Perhaps you are looking forward to a new and hopeful 2014; perhaps you see late December as the perfect time for reflection and resolution. I’m pleased to let you off the hook. This is the time when you should look back at your year and focus on the question: What TED Talks did I miss? Lucky for you, […]
Diana Nyad swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, a journey that took her just under 53 hours last September. In today’s talk, Nyad gives a vivid account of what it was like to be out in the water, making her fifth attempt at this swim — one she first tried […]
UPDATED: To see all these talks at one click, check out our updated Playlist: The 20 Most Popular Talks of All Time. As 2013 draws to a close, TED is deeply humbled to have posted 1600+ talks, each representing an idea worth spreading. So which ideas have had the most widespread impact? Below, a look […]
A dream analysis app creator. A fearless swimmer. The CEO of Campbell’s Soup. A spacesuit designer. These are the kinds of speakers who will take the stage when TEDWomen 2013 kicks off at San Francisco’s SFJAZZ Center tomorrow. With three sessions centered around the theme “Invented Here,” the event will be a global look at […]
The few days before a holiday are brutal. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of work on your plate or have midterms to study for — your mind just wants to be distracted from it all. And so, we bring you the best TED Talks for procrastinating, so you don’t have to feel […]
Experiences we have all had: walking into a room with a tremendous sense of purpose, only to realize that you have completely forgotten what the purpose was. Talking to someone in a restaurant and losing the thread of your conversation because you’re distracted by the juicier one at the table next door. Slowing down as […]
Happy International Men’s Day, all! While at first, it might seem a little strange to have a holiday that celebrates, well, approximately half of the world’s population. But the goals of this holiday — “focus[ing] on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models” — are worthwhile, […]
What conference, besides TEDYouth, could bring together an elephant communication expert, the head of research at Pixar, a professional storm chaser, and a 16-year-old DJ? TEDYouth 2013, “The Spark,” happens tomorrow, November 16, at 11am CST in New Orleans, Louisiana. And you can watch along via the live webcast, which will be available in English, […]
Could unemployment be a factor that leads to terrorism? In today’s talk, peace strategist Mohamed Ali (not to be confused with the boxer) introduces us to the youth of Mogadishu, Somalia — 70 percent of whom are unable to find jobs. In this talk, Ali highlights just how appealing the messages of terrorist organizations and […]
Arthur Benjamin is perhaps the world’s leading mathemagician and, in today’s talk, he aims to show the creativity, beauty and wonder that is as much a part of math as logic. Stepping onto the TEDGlobal 2013 stage, Benjamin takes us on a spirited tour of the Fibonacci numbers, where the patterns to be found go […]
It’s a widely documented fact: bad days are cumulative. They begin with pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, only to find that you’re out of milk. They escalate with discovering that the hot water isn’t working in the shower, and they percolate over a terrible morning commute. Add in a thunderstorm or an unexpected tiff […]
In South Korea’s “pressure-cooker” educational environment, 15-year-old Dong Woo Jang began to feel his caveman instincts kicking in: He needed to survive. And like his ancestors, he decided to arm up –- with a bow and arrow. As he shares in today’s talk, proudly holding up one of his handmade bows, he says, “Through bow […]
In today’s TED Talk, biologist Mohamed Hijri directs our attention to an incredible biotechnology — not one he invented, but one that’s been around for 450 million years. They are: mycorrhiza, microscopic mushrooms that grow in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants. These mushrooms are incredible at helping plants find phosphorous, an essential […]
[ted id=1833] For the past week, Amy Webb has been inspiring people to calculate their own algorithm for love. Her laugh-out-loud TED Talk, about reverse engineering her online dating profile and, essentially, data-ing her way into her perfect relationship has gotten a lot of attention, including on The Frisky and Pop Sugar. As Webb’s talk […]
As a physician and epidemiologist, Gary Slutkin didn’t think he had much to contribute to the conversation about gun violence in America. But then he began to realize something — that outbreaks of violence follow the same patterns as outbreaks of tuberculosis, cholera and AIDS, all of which he’d worked on reversing during a decade in […]
They might not be old enough to rent a car solo or to order a glass of wine, but they certainly have what it takes to deliver a fascinating talk on a bold idea. In this playlist, we highlight incredible TED speakers under the age of 20. From Taylor Wilson, 17, and his nuclear fusion […]