View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/life-of-an-astronaut-jerry-carr Astronaut Jerry Carr knows space. As commander of Skylab, he spent over 2000 hours in space, orbiting the Earth over 1000 times. Recounting his life story, Carr remembers the enchanting years he spent at NASA. Lesson by Jerry Carr, animation by Sharon Colman Graham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Follow Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, on his journey to Heaven and the trouble he causes the Jade Emperor during his stay. -- While his disciples loved their roguish leader, Sun Wukong’s misadventures had spread chaos throughout the land. The Jade Emperor, watching from his throne in Heaven, decided he would no longer stand by as this monkey wreaked havoc across his domain. The Emperor decided the best way to maintain order was to keep a close eye on Sun Wukong. Ji Hao follows the Monkey King's ex...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/in-on-a-secret-that-s-dramatic-irony-christopher-warner You're in a movie theater, watching the new horror flick. The audience knows something that the main character does not. The audience sees the character's actions are not in his best interest. What's that feeling -- the one that makes you want to shout at the screen? Christopher Warner identifies this storytelling device as dramatic irony. Lesson by Christopher Warner, animation by Ben Pearce. Lea...
Explore the science of afterimages, which are the visual illusions that appear in the eyes after exposure to an image or bright light. -- In the 1600s, Isaac Newton conducted a series of experiments to better understand the lights and colors that sometimes appear when your eyes are closed. If you’ve ever sat around an evening campfire or unintentionally glanced at the Sun, you may have noticed illuminated patterns briefly dance along your vision. So how do these visual illusions form? Paul Taylo...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/parasite-tales-the-jewel-wasp-s-zombie-slave-carl-zimmer This is stranger than science fiction. The jewel wasp and the cockroach have a disgusting and fascinating parasitic relationship. The jewel wasp stuns the cockroach, and months later, a jewel wasp hatches out of the cockroach. At TEDYouth 2012, Carl Zimmer walks us through how this happens and why it personally fascinates him. Talk by Carl Zimmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...
A group of adventurers has broken into your lair. Can you figure out who the cleric is before they start casting spells? -- Yet another party of adventurers has broken into your lair to slay your minions and steal your treasures. Judging by the trail of destruction, you’re up against a fighter, a rogue, and a cleric. The first two won’t be a problem for a powerful necromancer like you— but the clerics' spells are trouble. Can you figure out which adventurer is the cleric before it’s too late? Al...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-coming-neurological-epidemic-gregory-petsko Biochemist Gregory Petsko makes a convincing argument that, in the next 50 years, we'll see an epidemic of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's, as the world population ages. His solution: more research into the brain and its functions. Talk by Gregory Petsko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Take a look at the US supply chain to explore the three main reasons why medications like insulin are so expensive. -- A century after its discovery, insulin remain essential in treating diabetes, and has a relatively low production cost, with a vial generally costing less than $6 to make. But those in the US pay on average 10 times more than those in other countries— leading some patients to take less than prescribed. Kiah Williams takes a look at the US supply chain to explore why medications ...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/do-the-green-thing-andy-hobsbawm Andy Hobsbawm shares a fresh ad campaign about going green -- and some of the fringe benefits. Talk by Andy Hobsbawm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Explore how heat waves affect the body, what levels of extreme heat we can survive, and what you can do to manage high temperatures. -- In many parts of the world heat waves are happening more often with greater intensity and for longer durations. By 2050, Earth’s mid-latitudes could be experiencing extreme heat between 90 and 180 days a year, with tropical regions enduring even more. So how hot is too hot, and what can people do to handle the heat? Carolyn Beans digs into how heat waves affect ...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/surviving-a-nuclear-attack-irwin-redlener The face of nuclear terror has changed since the Cold War, but disaster-medicine expert Irwin Redlener reminds us the threat is still real. He looks at some of history's farcical countermeasures and offers practical advice on how to survive an attack. Talk by Irwin Redlener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dig into W.W. Jacobs’ horror story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” about an artifact that grants wishes — with great consequences. -- Sergeant-Major Morris regaled his friends with epic tales from faraway lands— until one asked about an artifact the Sergeant had alluded to. Slowly, he produced the object: a mummified monkey’s paw. He explained that a holy man had imbued the paw with the power to grant three wishes to three men. But each wish comes with chilling consequences. Iseult Gillespie shares the tal...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/slowing-down-time-in-writing-film-aaron-sitze Certain moments in our lives seem to last forever. Whether it is a first kiss or a car crash, time can can seem to stretch...or even stop. Aaron Sitze explains how this sensation is conveyed in cinema and how the same conventions can be used to slow down time in your writing. Lesson by Aaron Sitze, animation by TED-Ed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Explore what makes polio so dangerous, what is causing the 21st century resurgence of cases, and how we can eradicate the disease. -- In 1952, polio was everywhere: killing or paralyzing roughly half a million people annually. Yet just 10 years later, paralytic polio cases in the US dropped by 96% and we were on track to get rid of polio for good. But in recent years, the virus started striking back. So, what’s behind these recent spikes? Explore the dangers of poliovirus and the possibility of ...