Just like you, we at TED get inundated with email. And just like you, many of us think of an overflowing inbox as a guilt-inducing, anxiety-laden reminder of things left undone. As TED’s User Experience Architect, I like my inbox the same way I like my designs: simple, orderly, and communicating clearly what to do […]
When Justin Dowd worked as a food runner at a restaurant, he would sometimes doodle on the chalkboard in the kitchen. He had no idea that this skill — coupled with his ability to explain physics — would one day win him a trip to space. The science writer and animator who created the TED-Ed lesson “Could comets […]
Writer, cartoonist and New York City transplant Nathan W. Pyle is the creator of the street-savvy, GIFed-out NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette. Lubna Batool, an 11th-grade New Yorker, is a big admirer of his work, which gives newcomers to the city the little tips no one else will—like that one $20 umbrella will outlast four […]
The “T” in TED stands for technology. So it might sound counterintuitive that we would release a book about the need to unplug. But we live in a madly accelerating world, where new technologies — for all their benefits — are making our lives more crowded, more chaotic and noisier than ever. There’s never been […]
Art historian Sarah Lewis’s first job was at the Museum of Modern Art. While there, she was entranced by an exhibit of works by the artist Elizabeth Murray. So Lewis was intrigued to hear from the painter that she felt several pieces hanging on the walls fell short. For one piece, Murray confessed that she’d found […]
To break up a dense (and early) morning session all about Us, performance artist Ze Frank wants to do a quick human test. He asks you to raise your hand when a question applies. Answer honestly. This is a safe space. Ready? Let’s begin: Have you ever eaten a booger long past your childhood? Have you […]
Roads need constant repair. Rain, snow and other moisture seeps into the asphalt and — if it freezes — expands, breaking it apart and creating potholes. In today’s talk, given at TEDxDelft, civil engineer Erik Schlangen reveals a fascinating solution: a road that is able to heal. He gives a demonstration of a new type […]
[ted id=1130 width=560 height=315] On January 17, 2009, at 3:24pm, Flight 1549 took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport as normal. Five minutes later, it had crash-landed in the Hudson River. While the heroic landing of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger has become the stuff of aviation legend, during the white-knuckle landing his passengers had no […]