PBS
Are Virtual Video Game Economies Becoming Real?
The idea that a collection of pixels can be sold for actual money might be confusing to some, as they are neither true "objects" you can hold nor "ideas" that can be considered intellectual property. But despite the lack of tangibility,...
TED Talks
TED: Esports, virtual Formula 1 and the new era of play | James Hodge
As the line between the physical and digital worlds blur, so does the line between real-world and virtual sports. Reframing our understanding of competition, data-driven technologist James Hodge explains how far esports (like virtual...
TED Talks
Why there's no such thing as objective reality | Greg Anderson
In the grand scheme of history, modern reality is a bizarre exception when compared to the worlds of ancient, precolonial and Indigenous civilizations, where myths ruled and gods roamed, says historian Greg Anderson. So why do Westerners...
SciShow
TMT: The World’s Most Controversial Telescope
What exactly is the Thirty Meter Telescope, and why is the proposed location in Hawai'i such a conflict?
TED Talks
Possible futures from the intersection of nature, tech and society | Natsai Audrey Chieza
Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza prototypes the future, imagining a world where people and nature can thrive together. In this wildly imaginative talk, she shares the vision behind her innovation lab, which works at the intersection of...
TED Talks
Ross Lovegrove: Organic design, inspired by nature
Designer Ross Lovegrove expounds his philosophy of "fat-free" design and offers insight into several of his extraordinary products, including the Ty Nant water bottle and the Go chair.
TED Talks
John Underkoffler: Pointing to the future of UI
Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler demos g-speak -- the real-life version of the film's eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface. Is this how tomorrow's computers will be controlled?
TED Talks
Robert Lang: The math and magic of origami
Robert Lang is a pioneer of the newest kind of origami -- using math and engineering principles to fold mind-blowingly intricate designs that are beautiful and, sometimes, very useful.
TED Talks
TED: This company pays kids to do their math homework | Mohamad Jebara
Mohamad Jebara loves mathematics -- but he's concerned that too many students grow up thinking that this beautiful, rewarding subject is difficult and boring. His company is experimenting with a bold idea: paying students for completing...
TED Talks
TED: 3 principles for creating safer AI | Stuart Russell
How can we harness the power of superintelligent AI while also preventing the catastrophe of robotic takeover? As we move closer toward creating all-knowing machines, AI pioneer Stuart Russell is working on something a bit different:...
TED Talks
Richard Dawkins: Why the universe seems so strange
Biologist Richard Dawkins makes a case for "thinking the improbable" by looking at how the human frame of reference limits our understanding of the universe.
TED Talks
Cynthia Breazeal: The rise of personal robots
Cynthia Breazeal wonders: Why can we use robots on Mars, but not in our living rooms? The key, she says, is in training robots to interact with people. Now she dreams up and builds robots that teach, learn -- and play. Watch for amazing...
TED Talks
TED: The incredible inventions of intuitive AI | Maurice Conti
What do you get when you give a design tool a digital nervous system? Computers that improve our ability to think and imagine, and robotic systems that come up with (and build) radical new designs for bridges, cars, drones and much more...
TED Talks
Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world
Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.
TED Talks
Seth Priebatsch: The game layer on top of the world
In this far-seeing talk, Seth Priebatsch shows how game dynamics are reshaping the world -- from a classroom where students "level up" instead of being graded ,to a pervasive game called "happy hour" that you may already be playing. Get...
TED Talks
Rachel Botsman: The currency of the new economy is trust
There's been an explosion of collaborative consumption -- web-powered sharing of cars, apartments, skills. Rachel Botsman explores the currency that makes systems like Airbnb and Taskrabbit work: trust, influence, and what she calls...
TED Talks
Herman Narula: The transformative power of video games
A full third of the world's population -- 2.6 billion people -- play video games, plugging into massive networks of interaction that have opened up opportunities well beyond entertainment. In a talk about the future of the medium,...
TED Talks
Matt Mills: Image recognition that triggers augmented reality
Matt Mills and Tamara Roukaerts demonstrate Aurasma, a new augmented reality tool that can seamlessly animate the world as seen through a smartphone. Going beyond previous augmented reality, their "auras" can do everything from making a...
TED Talks
TED: Why a good book is a secret door | Mac Barnett
Childhood is surreal. Why shouldn't children's books be? In this whimsical talk, award-winning author Mac Barnett speaks about writing that escapes the page, art as a doorway to wonder -- and what real kids say to a fictional whale.
TED Talks
Andrew Blum: Discover the physical side of the internet
When a squirrel chewed through a cable and knocked him offline, journalist Andrew Blum started wondering what the Internet was really made of. So he set out to go see it -- the underwater cables, secret switches and other physical bits...
TED Talks
Sarah T. Stewart: Where did the Moon come from? A new theory
The Earth and Moon are like identical twins, made up of the exact same materials -- which is really strange, since no other celestial bodies we know of share this kind of chemical relationship. What's responsible for this special...
TED Talks
David Perry: Are games better than life?
Game designer David Perry says tomorrow's videogames will be more than mere fun to the next generation of gamers. They'll be lush, complex, emotional experiences -- more involving and meaningful to some than real life. With an excerpt...
TED Talks
TED: How we read each other's minds | Rebecca Saxe
Sensing the motives and feelings of others is a natural talent for humans. But how do we do it? Here, Rebecca Saxe shares fascinating lab work that uncovers how the brain thinks about other peoples' thoughts -- and judges their actions.
Crash Course
Can We Predict An Outbreak's Future? - Modeling: Crash Course Outbreak Science
When outbreaks happen, we need to be able to predict the course they’ll take in the future, but of course we can’t run experiments on real people to figure that out. Thankfully we can simulate outbreaks and use models to find out how...