One day, Ed Gavagan was sitting on the subway, watching two young med students practicing their knots. And a powerful memory washed over him -- of one shocking moment that changed his life forever. An unforgettable story of crime, skill and gratitude. Talk by Ed Gavagan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover the scientific process art conservators use to restore centuries-old paintings and fix the damage of past restorations. -- Prior to the mid-20th century, art restorers took a heavy-handed approach, often drastically altering paintings in the name of “improving” art. Today, they focus on keeping the original work intact with minimal intervention, and must regularly contend with past modifications. So, how is damaged artwork repaired? Noah Charney explains the painstaking process of resto...
Mice, bugs and hamsters are no longer the only way to study the brain. Functional MRI (fMRI) allows scientists to map brain activity in living, breathing, decision-making human beings. Read Montague gives an overview of how this technology is helping us understand the complicated ways in which we interact with each other. Talk by Read Montague. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Trace the rise and fall of the Islamic Empire, from the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century to the sacking of Baghdad. -- In the 7th century CE, the prophet Muhammad united the people of the Arabian Peninsula through the formation of Islam. Over the next 30 years, caliphs conquered vast areas beyond Arabia, including their mighty neighbors the Persians and Byzantines. But an empire this vast was at risk of conflict and fracture. Petra Sijpesteijn and Birte Kristiansen detail the rise and fall of...
When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world -- except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark. In this impassioned talk, Ben Goldacre explains why these unreported instances of negative data are especially misleading and dangerous. Talk by Ben Goldacre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Is infinite economic growth possible on a planet with finite resources? Explore how countries can balance efficiency with sustainability. -- 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 to generate new value. Which raises the question: is infinite growth possible on a finite planet? Explore how economies ca...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mining-literature-for-deeper-meanings-amy-e-harter Writing a great English paper can be tough because literature doesn't always reveal its deeper meanings immediately. You might not know Mr. Darcy's true feelings for Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" or grasp the complex moral universe of Toni Morrison's "Beloved" at first reading. Amy E. Harter offers a few tips on how to read and write more critically and thoughtfully. Lesson b...
Get to know the life and works of poet Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who became one of colonial America’s most famous writers. -- In 1775, General George Washington received a poem from one of colonial America’s most famous writers. Its verses praised the burgeoning revolution, invoking the goddess of their new nation to aid the general’s cause. But this ode to liberty wasn’t written by some aloof aristocratic admirer. Its author was a young enslaved Black woman. Charita Gainey details the...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/gyotaku-the-ancient-japanese-art-of-printing-fish-k-erica-dodge How did fishermen record their trophy catches before the invention of photography? In 19th century Japan, fishing boats were equipped with rice paper, sumi-e ink, and brushes in order to create gyoktaku: elaborate rubbings of freshly caught fish. K. Erica Dodge recounts the story of this competitive fishing culture, plus some tips on how to make your very own etchings. Lesson by K. Erica D...
Dig into Agatha Christie’s writing style to find out how she crafted her mystery novels and how to employ these strategies in your own work. -- With almost 100 mystery novels, each one a cleverly constructed puzzle box of clues, misdirection, and human drama, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Her eccentric detectives, clever clues, and simplified suspects have stumped countless readers over the last century. So, how did she craft these perfect crimes? Jamie Bernthal disse...
Map designer Aris Venetikidis is fascinated by the maps we draw in our minds as we move around a city -- less like street maps, more like schematics or wiring diagrams, abstract images of relationships between places. How can we learn from these mental maps to make better real ones? As a test case, he remakes the notorious Dublin bus map. (Filmed at TEDxDublin) Talk by Aris Venetikidis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Download a free audiobook version of “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed -- How do you know you’re a person who has lived your life, rather than a just-formed brain full of artificial memories, momentarily hallucinating a reality that doesn’t actually exist? That may sound absurd, but it’s kept several generations of top cosmologists up at night. They call it: the Boltzmann brain paradox. Fabio Pacucci explores this mind-...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-on-earth-is-spin-brian-jones Why does the Earth spin? Does a basketball falling from a spinning merry-go-round fall in a curve, as it appears to, or in a straight line? How can speed be manipulated while spinning? In short, why is the spinning motion so special? Brian Jones details the dizzyingly wide array of ways that spinning affects our lives. Lesson by Brian Jones, animation by Flaming Medusa Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Take a look inside the conehead termite colony as a queen begins her reign as one of the longest living insects in the animal kingdom. -- A single determined termite braves countless threats to participate in the only flight of her lifetime. She evades the onslaught of predators as she lands, flips off her wings, secretes pheromones, and attracts a mate. But she's not alone. Unlike most termite species, conehead termite colonies can have multiple queens and kings. Barbara L. Thorne details the r...
