Inspired by JD Schramm’s powerful TEDTalk on surviving a suicide attempt, this list of resources has been updated to help you widen your understanding of mental health, depression, suicide and suicide prevention. Whether you’re an attempt survivor, a concerned family member or friend, or struggling with suicidal thoughts yourself, this list offers helpful resources and hotlines […]
Who rules the Internet? These days it’s Upworthy, Eli Pariser’s socially-bent aggregator, which fills a gap in viral content where puppies used to sleep. The site’s sheer power on the Interwebs came quickly: In just two years, the site has come to fill the Facebook feeds of 5.4 million people. (So it’s no surprise that haters gonna headline-hate.) Upworthy is Pariser’s […]
When Salman Khan shared his vision for “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere” at TED2011, he turned the education world on its head. As he introduced Khan Academy — a virtual classroom that uses video lessons to create an individualized, self-paced learning experience — his alternative model fueled the nascent dialogue about online education. […]
David Christian had little idea what was in store when he stepped on the set of The Colbert Report last month. Having lived in Australia for years, Christian wasn’t familiar with the show and its special brand of political satire. And yet, sitting across the table from Stephen Colbert — a perfectly placed Colbert Nation […]
Béatrice Coron doesn’t so much tell stories, as cut them. At TED2011, the French-born artist shared how she creates intricate, fantastical worlds by slashing paper into beautiful silhouettes. During a party at TED, held in the rotunda of Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, Coron ran into James Stewart, the Canadian film director who pioneered digital […]
Julie Taymor, the director behind Frida, Across the Universe and the Broadway reimagining of The Lion King, creates productions that tickle the senses. Filled with saturated colors, offbeat imagery, stacatto movement and big sound — each of her productions shares her unique style, yet manages to be completely distinct. In today’s talk, Taymor shares with […]
[ted id=1121] Roger Ebert, the film critic who guided American movie selections for decades, has died, a family friend revealed to newspapers today. He was 70 years old. This sad news comes just days after Ebert wrote a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, celebrating the 46th anniversary of his column and announcing a “leave of […]
Fashion designer and BioCouture founder Suzanne Lee harnesses the labor of microorganisms to grow clothing. Computational architect Skylar Tibbits — who’s setting up a lab at MIT focused on self-assembly technologies and programmable materials — examines biological systems to develop his methods. We asked them to discuss the directions they’re exploring, and the trends and […]
[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 […]
Shea Hembrey is 100 artists in one. At TED2011, he shared how he staged an international biennial containing works from 100 artists … all of whom he invented himself. The talk has spun into his first New York gallery exhibit, featuring work he made—this time as himself. The exhibit is called “Dark Matters,” and it’s […]
With summer dwindling to its last few days, it’s time to put away the beach reads and get the mind back in gear with heartier fare. Why not start with some of the amazing books written by recent TED speakers? Here, some picks. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer Retells the tale of a forgetful […]
This morning onstage, Gary Kovacs of Mozilla announced a fascinating browser add-on for Mozilla: Lightbeam. (Watch his TEDTalk.) It allows you to track who’s tracking you online … and the results are surprising, to say the least. In summer of 2011, we stumbled onto an early version of the add-on, then called Collusion. How did we […]
A TED Blog premiere video: At this year’s TEDActive, in Palm Springs, engineer Bruno Bowden tells the amazing story of NORAD’s quest to track Santa — and how Bruno’s employer now continues the quest: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QabHDoNDpVg] Read more on the official Google Blog >> (This year’s countdown begins Dec. 24 at 2am Eastern.)
Every morning we wake up and regain consciousness — that is a marvelous fact — but what exactly is it that we regain? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio uses this simple question to give us a glimpse into how our brains create our sense of self. (Recorded at TED2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 18:43) [ted […]
Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche come from Moto, a Chicago restaurant that plays with new ways to cook and eat food. But beyond the fun and flavor-tripping, there’s a serious intent: Can we use new food technology for good? (Recorded at TED2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 9:34) [ted id=1304] Watch Homaro Cantu and […]
How can something as simple as a smile be so deceptively complex? That’s the mystery and magic explored in Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, a new TED Book by Ron Gutman about the sensation and science of the smile. From the broad beaming grin of a toddler to the oily smirk of […]