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-facebook-and-the-flu-have-in-common-marc-samet From social media to massive financial institutions, we live within a web of networks. But how do they work? How does Googling a single word provide millions of results? Marc Samet investigates how these networks keep us connected and how they remain "alive." Lesson by Marc Samet, animation by Thinkmore Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dig into the science of how kidney transplants work, how donors are matched and find out how this surgery saves lives. -- In 1954, Joseph Murray attempted a type of kidney swap that no doctor had tried before. The surgery was a success, and the patient would go on to live with the transplanted organ thanks to one key factor: it came from his identical twin. 70 years later, nearly 100,000 kidneys are transplanted annually in the US alone. So how does this surgery work today? Alexander H. Toledo e...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/rapid-prototyping-google-glass-tom-chi Rapid prototyping is a method used to accelerate the innovation process. At TEDYouth 2012, Tom Chi explains how this method was used to create one of Google's newest inventions, Google Glass. Talk by Tom Chi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dig into the history of the Armenian Genocide, during which the Ottoman Empire killed over 1 million Armenians during WWI. -- When an Armenian resistance movement began to form in the 19th century, Sultan Abdul Hamid II took decisive action. He led the Hamidian Massacres— a relentless campaign of violence that killed over 150,000 Armenians. These massacres were the culmination of centuries of oppression, yet they were only the beginning of an even greater tragedy. Ümit Kurt uncovers the history ...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/learning-from-past-presidents-doris-kearns-goodwin Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about what we can learn from American presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson. Then she shares a moving memory of her own father and of their shared love of baseball. Talk by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Puzzle through this classic ethical dilemma and decide: is community safety more important than individual privacy? -- 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 every vehicle. While it would make the roads safer, is this undeniable benefit worth the cost to drivers’ privacy? Michael Vazquez and Sarah St...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/digging-for-humanity-s-origins-louise-leakey Louise Leakey asks, "Who are we?" The question takes her to the Rift Valley in Eastern Africa, where she digs for the evolutionary origins of humankind -- and suggests a stunning new vision of our competing ancestors. Talk by Louise Leakey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Loki has challenged you to a winner-take-all game to end Ragnarok. Can you beat him and win the right to rule the new world? -- Ragnarok has been raging for far too long; many gods and heroes have fallen, and the rest can barely stand. Loki, his bright eyes dimmed by exhaustion, asks to meet. He proposes that you and he settle the conflict with a game atop a sacred table engraved with your names. Can you beat the infamous trickster and win the right to rule the new world? Alex Rosenthal shows ho...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/losing-everything-david-hoffman Nine days before TED2008, filmmaker David Hoffman lost almost everything he owned in a fire that destroyed his home, office and 30 years of passionate collecting. He looks back at a life that's been wiped clean in an instant -- and looks forward. Talk by David Hoffman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Explore how pulling an all-nighter can impact your cognitive function, and find out what happens to your brain when you don't sleep. -- You’re just one history final away from a relaxing spring break. But you still have so much to study! You decide to follow in the footsteps of many students before you, and pull an all-nighter. So, what happens to your brain when you stay up all night? And does cramming like this actually help you prepare for a test? Anna Rothschild explores how a sleepless nigh...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/your-genes-are-not-your-fate-dean-ornish Dean Ornish shares new research that shows how adopting healthy lifestyle habits can affect a person at a genetic level. For instance, he says, when you live healthier, eat better, exercise, and love more, your brain cells actually increase. Talk by Dean Ornish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Explore how the Right to Repair movement is pushing back against companies which don’t want consumers fixing their products. -- Today, some companies are working hard to prevent consumers from repairing products on their own. In many cases, repair can only be done by the original manufacturer, if at all. With limited repair options available, we end up buying new and throwing more items out. So, how exactly do companies prevent repair? And what can consumers do about it? Aaron Perzanowski invest...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-light-a-particle-or-a-wave-colm-kelleher Can we accurately describe light as exclusively a wave or just a particle? Are the two mutually exclusive? In this third part of his series on light and color, Colm Kelleher discusses wave-particle duality and its relationship to how we see light and, therefore, color. Lesson by Colm Kelleher, animation by Nelson Diaz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Explore the phenomenon known as peat fires, smoldering fires that burn underground and can continue for months or even years. -- In 1997, a fire began in Indonesia that would rage for almost a year. Despite being one of the largest fires in recorded history, for months at a time it burned without a flame. This might sound like a uniquely freaky fire, but it’s actually one of many. So, is it possible to snuff out these bizarre blazes? And how do they form in the first place? Emma Bryce explores t...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-bottom-billion-paul-collier Around the world right now, one billion people are trapped in poor or failing countries. How can we help them? Economist Paul Collier lays out a bold, compassionate plan for closing the gap between rich and poor. Talk by Paul Collier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd -- A spy presses a button on their suit and blinks out of sight. A wizard wraps himself in a cloak and disappears. A star pilot flicks a switch, and their ship vanishes into space. Invisibility is one of the most tantalizing powers in fiction, spanning all kinds of stories. But could this fantasy ever become a reality? Max G. Levy digs into the technologies that could make invisibility possible. Lesson by Max G. Levy, directed by Michalis Kalopaidis, Zed...
