TED Talks
TED: Beautiful new words to describe obscure emotions | John Koenig
John Koenig loves finding words that express our unarticulated feelings -- like "lachesism," the hunger for disaster, and "sonder," the realization that everyone else's lives are as complex and unknowable as our own. Here, he meditates...
TED Talks
Al Seckel: Visual illusions that show how we (mis)think
Al Seckel, an expert on illusions, explores the perceptual illusions that fool our brains. He shares loads of cool tricks to prove that not only are we easily fooled, we kind of like it.
TED Talks
Jonathan Drori: What we think we know
Starting with four basic questions (that you may be surprised to find you can't answer), Jonathan Drori looks at the gaps in our knowledge -- and specifically, what we don't about science that we might think we do.
TED Talks
Omar Ahmad: Political change with pen and paper
Want your local politician to pay attention to an issue you care about? Send a monthly handwritten letter, says former mayor Omar Ahmad -- it's more effective than email, phone, or even writing a check. He shares four steps to writing a...
SciShow
Sinkholes, Robotic Mules & Fluffy the Tarantula: SciShow Talk Show #7
Hank is joined by Peter Winkler with some news about sinkholes and DARPA's new robotic mule, and then the boys are joined by Jessi from Animal Wonders and her special friend "Fluffy" the Chilean rose hair tarantula.
TED Talks
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: How craving attention makes you less creative
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten more than his fair share of attention from his acting career. But as social media exploded over the past decade, he got addicted like the rest of us -- trying to gain followers and likes only to be left...
TED Talks
Stefon Harris: There are no mistakes on the bandstand
What is a mistake? By talking through examples with his improvisational jazz quartet, Stefon Harris walks us to a profound truth: many actions are perceived as mistakes only because we don't react to them appropriately.
TED Talks
Jennifer Lin: Improvising on piano, aged 14
Pianist and composer Jennifer Lin gives a magical performance, talks about the process of creativity and improvises a moving solo piece based on a random sequence of notes.
TED Talks
Bruce McCall: What is retro-futurism?
Bruce McCall paints a retro-future that never happened -- full of flying cars, polo-playing tanks and the RMS Tyrannic, "The Biggest Thing in All the World." At Serious Play '08, he narrates a brisk and funny slideshow of his...
TED Talks
Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff
It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but ad man Rory Sutherland says many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers. To illustrate, he uses behavioral economics and hilarious examples.
SciShow
Why Are Mules Sterile?
Horse plus donkey — it seems like an unlikely combination. I mean, they're different species! And yet, when they get together, they can produce a mule or the lesser-known hinny. Either way, those offspring usually can't become parents...
TED Talks
TED: What I learned from going blind in space | Chris Hadfield
There's an astronaut saying: In space, “there is no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse.” So how do you deal with the complexity, the sheer pressure, of dealing with dangerous and scary situations? Retired colonel Chris Hadfield...
TED Talks
Nick Bostrom: What happens when our computers get smarter than we are?
Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by leaps and bounds -- within this century, research suggests, a computer AI could be as "smart" as a human being. And then, says Nick Bostrom, it will overtake us: "Machine intelligence is the...
SciShow
3 Things You May Not Want to Know About Dust Mites
Fair warning: After learning about dust mites, you may never want to sleep in your bed again.
TED Talks
TED: A Magna Carta for the web | Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web 25 years ago. So it’s worth a listen when he warns us: There’s a battle ahead. Eroding net neutrality, filter bubbles and centralizing corporate control all threaten the web’s wide-open...
TED Talks
Dessa: Can we choose to fall out of love?
What's the best way to get over heartbreak? Rapper and writer Dessa came up with an unconventional approach after a chance viewing of Helen Fisher's TED Talk about the brains of the lovestruck. In a wryly funny talk, she describes how...
SciShow
Why Echidnas Are Evolutionary Misfits
It’s pretty well known that Australia is home to some strange animals, but echidnas are especially weird evolutionary misfits.
TED Talks
TED: In the Internet age, dance evolves ... | The LXD
The LXD (the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) electrify the TED stage with an emerging global street-dance culture, revved up by the Internet. Directed by Jon M. Chu, this astonishing troupe of dancers and musicians show off their...
TED Talks
TED: The value of kindness at work | James Rhee
Kindness can go a long way when it comes to reshaping a business. Having saved a fashion company from the brink of bankruptcy, entrepreneur James Rhee shares the value of investing in a culture of compassion at work -- and shows why we...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The cockroach beatbox - Greg Gage
By dissecting a cockroach ... yes, live on stage ... TED Fellow and neuroscientist Greg Gage shows how brains receive and deliver electric impulses -- and how legs can respond. (Launching a series on Awesome Nature) "The Cockroach...
TED Talks
Chip Kidd: The art of first impressions -- in design and life
Book designer Chip Kidd knows all too well how often we judge things by first appearances. In this hilarious, fast-paced talk, he explains the two techniques designers use to communicate instantly -- clarity and mystery -- and when, why...
TED Talks
Courtney E. Martin: This isn't her mother's feminism
Blogger Courtney E. Martin examines the perennially loaded word "feminism" in this personal and heartfelt talk. She talks through the three essential paradoxes of her generation's quest to define the term for themselves.
TED Talks
TED: How AI can bring on a second Industrial Revolution | Kevin Kelly
The actual path of a raindrop as it goes down the valley is unpredictable, but the general direction is inevitable, says digital visionary Kevin Kelly -- and technology is much the same, driven by patterns that are surprising but...
SciShow
Is Everyone A Little Bit Racist? - Implicit Bias
Many companies have offered diversity trainings to teach their employees about implicit biases. But what does that mean, and is it really helping anything?