Jon Ronson is the author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, an exploration of what defines a psychopath. At TED2012, he told a part of that story on stage — how he met a man named Tony who was held for years in a psychiatric prison because he faked mental illness […]
[ted id=1545] . Every part of the world is susceptible to natural disaster, but somehow, the quiet western part of Massachusetts steered clear over the years. In fact, in 2005, Slate.com declared inland Massachusetts one of the top three places in the United States “to hide from Mother Nature.” So imagine the surprise when a […]
The wonderful Cindy Gallop — whose TEDTalk “Make Love Not Porn” offers a frank look at our online-porn-obsessed culture and what we can do about it — today launches MakeLoveNotPorn.tv. What’s the new site for? Gallop writes: “… to make #realworldsex socially acceptable and socially shareable; to build a platform and tools for sexual social […]
Musician Gotye posted this video over the weekend, titled “Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra.” It’s a remix of his song “Somebody That I Used To Know” crafted by bringing together the many individuals who’ve posted themselves playing the song. [YouTube] Perhaps Gotye took a note from Erik Whitacre, who gave the amazing TEDTalk “A virtual choir […]
Far too many of us still have flashbacks to piano lessons, when an uber-serious teacher would rap our knuckles after every wrong note. If only we had taken bass lessons from Victor Wooten of the band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. In the video above — the first ever live-action TED-Ed lesson — five-time Grammy […]
[ted id=1547] . Political theorist Ivan Krastev believes that we are witnessing a “crisis of democracy.” There appears to be little dissent in Europe or the United States about whether democracy is the best form of government, Krastev says in a foreboding talk given at TEDGlobal 2012. “Democracy is the only game in town,” says […]
A friend recently told me this story: The first time he took his daughter, age 4, on the New York City subway at 9 o’clock in the morning, she anxiously tugged on his sleeve and motioned for him to bend down. She whispered: “Are these people all mad at each other?” New York strap-hangers know […]
It’s not your imagination, says James Hansen’s latest paper — his analysis suggests heat waves are more common than they used to be. [The Economist] Watch Hansen’s TEDTalk: “Why I Must Speak Up About Climate Change.” Janet Echelman has been named an Architectural Digest innovator for her giant billowing sculptures. [Architectural Digest] Watch her gorgeous […]
In today’s TEDTalk, director Kirby Ferguson outlines a bold vision of creativity — that it’s not about dreaming up a new song, a new piece of art or a new form of technology in a vacuum, but instead about remixing what has come before. In his fast-paced talk, Kirby reveals that many of our most […]
[ted id=1535] Art cannot be created or destroyed — only remixed. In a convincing talk from TEDGlobal 2012, director Kirby Ferguson explores the challenges of originality and freshness in a world where creativity takes root in what has come before. Without previous inventions we would not have the iPhone, the Model T Ford, Star Wars, […]
Enjoy these fascinating reads from across the internet: What can the healthcare system learn from chain restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory, Pizza Hut and Red Lobster? Atul Gawande explores. [New Yorker] Watch Atul’s brilliant talk from TED2012, “How do we heal medicine?” . In 2009, American students ranked 23rd in the world in science and […]
An endangered species of butterfly has found an unusual set of champions — the inmates of the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women in Washington. While the number of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies has dwindled in Washington in recent years, the Mission Creek inmates are working hard to help the species rebound, reports the Nature magazine […]
[ted id=1538 width=560 height=315] If you walk into the cemetery in Todmorden — a small town in northern England — you will find vegetables and herbs defiantly growing. Ditto if you examine the strips of land in the middle of the town’s roads, the area in front of its elder-care home, or the landscaping around […]
Did you know that you — as in, anyone — can nominate a visionary leader for this year’s TED Prize? Do you have a mentor with an incredible track record? A former teacher with a big idea for change? A colleague doing incredible work that could reach new heights if given more resources? A friend […]
In yesterday’s TEDTalk, Max Little explained how a 30-second phone call could soon be a diagnostic test for Parkinson’s disease, thanks to 7,500 people who’ve placed calls from around the world to ensure the technology’s accuracy. (See how you can get involved at ParkinsonsVoice.org.) This brings up an interesting question — what other medical tests […]
Enjoy these fascinating reads from across the internet: In this podcast about the spread of Argentine ants — which hitchhike between continents and fight any ant not a part of their clan — evolutionary biologist Neil Tsutsui makes the interesting statement that his work is like a Rorschach test. He explains, “We’ve had people say, […]