TED Talks
Norman Foster: My green agenda for architecture
Architect Norman Foster discusses his own work to show how computers can help architects design buildings that are green, beautiful and "basically pollution-free." From the 2007 DLD Conference, Munich; www.dld-conference.com
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A brief history of chess - Alex Gendler
Trace the storied history of the game of chess, from its origins in 7th century India to the computer software we use today. -- The attacking infantry advances, their elephants already having broken the defensive line. The king tries to...
TED Talks
Robert Full: Robots inspired by cockroach ingenuity
Insects and animals have evolved some amazing skills -- but, as Robert Full notes, many animals are actually over-engineered. The trick is to copy only what's necessary. He shows how human engineers can learn from animals' tricks.
TED Talks
Tom Shannon: Anti-gravity sculpture
Tom Shannon shows off his gravity-defying, otherworldly sculpture -- made of simple, earthly materials -- that floats and spins like planets on magnets and suspension wire. It's science-inspired art at its most heavenly.
TED Talks
Molly Stevens: A new way to grow bone
What does it take to regrow bone in mass quantities? Typical bone regeneration -- wherein bone is taken from a patient’s hip and grafted onto damaged bone elsewhere in the body -- is limited and can cause great pain just a few years...
Crash Course
Biomedical & Industrial Engineering: Crash Course Engineering #6
We’ve discussed the four main branches of engineering but there are so many other fields doing important work, so today we’re going to explore a few of them. In this episode we’ll explore some of the history and fundamentals of...
TED-Ed
Why good ideas get trapped in the valley of death -- and how to rescue them | TED-Ed
All new products must pass through the "valley of death" before they reach the market. Many never make it out, and sometimes that's OK -- if they don't work, don't fill a need or for any number of reasons. One of the fields where this...
TED Talks
Moshe Safdie: How to reinvent the apartment building
In 1967, Moshe Safdie reimagined the monolithic apartment building, creating “Habitat ’67,” which gave each unit an unprecedented sense of openness. Nearly 50 years later, he believes the need for this type of building is greater than...
TED Talks
Rob Forbes: Ways of seeing
Rob Forbes, the founder of Design Within Reach, shows a gallery of snapshots that inform his way of seeing the world. Charming juxtapositions, found art, urban patterns -- this slideshow will open your eyes to the world around you.
TED Talks
David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization
David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The strange case of the cyclops sheep - Tien Nguyen
In the 1950s, a group of ranchers in Idaho were baffled when their sheep gave birth to lambs with only one eye. Mystified by these cyclops sheep, they called in scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate. What...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to create cleaner coal - Emma Bryce
It takes a lot of fuel to heat our homes, preserve our food, and power our gadgets. And for 40 percent of the world, cheap, plentiful coal gets the job done. But coal also releases pollutants into the air, causing environmental damage...
TED Talks
Manuel Lima: A visual history of human knowledge
How does knowledge grow? Sometimes it begins with one insight and grows into many branches; other times it grows as a complex and interconnected network. Infographics expert Manuel Lima explores the thousand-year history of mapping data...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: It's a church. It's a mosque. It's Hagia Sophia. - Kelly Wall
If walls could talk, Turkey's Hagia Sophia would have an abundance of stories to tell. Once a church, then a mosque, and now a museum, this world marvel has stood the test of time and war, surviving centuries of conquest by some of...
TED Talks
TED: The playful wonderland behind great inventions | Steven Johnson
Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Well, not always. Steven Johnson shows us how some of the most transformative ideas and technologies, like the computer, didn't emerge out of necessity at all but instead from the strange...
TED Talks
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds
Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs...
TED Talks
Geoff Mulgan: Post-crash, investing in a better world
As we reboot the world's economy, Geoff Mulgan poses a question: Instead of sending bailout money to doomed old industries, why not use stimulus funds to bootstrap some new, socially responsible companies -- and make the world a little...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Cannibalism in the animal kingdom - Bill Schutt
Until recently, scientists thought cannibalism was a rare response to starvation or other extreme stress. Well-known cannibals like the praying mantis and black widow were considered bizarre exceptions. But now, we know they more or less...
TED Talks
Arnav Kapur: How AI could become an extension of your mind
Try talking to yourself without opening your mouth, by simply saying words internally. What if you could search the internet like that -- and get an answer back? In the first live public demo of his new technology, TED Fellow Arnav Kapur...
TED Talks
TED: Meet Spot, the robot dog that can run, hop and open doors | Marc Raibert
That science fiction future where robots can do what people and animals do may be closer than you think. Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics, is developing advanced robots that can gallop like a cheetah, negotiate 10 inches of snow,...
TED Talks
David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell
Medical animator David Bolinsky presents 3 minutes of stunning animation that show the bustling life inside a cell.
TED Talks
Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work
Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn't a good place to do it. He calls out the two main offenders (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make the workplace actually work.
TED Talks
Fabian Hemmert: The shape-shifting future of the mobile phone
In this short, amazing demo, Fabian Hemmert imagines one future of the mobile phone -- a shape-shifting and weight-shifting handset that "displays" information nonvisually. It's a delightfully intuitive way to communicate.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The power of creative constraints - Brandon Rodriguez
Imagine you were asked to invent something new. It could be whatever you want, made from anything you choose, in any shape or size. That kind of creative freedom sounds so liberating, doesn't it?