Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires are most of the classic gemstones adorning royal jewels. But they used to be accompanied by a stone that nowadays is most often found in museum gift shops: Amethyst. Here's the story of...

This month's Rocks Box is the perfect combo of beauty and brains. Sodalite is a gorgeous blue mineral that has a superpower - its tiny pores can trap all kinds of molecules, making it the perfect sieve for everything from industrial...

Your government has introduced a plan to address record-breaking rates of traffic tickets and deadly hovercar accidents. They propose assigning “driver credit scores” to every citizen, but would need to install cameras and microphones in...

Many people would say the connection between happiness and gratefulness is very simple: when you are happy, you are grateful. But think again. Is it really the happy people that are grateful? Quite a number of people have everything that...

Life on your planet depends entirely on Nuronium for normal cognition. Unfortunately, its source has been compromised and you are now at risk of extinction. Scientists have found an alternate energy source, Polixate, but it can't sustain...

Imagine you're on a game show and you can choose between two prizes: a diamond - or a bottle of water. It's an easy choice _ the diamonds are more valuable. But if given the same choice when you were dehydrated in the desert, after...

Back in 2009, Paul Romer unveiled the idea for a "charter city" -- a new kind of city with rules that favor democracy and trade. This year, at TED2011, he tells the story of how such a city might just happen in Honduras ... with a little...

The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. An inspiring lesson in slowing down,...

Technologist and TED Fellow Gautam Shah invites us to imagine how the metaverse could redefine the relationships between humans and other species. By giving individual wild animals a personal identity (such as Fio, a young orangutan in...

To protect against a possible resurgence of smallpox, the US government is funding research to improve treatments and vaccines. And since it's unethical to expose people to a highly lethal virus, labs are using monkeys as research...

Many economists think that an eternally growing economy is necessary to keep improving people's lives, and that if the global economy stops growing, people would fight more over the fixed amount of value that exists, rather than working...

Less than 10% of plastic trash is recycled -- compared to almost 90% of metals -- because of the massively complicated problem of finding and sorting the different kinds. Frustrated by this waste, Mike Biddle has developed a cheap and...

The value of money is determined by how much (or how little) of it is in circulation. But who makes that decision, and how does their choice affect the economy at large? Doug Levinson takes a trip into the United States Federal Reserve,...

Multiple studies have shown that people assign a higher value to something they "made" themselves, even if they only picked out the color or tightened a few screws. Why does that happen? Psychologists have a few theories.

Artificial intelligences that play abstract, strategic board games have come a long way, but how do their "brains" work?

This week, Stan Muller launches the Crash Course Intellectual Property mini-series. So, what is intellectual property, and why are we teaching it? Well, intellectual property is about ideas and their ownership, and it's basically about...

I wondered… If I were 30 again, what are the ten most valuable things I wish I’d known at 30, to make me a better project professional, faster? Explore how to enhance your career by mastering critical thinking and leadership skills. This...

This video is answering the question of how did Brazil get its name.

The Neuroscience of Friendship: Why Your Brain Rewards You for Time with Friends

This video explores the concept of choice paralysis, where the abundance of options leads to difficulty in decision-making. It suggests overcoming this by lowering expectations and limiting choices to reduce stress and save time. By...

Howcast - Learn how to open new Pokemon cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game pros at Comic Cafe in this Howcast video.

Howcast - Find out how men can improve communication skills from life coach Stephanie Florman in this Howcast video.

Howcast - No one is immune to getting the axe – especially in an economic downturn. But you can certainly lower your chances.

Howcast -Learn how to become a pilot from pilot Josh Kallenberg in this Howcast video.