Cross-country skier Janine Shepherd hoped for an Olympic medal -- until she was hit by a truck during a training bike ride. She shares a powerful story about the human potential for recovery. Her message: you are not your body and giving up old dreams can allow new ones to soar. Talk by Janine Shepherd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dig into the experiment known as the lost wallet test, and find out the surprising results of this study of honesty. -- Picture this: you’re working a shift in a hotel lobby when someone approaches the front desk. They found a lost wallet around the corner, but they’re in a rush and don’t have time to follow up. Looking at the wallet you see it contains a key, grocery list, about $13, and three business cards you assume belong to the wallet’s owner. So, what do you do? Dig into the infamous lost...
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Explore the benefits and drawbacks of the gig economy, and find out the key factors of becoming a successful freelancer. -- A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries found that those who freelance by choice– 70% of respondents– were happier than people in traditional jobs, specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility in terms of where and when they work. So what does it take to be a successful freelancer? Explore the benefits and drawbacks of the gig economy. Directe...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-space-trying-to-kill-us-ron-shaneyfelt How likely is it that a massive asteroid will do major damage to Earth and its inhabitants? What about the sun -- is it dying out anytime soon? And the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way -- should we be worried about that? Ron Shaneyfelt assesses the dangers of space. Lesson by Ron Shaneyfelt, animation by Retchy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Download a free audiobook version of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed -- More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato recounted the legend of the Ring of Gyges in “Republic.” The story of the ring surfaces as the philosopher, Socrates, and his student discuss why people act justly: is it because it’s what’s right? Or because it’s a convention that’s enforced through punishment and reward? Alex Gen...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/making-a-ted-ed-lesson-animation Ever wondered how a TED-Ed animation is made? Go behind-the-scenes of "How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones" with educator George Zaidan, animation director Biljana Labovic, and animator Lisa LaBracio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Enter the mind of a bored teenager to discover what happens in the brain when we daydream and find out what purpose it serves. -- On a daily basis, you spend between a third and half of your waking hours daydreaming. That may sound like a huge waste of time, but scientists think it must have some purpose, or humans wouldn’t have evolved to do so much of it. So, what exactly happens in the brain while you daydream? Elizabeth Cox takes a closer look at the science of daydreaming through the mind o...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/making-a-ted-ed-lesson-creative-process Ever wondered how a TED-Ed animation is made? Go behind-the-scenes of "How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones" with educator George Zaidan, animation director Biljana Labovic, and animator Lisa LaBracio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dig into the myth of Baucis and Philemon, a couple who unknowingly showed the gods hospitality after their neighbors refused. -- It was dark when two mysterious, shrouded figures appeared in a hillside village. The strangers knocked on every door in town, asking for food and shelter. But, again and again, they were turned away. Soon, there was just one door left: that of a small, thatched shack. Would the owners help the visitors — or spurn them? Iseult Gillespie shares the myth of Baucis and Ph...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/making-a-ted-ed-lesson-concept-and-design Ever wondered how a TED-Ed animation is made? Go behind-the-scenes of "How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones" with educator George Zaidan, animation director Biljana Labovic, and animator Lisa LaBracio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dig into what happens to your brain during adolescence that changes how you value, understand, and connect to friends. -- If it seems like friendships formed in adolescence are particularly special, that's because they are. Childhood, adolescent, and adult friendships all manifest differently in part because the brain works in different ways at those stages of life. During adolescence, there are changes in the way you value, understand, and connect to friends. Shannon Odell explores the neurosci...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/looks-aren-t-everything-believe-me-i-m-a-model-cameron-russell Cameron Russell admits she won "a genetic lottery": she's tall, pretty and an underwear model. But don't judge her by her looks. In this fearless talk, she takes a wry look at the industry that had her looking highly seductive at barely 16-years-old. Talk by Cameron Russell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Get to know the different kinds of co-ops, how they work, and how they differ from traditional companies. -- Co-ops are a big part of the global economy: they employ 10% of the world’s workforce and over two trillion dollars flow through their doors every year. At a co-op, there’s no single person with overarching, top-down power over everyone else, like a CEO at a traditional company. So what exactly is a co-op and how does it work? Explore the different types of cooperatives and how they opera...
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/actually-the-world-isn-t-flat-pankaj-ghemawat It may seem that we're living in a borderless world where ideas, goods and people flow freely from nation to nation. We're not even close, says Pankaj Ghemawat. With great data (and an eye-opening survey), he argues that there's a delta between perception and reality in a world that's maybe not so hyperconnected after all. Talk by Pankaj Ghemawat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...
Is it possible to lose weight fast— in a healthy way? Dig into how different forms of dieting affect your body. -- In the wealthiest circles of Victorian England, dieters would swallow an unhatched tapeworm and let it grow inside them by consuming undigested meals. And while modern fad diets aren’t usually this extreme, they do promise similar results; specifically, losing weight fast. So, are there any fast diets that do work? And are any of them actually healthy for you? Hei Man Chan investiga...
