If you were inspired by Neil Gershenfeld’s TEDTalk on the FabLab — where you can build just about anything you can dream of — read on: Larry Sass, from MIT’s department of architecture, is leading a team that’s building a digitally fabricated house in a vacant lot next to the Museum of Modern Art in […]
To reach Edward O. Wilson’s office on the Harvard campus, one must first push through a door with a sign warning the public not to enter. Then, enter a creaky old elevator and press two buttons simultaneously. This counterintuitive procedure transports one into a strange realm. It is a space that holds the world’s largest […]
Listen to a 22-minute audio interview with TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong, as she talks with Joan Brown Campbell: As part of her recent TED Prize, she is in the midst of writing a Charter of Compassion in a collaborative effort; this document, based on the principle of The Golden Rule, will be written and […]
From the TED Prize blog: More AIMS Student Talks: Be inspired by the stories of current and former AIMS students — young Africans whose lives have been changed through access to a top-notch scientific education at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Every two weeks, the TED Prize team uploads three talks from the May […]
The TED2008 Gift Bag was the first product from a brand-new company, Rickshaw Bagworks. Made in San Francisco with sustainable fabrics and thoughtful details, the TED bags became a bit of a cult item — not least because they weren’t available for retail sale at the time of the ’08 conference. This week Rickshaw opens […]
The “happiest man in the world,” Matthieu Ricard balances his Buddhist contemplation of happiness (watch his TEDTalk on the habits of happiness) with an active life as a humanitarian in the Himalayas. Learn more about his projects — and get involved — at the new website for his Karuna-Shechen foundation. Karuna-Shechen brings medical help and […]
British multi-entrepreneur and TEDster Richard Branson (watch his TEDtalk) may be in a pretty bad business when it comes to pollution — airlines, among others — but he is an eco-convert. On Tuesday he told the Global Humanitarian Forum‘s first gathering in Geneva, Switzerland, that he favors “polluter-pay” policies and that the climate crisis should […]
Sometime towards the end of August or possibly early September, the world’s biggest and most ambitious scientific experiment will go live: the LHC, or Large Hadron Collider will be started up at CERN in Geneva. Particle physicist and TED favorite Brian Cox (watch his TED talk) has written a must-read essay explaining the science of […]
Isabel Allende writes novels about self-reliant women who thrive in the midst of political turmoil. In her passionate TEDTalk, Allende praises women whose grit and selflessness transform the meaning of modern feminism — mentioning, in particular, three women of rare courage: Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam and Rose Mapendo. Watch Isabel Allende’s TEDTalk, then read what […]
This week, Sir Ken Robinson was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal by the UK’s RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). At the ceremony, he gave a lecture on education and creativity — followed by a lively Q&A where he made several new and bold suggestions. You can download audio […]
The Methuselah Foundation and TED speaker Aubrey de Grey (watch his TEDGLOBAL 2005 speech) will host next week in Los Angeles “Aging: The Disease, The Cure, The Implications”, a symposium featuring world-renowned scientists and advocates of stem cell and regenerative medicine research. The symposium will highlight the scientific prospects for using regenerative medicine to eliminate […]
Jonathan Feinberg, a sometime collaborator of artist Golan Levin (watch Levin’s TEDTalk), has given the world an addictive new web toy. Wordle turns any block of text into a word cloud — like a tag cloud but prettier. It’s hard to stop using it once you start. TEDTalks transcripts produce these handsome results: ABOVE: Erin […]
WIRED‘s Thomas Goetz fumes about a development in the world of genetic testing: California health regulators have demanded that several genetic testing start-ups halt operations until they prove they meet quality and reliability standards. Goetz writes, To my mind, genetic information is a new sort of personal information that the state and even the physician […]
Photo: Eames Demetrios via flickr We’re excited about the US Postal Service’s brand-new Charles and Ray Eames stamps, issued for the first time yesterday. You can order a sheet of 16 stamps, each with a different Eames design, and each with a face value of 42 cents, online from the USPS. Not sure if you […]
AfriGadget, the fascinating blog that rounds up inventions and hacks from around the African continent, was just named one of Time magazine’s 50 best websites of the year. Founded by TED Fellow Erik Hersman (also one of the brains behind Ushahidi), AfriGadget is a vital — and inspiring — look at creativity and engineering brilliance […]
TED.com picked up three Webbies on Tuesday night at the 2008 Webby Awards ceremony in New York City. Which means that June Cohen (left), Director of TED Media, got 15 words total to thank the academy and our millions of viewers. Her first five-word speech: “Millions watching lectures? Who knew?” TED.com’s awards: Best Podcast; Best […]