At TED2003, NYU Professor Noah Feldman was fresh off the publication of his first book, After Jihad: America and the struggle for Islamic democracy. Like so many TED speakers before him, he adapted his talk on the fly to better suit the occasion, and delivered a fascinating speech describing religion as a kind of technology […]
A collection of mid-century science magazines points to Flickrs potential as the museum of the future
I’ve just returned from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. CES is a veritable festival of microprocessors. There were 28 football fields worth of microprocessor-driven gadgets. As exciting as it was to see thousands upon thousands of high definition televisions, the biggest crowds formed around Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. I […]
Each year, EDGE founder John Brockman poses a question to members of the so-called Third Culture. Last year’s question (What is it you believe but cannot prove?) was translated into an utterly delightful book. This year, Brockman ups the intellectual ante, asking, “What is your dangerous idea?” The provocative answers promise a lively year ahead […]
Annual holiday hilarity from philosopher comic Ze Frank
A moving slideshow set to Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up,” covered by Bono and Alicia Keys
The thing I find so compelling about aquariums is that they are both scientifically fascinating and visually stunning. Which is why the Aquarium Party is always among the many highlights of the TED experience for me. Last year’s attendees of the Aquarium Party had the added pleasure of observing the worlds only Great White Shark […]
Technology-based gifts — while always welcome — can be a bit, well, boring. Here: some indulgent and unexpected choices. For someone with a big project … and a really big desk: The 30-inch Apple Cinema Display monitor. More than 4 million pixels of gorgeous flat-screen glory. Utterly indulgent, but worth every penny. $2499 at Apple.com […]
Time magazine gives the inaugural TED Prize Winner their big annual award. (Well, he has to share it with a Mr. and Mrs. Gates.) And if you missed the talk Bono gave at TED last year, there’s a transcript here, and link to Bono’s TEDTalk here. Well worth hearing.
A German TV commercial invokes the age-old question: It’s entertaining … but is it art?
Those of you who are already fanatical Jill Sobule groupies have likely signed up to be a member of her Secret Society Mystery Cult (aka, Jill’s mailing list). And if you are a Cult member then you have already seen this fantastic video of the proper way to fold a shirt (Jill learned of this […]
2005 was the break-out year for the Pre-Fab home. A BusinessWeek slideshow reveals the state-of-the-art.
Bruno Giussani and John Battelle swap Evil Search Engine Scenarios.
Ross Lovegrove has design the “iPod of toilets,” according to Swiss newspaper NZZ
Humans have a hard time picturing certain things: long-term consequences, very large numbers, global trends … For better or worse, our brains evolved to understand the immediate, “middle-sized” world that confronts us daily. We’re grateful then, to the designers and thinkers who make abstract concepts accessible. Case in point: Gapminder, a Stockholm-based non-profit. Their extraordinary […]
Steven Levitt defends his theory linking New York City’s falling crime rate in the 90s with the legalization of abortion in the 70s.