Blogging for the Demos think tank, Samuel Jones comments on a new piece by James Surowiecki in this week’s New Yorker. In the article, Surowiecki suggests that one of the root causes of today’s financial panic is that we simply have too much information coming at us. Jones makes an elegant suggestion: the problem might […]
That was the proposition under scrutiny at today’s Economist-sponsored debate at Gotham Hall. One of several events this weekend representing The Economist: Off the Page, the publication’s first ever series of events in New York City, the face-off pitted those who support corporate social responsibility against those who believe accountability for social needs should rest […]
Earlier this year at TED2008 in Monterey, California, the artist Siegfried Woldhek unveiled what he believes is the true face of Leonardo da Vinci — through an elegant piece of artistic detective work. Now Woldhek has produced this drawing at left, imagining Leonardo as a young, a middle-aged and an old man, in three-quarter view […]
Several people wrote to TED this week asking about a clip that’s been making the rounds recently — starring a gorilla and a bunch of kids tossing a basketball. If you got this clip from a friend, and you’re wondering why you can’t find it on TED, here’s the story: The gorilla/basketball clip was shown […]
Psychologist Daniel Goleman (watch his TEDTalk about compassion) has just released a series of conversations about social neuroscience, empathy, compassion and social connection, each one with an expert on the topic — George Lucas on education, socially intelligent computing with Clay Shirky, Naomi Wolf on ethical leadership … The audio series is available via download […]
From BoingBoing: TED alum, Segway creator and inventor of a groundbreaking prosthetic arm, Dean Kamen was interviewed recently by John Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, where he discussed his ideas about education and technology, and why it’s so important for kids to learn how to build and then stage elaborate death matches with 120-pound robots. […]
An article in the Association for Psychological Science’s AP Observer points out what TEDsters like Jonathan Haidt have known all along: Our psychology, and our emotions, likely play a larger part in how we cast our votes than any careful consideration of the issues. As Haidt reminds us in his 2008 TEDTalk, ideology, whether liberal […]
Updated 10/29/08: Oxford announced yesterday the appointment of Professor Marcus du Sautoy to the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science. Du Sautoy is a mathematician and a dedicated popularizer of math and science. To get to know him, you might start with today’s installment of his London Times column “Sexy Maths.” From […]
While the world economy twists itself into a tangle, one of our favorite designers and TED speakers, Stefan Sagmeister, is spending more human time in beautiful Indonesia. He just sent me this delightful story … As my village neither possesses proper street names nor numbers, I was sitting at 6:00am today on the couch in […]
Last fall, scientist and provocateur David Keith offered one of the most conversation-provoking TEDTalks ever — calmly discussing ideas for geo-engineering our climate that border on shocking (like shooting a cloud of sulphurous particles into the stratosphere to simulate the cooling effects of a major volcanic eruption). It’s a scary subject, but as Keith pointed […]
Looking for a little inspiration — a shot of energy to get involved in making the world a better place? Check out this 4-minute version of Dave Eggers’ 2008 TEDTalk, where he talks about something meaningful you can do right in your neighborhood: Learn more about Dave’s wish at TEDPrize.org and at Once Upon a […]
Today’s Newsday offers an image-packed collection of stories on the school lunch as it is served and paid for in Long Island, New York. Check out the image gallery, which includes Berkeley schools chef Ann Cooper’s dream school lunch pictures above (with recipes). For more on U.S. school lunches, watch Ann Cooper’s TEDTalk >> Image: […]
In today’s New York Times, Johnny Lee talks about his clever Wii hacks — and how he shared them with the world via viral video. Johnny Lee’s TEDTalk, in which he shows how to make an interactive whiteboard from a $40 game controller, is a perpetual Top 10 talk on TED.com. Lee’s amazing YouTube videos […]
From the BPS Research Digest: Researchers Marie Helweg-Larsen and Barbara L. LoMonaco have been studying the moral code of people who line up for tickets to see their favorite band — and they’ve found some surprising news. It turns out it’s just as annoying for a hard-core U2 fan to see someone jump the line […]
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Via Slashdot, blogger Andrew Keen writes that economic troubles will trigger the decline of the “free” economy, collaboration, and open-source — including communities such as Wikipedia — and even, perhaps, the blogosphere itself. People will be less likely to give away “their intellectual labor on the Internet in the speculative hope that they might get […]