In the 20th century we added an unprecedented number of years to our lifespans, but is the quality of life as good? Surprisingly, yes! Psychologist Laura Carstensen shows research that demonstrates that as people get older they become...

The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in human history. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientists who won the Nobel prize for...

Poet Suheir Hammad performs two spine-tingling spoken-word pieces: "What I Will" and "break (clustered)" -- meditations on war and peace, on women and power. Wait for the astonishing line: "Do not fear what has blown up. If you must,...

Mr. Andersen explains how sound waves are created and perceived. A brief discussion of pitch and loudness are included. A generated sound of varying pitches is also included.

Euclid of Alexandria revolutionized the way that mathematics is written, presented or thought about, and introduced the concept of mathematical proofs. Discover what it takes to move from a loose theory or idea to a universally...

Kaki King, the first female on Rolling Stone's "guitar god" list, rocks out to a full live set at TED2008, including her breakout single, "Playing with Pink Noise." Jaw-dropping virtuosity meets a guitar technique that truly stands out.

If you’ve ever looked at a frog’s head, you might have noticed that they don’t have external ears. So How do they hear?

Before they can walk or talk, infants start to do all sorts of cognitive feats that seem awfully smart for a baby.

Just what is the difference between sensing and perceiving? And how does vision actually work? And what does this have to do with a Corgi? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes us on a journey through the brain to...

What if you could experience a story with your entire body, not just with your mind? Nonny de la Pena is working on a new form of journalism that combines traditional reporting with emerging virtual reality technology to put the audience...

What Is The Universe

Poets Felice Belle and Jennifer Murphy perform excerpts from their play "Other Women," which is created and directed by Monica L. Williams. In a captivating journey, they weave together stories full of laughter, loyalty, tragedy and...

Ocean plastic pollution is a massive environmental problem. Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year, even plastic that goes in the trash can often ends up in the sea! This week we learn about the Great Pacific...

Paul Andersen explains how we perceive our environment using our sensory system. He starts with a brief discussion of action potentials and the nervous system. He shows that we many more than five senses. He goes into more detail to show...

We’ve all experienced it, that annoying pressure in our head when we’re flying in a plane or a storm front comes in, then it pops! Find out how this popping happens and things to avoid so you don’t harm your ears.

After a concert, you find it difficult to hear your friend rave about the show. It sounds like they're speaking from across the room, and it's tough to make out their voice over the ringing in your ears. But, by the next morning, the...

Birds can communicate with each other in lots of ways, but some types of birds can learn human words! But just because they learn human words, does that mean that they can understand them?

The ability to recognize sounds and identify their location is possible thanks to the auditory system. That's comprised of two main parts: the ear, and the brain. The ear's task is to convert sound energy into neural signals; the brain's...

"Complete silence is very addictive," says Rebecca Knill, a writer who has cochlear implants that enable her to hear. In this funny, insightful talk, she explores the evolution of assistive listening technology, the outdated way people...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the perceived frequency of a source depends on the motion of both the source and the observer. As a source approaches an observer the frequency will increase and as it moves away it will...

Many animals use the same five senses as we do, but these creatures take that beyond the next level.

We learn a lot about our surroundings thanks to sound. But... what is it exactly? Sound, that is. What is sound? And how does it travel? And what is this Doppler Effect that we've heard so much about? In this episode of Crash Course...

How does one experience synesthesia -- the neurological trait that combines two or more senses? Synesthetes may taste the number 9 or attach a color to each day of the week. Richard E. Cytowic explains the fascinating world of entangled...

Technology should work for us, but what happens when it doesn't? Comedian Chuck Nice explores the unintended consequences of technological advancement and human interaction -- with hilarious results.