[ted id=1555 width=560 height=315] When we hear the phrase “the economy,” often the first images that pop to mind are crisp bills being printed in a government treasury, or suited traders wheeling and dealing on the floor of a stock exchange, or a mall where suburban shoppers buy T-shirts and sneakers before grabbing a Cinnabon. […]
[ted id=1040] Enjoy these fascinating reads from across the Internet: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who gave the talk “Why we have too few women leaders” at TEDWomen 2010, has revealed that she is working on a book based on the ideas expressed in the talk. Titled Lean In, the tome is a call to action […]
The tsunami that struck eastern Japan in 2011 did unthinkable damage, killing more than 15,000 people and leveling more than 129,000 buildings. The damage was so severe that debris from it has been washing up on the West Coast of the United States — more than a thousand miles away — ever since. Japanese officials […]
[ted id=1553] TED Fellow Candy Chang creates art installations that are interactive, in a chalk and marker sense of the word. In this talk given at TEDGlobal 2012, Candy gave an emotional glimpse at the installation “Before I Die I Want To _______,” which she created last year in her neighborhood in New Orleans. Inspired […]
[ted id=1344] Work comes in all shapes and sizes — there’s no one-size-fits-all model for what humans do to make a living. We can see this in the countless TEDTalks from people telling stories about what they do, be it single-handedly creating a polyphonic orchestra, performing magical stunts on city streets, or even studying fungi. While we aren’t […]
“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or […]
This is the final week of nominations for the TED Prize, which means you only have three more days to nominate a person with a wish to inspire the world for the $1 million honor. Have a mentor who has molded your mind? A friend with an inspired idea? A neighbor with big plans? Tell […]
From the driest deserts to the deepest seas, the flow of water shapes our world. Cool off from the summer heat with these nine talks that explore our intimate relationship with water. [ted id=728] Romulus Whitaker: The real danger lurking in the water Romulus Whitaker shares his fascination with the remarkable reptiles that populate the […]
These TEDTalks explore the saying, “Good things come in small packages.” A world with lifesaving microchips, the perfectly engineered foot, and vast worlds constructed on pinheads seem fantastical, but the following speakers have turned their ingenious ideas into fascinating realities. [ted id=836] Frederick Balagadde: Bio-lab on a microchip The sub-Saharan African region has suffered the […]
[ted id=1336] This past Monday, swimmer Diana Nyad made her fourth attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Though this attempt ended when weather and jellyfish conditions took a turn for the worse, we can look back at her talk from TEDMED 2011 to understand how she — and all of us — found “grace in […]
In just two weeks, students will stream back to school. And while all of us know that — coincidentally — fish travel in schools, did you know that a group of hippopotami is called a bloat? We consulted with our friends of the Encyclopedia of Life to find out other animals that travel in unusually named […]
[ted id=649] In this classic talk from TEDGlobal 2009, graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister explains why, every seven years, he closes his New York-based shop for a full 365 days. We here at TED aren’t quite that extreme, but we too believe in the restorative power of vacation time. And thus, for the next two weeks, […]
Max Little, who gave the recent talk “A test for Parkinson’s with a phone call,” let us know that the Parkinson’s Voice Initiative has reached its goal of collecting 10,000 voice samples — which they needed to ensure the accuracy of their over-the-phone test for the disease. “It’s probably the fastest ever, large-scale Parkinson’s study,” […]
[ted id=1524 width=560 height=315] Most people get into visual effects for the explosions. But not Robert Legato, the visual effects supervisor of Avatar and The Aviator, who also won Oscars for his work on Titanic and Hugo. “Everything I end up liking is outrageously simple,” Robert tells the TED Blog. In this thrilling talk given […]
Clusters of fabric blossoms wave in response to movement, delicately laser-cut wood panels expand and contract in moisture or heat. Elaine Ng Yan Ling‘s textile and furnishing designs weave the magical movements of nature with manmade technologies, creating functional art that harmonizes urban spaces with the elements. How would you describe your design principle of […]
Nominations for the TED Prize are open from now until August 31st. Meaning that there’s still time to nominate a great thinker you’ve always admired, a mentor who’s helped you along the way or a friend with a wonderful idea to inspire change around the world. This year, you can even nominate yourself for the $1 […]