, Tyler DeWitt makes a fantastic case for a simple idea: make science fun. Educators and writers get caught up in the idea that science needs to be taken seriously, and forget that the best way to get kids interested is to… make it interesting. Too much emphasis on being accurate can […]