Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actually begins to change your brain. Madhumita...

* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Here's a TED first: an animated Socratic dialog! In a time when irrationality seems to rule both politics and...

Our bodies _ the physical, biological parts of us - and our minds - the thinking, conscious aspects - have a complicated, tangled relationship. Which one primarily defines you or your self? Are you a body with a mind or a mind with a...

Can someone’s political identity actually affect their ability to process information? The answer lies in a cognitive phenomenon known as partisanship. While identifying with social groups is an essential and healthy part of life, it can...

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...

Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem, only to realize that he just doesn't seem to grasp why the issue is so important to you? Have you ever presented an idea to a group, and it's met with utter confusion? What's going on...

Imagine, for a second, a duck teaching a French class. A ping-pong match in orbit around a black hole. A dolphin balancing a pineapple. You probably haven't actually seen any of these things. But you could imagine them instantly. How...

Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much less self-aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically "teenage"...

The vast majority of people who've lost a limb can still feel it - not as a memory or vague shape, but in complete lifelike detail. They can flex their phantom fingers and sometimes even feel the chafe of a watch band or the throb of an...

When Henry Molaison (now widely known as H.M.) cracked his skull in an accident, he began blacking out and having seizures. In an attempt to cure him, daredevil surgeon Dr. William Skoville removed H.M.'s hippocampus. Luckily, the...

Why do we sleep? Well... that's a tricky question. More easily answered is the question,"How do we sleep?" In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank discusses some of the ways our brain functions when sleeping and how it...

The word bipolar means 'two extremes.' For the many millions experiencing bipolar disorder around the world, life is split between two different realities: elation and depression. So what causes this disorder? And can it be treated?...

With stunning photos and stories, National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world's indigenous cultures, which are disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate.

What does Psychology mean? Where does it come from? Hank gives you a 10 minute intro to one of the more tricky sciences and talks about some of the big names in the development of the field. Welcome to Crash Course Psychology!!!

People have been grappling with the question of artificial creativity -- alongside the question of artificial intelligence -- for over 170 years. For instance, could we program machines to create high quality original music? And if we...

What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard says we can train our minds in habits of well-being, to generate a true sense of serenity and fulfillment.

Twenty four hundred years ago, Plato, one of history's most famous thinkers, said life is like being chained up in a cave forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall. Beyond sounding quite morbid, what exactly did he mean? Alex...

What is Quantum Computing? quantum computing explained - because it is your destiny!



The cell phone you have in your pocket is thousands of times more powerful than the...

Most people have thought about: How does it feel to die? What is death like? In this video, I examine what science says about this. Some commonalities in what people experience are: positive emotions, meeting...

What if the universe is self-aware? Is there a cosmic superconsciousness? Could it be a giant brain? Is the universe a conscious mind? There is a short but lazy answer, and there is longer but more...

The simulation hypothesis is the idea that everything we experience, including our memories and consciousness could be an advanced digital simulation created by a technologically advanced civilization. It's so advanced...

Howcast - Learn about complex-partial seizures, or temporal lobe seizures, from Steve Wolf, MD, and Patty McGoldrick, NP, in this Howcast video.

Howcast - Expand your consciousness through an out-of-body experience to discover new sensations and reach unimagined realms of being.

Howcast - Learn about Wiccan Magic from Wiccan High Priestess Phyllis Curott in this Howcast video.