TED-Ed
TED-ED: An exercise in time perception - Matt Danzico
Why is that some experiences feel like they last forever, while others fly by? We tend to miscalculate the time it takes to engage in novel activities due to the influence of memories. Matt Danzico explains why your childhood feels like...
TED-Ed
The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe | Iseult Gillespie
Baldur was the gentlest and most beloved being in all of Asgard. But lately, he had been plagued by gruesome visions foretelling his own imminent death. Determined to protect her son from these grim prophecies, Queen Frigg travelled...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What happens to our bodies after we die? - Farnaz Khatibi Jafari
Since the dawn of humanity, an estimated 100.8 billion people have lived and died, a number that increases by about 0.8% of the world's population each year. What happens to all of those peoples' bodies after they die? And will the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The life cycle of a neutron star - David Lunney
About once every century, a massive star somewhere in our galaxy runs out of fuel. No longer able to produce sufficient energy to maintain its structure, it collapses under its own gravitational pressure and explodes in a supernova. The...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you outsmart the college admissions fallacy? | Elizabeth Cox
It's 1990. A prospective student has filed a complaint about Virginia Military institute's admissions policy that excludes women. The state argues that VMI's single sex education is an "important governmental objective" and that the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is the rarest color in nature? | Victoria Hwang
Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can love and independence coexist? | Tanya Boucicaut
Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to flee their ruined communities. But for Janie Crawford, it inspired an unexpected homecoming. So begins Zora Neale Hurston's...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The complex geometry of Islamic design - Eric Broug
In Islamic culture, geometric design is everywhere: you can find it in mosques, madrasas, palaces, and private homes. And despite the remarkable complexity of these designs, they can be created with just a compass to draw circles and a...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The threat of invasive species - Jennifer Klos
Massive vines that blanket the southern United States, climbing high as they uproot trees and swallow buildings. A ravenous snake that is capable of devouring an alligator. Rabbit populations that eat themselves into starvation. These...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Gorgeous - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
From whirlpools and ravines to superlative beauty, what is the trajectory of the word gorgeous? Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel reveal the surprising variations in meaning (and what turtleneck-like fashion has to do with it).
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The survival of the sea turtle - Scott Gass
Watch the miraculous journey of infant sea turtles as these tiny animals run the gauntlet of predators and harsh conditions. Then, in numbers, see how human behavior has made their tough lives even more challenging.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to master your sense of smell - Alexandra Horowitz
Some perfumers can distinguish individual odors in a fragrance made of hundreds of scents; tea-experts have been known to sniff out the exact location of a particular tea; and the NYC Transit Authority once had a employee responsible...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The secrets of Mozart's "Magic Flute" - Joshua Borths
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Die Zauberflote" ("The Magic Flute") is widely regarded as one of the most influential operas in history. And while it may seem like a childish fairytale at first glance, it's actually full of subversive...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Bewilder - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
The history of the word bewilder is more straightforward than you might think. Roots can be traced back to the Old English words wilde (undomesticated) and deor (untamed animals), eventually combined into the word wilderness. Jessica...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Could we actually live on Mars? - Mari Foroutan
There's a lot of talk these days about when and how we might all move to Mars. But what would it actually be like to live there? Mari Foroutan details the features of Mars that are remarkably similar to those of Earth — and those that...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Can you solve the rogue AI riddle? - Dan Finkel
A hostile artificial intelligence called NIM has taken over the world's computers. You're the only person skilled enough to shut it down, and you'll only have one chance. Can you survive and shut off the artificial intelligence? Dan...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: 3 ways to end a virus | TED-Ed
Viruses are wildly successful organisms. There are about 100 million times as many virus particles on Earth as there are stars in the observable universe. Even so, viruses can and do go extinct. So, what is the possibility of the virus...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Jeff Leek and Lucy McGowan: This one weird trick will help you spot clickbait
Health headlines are published every day, sometimes making opposite claims from each other. There can be a disconnect between broad, attention-grabbing headlines and the often specific, incremental results of the medical research they...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: If superpowers were real: Super strength - Joy Lin
What if super strength wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to be super strong? In this series, Joy Lin tackles six superpowers and reveals just how scientifically realistic they can be to us...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How Magellan circumnavigated the globe - Ewandro Magalhaes
On September 6, 1522, the "Victoria" sailed into harbor in southern Spain. The battered vessel and its 18 sailors were all that remained of a fleet that had departed three years before. Yet her voyage was considered a success, for the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The terrors of sleep paralysis - Ami Angelowicz
Imagine you're fast asleep and then suddenly awake. You want to move but can't, as if someone is sitting on your chest. And you can't even scream! This is sleep paralysis, a creepy but common phenomenon caused by an overlap in REM sleep...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The hidden meanings of yin and yang - John Bellaimey
The ubiquitous yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Taoism/Daoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy. The yin, the dark swirl, is associated with shadows, femininity, and the trough of a wave; the yang, the light swirl, represents...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What is consciousness? - Michael S. A. Graziano
Explore the theories of human consciousness and the science of how your brain works to create a conscious experience. -- Patient P.S. suffered a stroke that damaged the right side of her brain, leaving her unaware of everything on her...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What's the definition of comedy? Banana. - Addison Anderson
What makes us giggle and guffaw? The inability to define comedy is its very appeal; it is defined by its defiance of definition. Addison Anderson riffs on the philosophy of Henri Bergson and Aristotle to elucidate how a definition draws...