We’ve just sent out the new 30-year-anniversary edition to the TED bookclub (made up of those people signed up for TED2007). Here’s the reason I gave for its selection. Now why would we send out a 30-year-old book? Well, first of all, we suspect that despite its fame and influence, only a minority of TEDsters […]
A newly published research study funded the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has identified new genes that may play a role in the overconsumption of alcohol. The report appears in today’s Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences. According to to the NIAAA, grant recipient Dr. Susan E. Bergeson, Ph.D., of the […]
NASA announced that the Hubble Space Telescope has successfully measured the “10th Planet” and found it to be 1,490 miles, only slightly larger than its neighbor Pluto at 1,422 miles wide. Planetary Scientist at CalTech Mike Brown led the team that recently discovered the newly nicknamed “Xena.” The measurements were snapped in visible light photos […]
You’ve seen Al Gore‘s talk at TED2006, or you’ve bought your tickets on Fandango to see An Inconvenient Truth. He’s got you good and scared: we’re in deep trouble unless we DO something. So what exactly do we do? As part of their first ever Green Issue, Vanity Fair’s Daisy Prince and Emily Butselaar have […]
At TED2004, Harvard Psychology Professor Dan Gilbert demonstrated how poor we humans are at predicting what will make us happy. Then, at TEDGlobal, he explained why we’re so likely to miscalculate odds, act against our best interest, and generally fool ourselves. Forever drawn to the failings of our own brains, we’ll read (and recommend) just […]
From co-founders Heather Stephenson and Jennifer Boulden comes a daily weekday email newsletter chock-a-block with useful tips for green living. Similar to Daily Candy but now with chorophyll for fresh breath, Ideal Bite employs a team of editors to scour the planet for tips on green products, non-toxic cleaners, eco-travel, sustainable foods, and even natural […]
Our own Thomas Dolby kicks off his Sole Inhabitant tour this week, with shows in Anaheim and L.A. He’ll hit just about every major TED city in the U.S., so there’s ample opportunity to watch him rock the house with an utterly intriguing blend of retro and high-tech gadgetry. The repertoire will range from his […]
Lots of buzz building around the upcoming Al Gore movie "An Inconvenient Truth". The documentary-as-disaster-movie trailer has just been posted online. It’s here on itunes. And here on YouTube. Watch it if you dare. (Select groups of TEDsters in New York and San Francisco Bay Area are attending special prescreenings of the full movie next […]
At TED2006, Alan Russell posed a provocative question; “If newts can regenerate a lost limb, why can’t we?” For Russell, director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburg, it isn’t an idle question, but one of many potential pathways to healing the human body. If you can understand the biological […]
At TED2006, Robert Wright proposed that humans are still evolving, culturally and morally — progress that picks up where genetic evolution left off. But some scientists now say we’re still evolving genetically as well. Though conventional wisdom says humans have remained essentially unchanged for 100,000 years or more, new evidence points to a faster-paced evolution […]
It seems we aren’t the only ones impressed by Al Gore and the clarion call he’s sounding on global warming. Gore features prominently in Vanity Fair‘s first-ever Green Issue, on newsstands this week. And his essay, “The Moment of Truth” hits the issue hard: “Today, there are dire warnings that the worst catastrophe in the […]
After designing “the iPod of toilets” this fall, Ross Lovegrove (TED05) introduced in Milan this week a solar-powered concept car, shimmering with Swarovski crystals, but lacking an engine … or wheels. “It’s a provocation,” he told the Washington Post. And to the Western Mail: “It is only the future if it can’t be made.”
In honor of yesterday’s thrilling announcement that scientists have discovered — in fossil-form — a missing link between fish and land animals, we offer you the commercial that kicked off our interstitial series at TED2006. The brilliant, catchy, multiple-view-worthy noitulovE, which rewinds several hundred million years in the course of a 60-second spot. Created by […]
What would it have been like if the von Trapps had played piano instead of sung? Well, for one, the hills would not likely have been quite so alive. That would have required a whole lot of piano lugging. But they still would have made a heck of a splash. While I’m not sure that […]
Here’s one straight from the In-Box: TEDster David Hornik emailing Joe’s Pub Director Bill Bragin, who introduces us to TED2006 stand-out Stew. From: David Hornik To: Bill Bragin Subject: Stew Hey Bill – Hope all’s well. If you have a second to pass on the word to Stew would you please let him know how […]
Each year at TED, we punctuate the program with interstitial videos: TV commercials, short films, music videos and montages that represent some of the best work of the year (or, rather, the best work of the year that can double as an interstitial). Over the weeks to come, we’ll share many of them with you […]