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Stories for "Gavin Pretor-Pinney"

8 illuminating facts about clouds

8 illuminating facts about clouds

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The Cloud Appreciation Society may be the first official organization to celebrate the beauty of clouds, but these fluffy pillows in the sky have been a source of fascination since 3,000 B.C., when they were first discussed in the Upanishads. Aristotle poetically described cloud formation in his 350 B.C. work Meteorology as the process by []

The joy of cloudspotting: 10 incredible visions in clouds

The joy of cloudspotting: 10 incredible visions in clouds

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A “cloud on the horizon” means that something bad is about to happen. Meanwhile, someone with their “head in the clouds” is thoroughly out to lunch. As Gavin Pretor-Pinney points out in today’s talk, clouds get a bad rep when it comes to language. “But I think they’re beautiful, don’t you?” he says. “It’s just []

Live with your head in the clouds: Gavin Pretor-Pinney at TEDGlobal 2013

Live with your head in the clouds: Gavin Pretor-Pinney at TEDGlobal 2013

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Why do clouds get such a bad rap? In English, when someone’s sad or depressed, they’re “under a cloud.” When there’s bad news in store, there’s “a cloud on the horizon.” It’s everyone’s default doom-and-gloom metaphor. But, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, has one message for you: Clouds are awesome. Whatever happened []

Imagined Beauty: The speakers in Session 10 at TEDGlobal 2013

Imagined Beauty: The speakers in Session 10 at TEDGlobal 2013

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Beauty is always a key theme at TED, and in this session, Imagined Beauty, there’s something for everyone, with speakers including a couple whose professions have required the coining of new words.  Meet the “cloudspotter,” the “mathemagician,” and the others who presented to us in this session of TEDGlobal. Click on their name for a []