Greg Shove introduces me to the intriguing website 43things.com, encouraging people to write down 43 goals and then share progress on meeting them with others. Aristotle would be shocked at how inward looking everyone is. Here is the list of the top personal goals of all time as measured by their readers (who are, in […]
Continuing the global trend toward museum-as-architectural-showpiece, the new DeYoung opens tomorrow in San Francisco — and stays open for 29 straight hours of welcoming fanfare. Designed by Pritzker-winning architects Herzog & DeMeuron, the boxy copper-faced building was designed to promote meaningful interaction with the landscape, as well as the art. Does it succeed? We await […]
Among the newly minted 2005 MacArthur Fellows: Majora Carter, the charismatic pioneer for urban renewal who will speak at TED2006. Carter, who will receive one of the legendary $500K “genius grants,” founded Sustainable South Bronx, an organization that’s improved air quality, adopted green-roof technology, launched exercise programs, and built parks in a community that’s long […]
When Tom Rielly pointed out the prevalence of hirsute speakers at TEDGlobal (with a wink toward Steven Pinker and Aubrey DeGrey), we didn’t realize there was an organized movement behind it …
TED Prize winner Ed Burtynsky is known for his extraordinary large-format photographs, documenting the impact of humans on Earth. His epic slideshow at TED2005 took us through unorthodox landscapes — mountains of tires, rivers of industrial waste — as eerily beautiful as they are disturbing. You can revisit them (at your own pace) at the […]
At TEDGlobal this summer, Richard Dawkins outlined the limitations of the human mind. We live, he explained, in a middle-sized world, and have difficulty understanding anything very large — like solar systems — or very small, like atoms. So when Dartmouth researchers created the world’s smallest mobile robot, which measures a hundredth of an inch […]
Marketing guru Seth Godin, whose “Purple Cow” talk was a hit at TED2003, has launched an ingenious new site called Squidoo. It plans to accumulate content from anyone willing to play where each page (he calls it a lens) is a self-contained piece of expertise on a single topic. Seth believes this will help make […]
His book The Know-it-all is a current TED Book Club choice. If that isn’t enough for you, try this great article on outsourced assistants. I had tears rolling down my face by the end …
Princeton sophomore Eva Vertes told us her theory at TED2005: That stem cells — seeking to initiate repairs in the body — may actually be the root of cancer. So cancer may, in fact, be the body’s own repair system gone awry. Well, research increasingly is backing her up. Cancer Cell journal reported recently that […]
Perhaps I didn’t spend enough time chatting with Craig Venter in Oxford, because this morning was my first encounter with the word “Epigenome,” defined by Wired News as the layer of biochemical reactions that turns genes on or off. Obviously.
Every so often, in the course of spotlighting great ideas, we ponderously turn our attention to great mysteries in design. Like: Why aren’t there clocks in airports? Seriously. Every other time-dependent location — train stations, schools, gyms — features prominent clockage. Yet airports, like casinos and spas, are conspicuously clock-free. Think about that, next time […]
Researchers in Japan have invented a nimble humanoid robot that can regain its own footing after taking a tumble. Its secret lies in letting go of control: Rather than follow a strict set of predetermined rules, it makes on-the-fly adjustments based on body trajectory and momentum. This approach may sound familiar … it applies the […]
Long-time TEDsters may find themselves pining for our resident pixie chick, Jill Sobule. New Yorkers can get their Jill Fix this Thursday and Friday at Joes Pub (TEDsters will be in the house). Can’t make it? Satisfy the craving with the “Vid-Lit” (Think smart, low-tech music video) for her bittersweet single, Underdog Victorious.