Once an Intellectual Property lawyer that guarded knowledge, Gautam John is now dedicated to radically improving access to information. From open-source children’s books to collecting and analyzing school performance data, Gautam works to bring systemic change to India’s education system through a freer flow of information. Interactive Fellows Friday Feature! Join the conversation by answering […]
Sean Carroll took a two hour break from his vacation to chat on TED Conversations about his talk on the nature of time and other questions about time, the cosmos, and poker. Thanks to everyone who came by with questions, and to Sean for exciting answers about an enormous topic. As proof that we was […]
In his talk at TEDGlobal 2010, Conrad Wolfram championed a radical new way of teaching mathematics: removing the notion that math is the same as calculating, and completely redesigning the curriculum around the new possibilities opened by computers. He’s now launched a website to collect ideas, and in November he will be hosting The Computer […]
TED Translators attending TEDActive 2011 in Palm Springs, CA. Photo: Michael Brands Today is the 2-year anniversary of the Open Translation Project! To date, our volunteer translators have created over 18,000 translations of TEDTalks in 81 languages. For the occasion, we asked a few translators to tell us (in English and the language they translate […]
Esra’a Al Shafei was outraged by the injustices she saw against minorities in her region. She created MideastYouth.com as a platform for people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to openly discuss a wide range of taboos and underrepresented issues. The group’s latest venture? Tackling their most controversial issue yet with Ahwaa.org, a forum […]
[ted id=468] Cross-posted on Huffington Post When 2009 TED Prize winner Jill Tarter wished to “empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company,” we looked to the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA). With this telescope, Jill’s vision, and the power of open-source initiatives, we were able to globalize […]
TED makes the New York Times crossword puzzle! We’re clue 20 Across. 8 letters for “Popular online lectures about ‘ideas worth spreading.’” And they blog about it: We’re their “favorite entry.” We’re honored to be part of such an elegantly constructed puzzle. (No spoilers.)
[ted id=838] TED speaker Omar Ahmad died this morning of a heart attack in San Carlos, California, where he was the Mayor. A Mayor with a very open line to his constituents. In December 2009, when he pitched us what would become his short talk for TED University at TED2010, his suggested title was: “How […]
Volunteering at NGOs around the world convinced Peter Haas there had to be a better way to help villages develop. He co-founded the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) to empower locals to start their own businesses that bring clean water, electricity and sanitation to their communities — and keep them there. Interactive Fellows Friday Feature! […]
TEDTalks star Neil Pasricha, the author of “The Book of Awesome” and the new “Even More Awesome,” came by the TED office on Tuesday to be part of a one-hour live chat with TEDsters. He asked people to chime in on this question: “What do you do to make your life awesome?” Some lovely and […]
[ted id=1091] Eli Pariser’s TEDTalk “Beware online ‘filter bubbles’” is surprising, funny and a little bit scary. And as a side benefit, we noticed that people who share this talk have been coming up with some pretty great taglines before they RT the link. Excerpted samples below: @fbliss: Don’t be a rat in an information […]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7skPnJOZYdA&w=528&h=325&rel=0] The latest commercial for Google Chrome premiered tonight on US television. Which isn’t news we’d blog ordinarily, but this commercial is something special. It tells the story of the It Gets Better project — a video-powered social movement that uses direct, personal messages to tell young gay, lesbian, bi and transgendered teens that life […]
Through his organization, Baobab Health, Gerry Douglas has implemented a top-of-the-line electronic medical records system in Malawi. Many health centers in the developed world have not yet achieved what Baobab has. His secret weapons? Touch screen computers, super-high usability, and low power usage, just to name a few. Interactive Fellows Friday Feature! Join the conversation […]
Sam Richards, whose “Radical Experiment in Empathy” prompted a lively conversation all last week, sat in on TED Conversations today for two hours to answer questions about how to find empathy for people unlike us, and how we might prejudge someone — even a TED speaker … The conversation was thoughtful, honest and deeply optimistic. […]
[ted id=1125] Sociologist Sam Richards will be sitting in on TED Conversations today from 1-3pm Eastern time, looking forward to engaging TEDsters on the questions he brought up in his astonishing TEDTalk, “A Radical Experiment in Empathy.” Use your TED.com username and password to log in, and pose a question, share an experience, or join […]
While training for the military, Rye Barcott took leave to study ethnic conflict by living in Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum. Inspired by community-led initiatives there, Rye co-founded the non-profit Carolina for Kibera to support the projects. His newly released book, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace chronicles his journey […]