SciShow
Understanding the Voices in Our Heads
Psychologists are only just beginning to study that voice in your head that narrates your thoughts, and it's more complicated than you probably realize.
SciShow
The Fish With Human Teeth
A fish with eerily human-like teeth was caught in a New Jersey lake. And scientists have learned to speak Bird!
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Inaugurate - Jessica Oreck
From avian omens to the beginning of a new policy or the reign of a new politician, Jessica Oreck follows the flight path of the word inaugurate.
TED Talks
Ashraf Ghani: How to rebuild a broken state
Ashraf Ghani's passionate and powerful 10-minute talk, emphasizing the necessity of both economic investment and design ingenuity to rebuild broken states, is followed by a conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson on the future of...
TED Talks
Don Tapscott: Four principles for the open world
The recent generations have been bathed in connecting technology from birth, says futurist Don Tapscott, and as a result the world is transforming into one that is far more open and transparent. In this inspiring talk, he lists the four...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How computers translate human language - Ioannis Papachimonas
Is a universal translator possible in real life? We already have many programs that claim to be able to take a word, sentence, or entire book in one language and translate it into almost any other. The reality, however, is a bit more...
TED Talks
Chip Kidd: Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is.
Chip Kidd doesn't judge books by their cover, he creates covers that embody the book -- and he does it with a wicked sense of humor. In this deeply felt (and deeply hilarious) talk, he shares the art and the philosophy behind his cover...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Jade - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
Now known for its beauty and green hue, the stone jade was previously thought to espouse magical properties, such as kidney treatment. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain the word's travels from 15th century to Spain to today (and why...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What makes something "Kafkaesque"? - Noah Tavlin
The term Kafkaesque has entered the vernacular to describe unnecessarily complicated and frustrating experiences, especially with bureaucracy. But does standing in a long line to fill out confusing paperwork really capture the richness...
TED Talks
TED: How to find joy in climate action | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
We can all play a role in the climate movement by tapping into our skills, resources and networks in ways that bring us satisfaction, says climate leader Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. She suggests drawing a Venn diagram to map these...
SciShow
Why We Hate the Word 'Moist'
SciShow Psych tackles the science behind what might be one of the most hated words in the English language: moist.
SciShow
Gaslighting: Abuse That Makes You Question Reality
The term "gaslighting" has gained popularity in recent years, but what exactly does it entail?
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Mysteries of vernacular: Window - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
Metaphoric compounds, like the combination of the words wind and eye to represent a window, populated Norse and Old English. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel describe how this love of metaphor created the word window.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi real languages? - John McWhorter
What do Game of Thrones' Dothraki, Avatar's Na'vi, Star Trek's Klingon and LOTR's Elvish have in common? They are all fantasy constructed languages, or conlangs. Conlangs have all the delicious complexities of real languages: a high...
TED Talks
TED: Different ways of knowing | Daniel Tammet
Daniel Tammet has linguistic, numerical and visual synesthesia -- meaning that his perception of words, numbers and colors are woven together into a new way of perceiving and understanding the world. The author of "Born on a Blue Day,"...
SciShow
How Words Get Stuck on the Tip of Your Tongue
You know that feeling, when you know a word but it's just out of reach, stuck on the tip of your tongue? Well, why does it happen? And what can you do about it?
Amoeba Sisters
Casual and Scientific Use of "Theory" and "Law"
The word "theory" is used very differently in casual everyday life vs. in science. In science, the word "theory" means so much more! Learn about what a scientific theory is with The Amoeba Sisters and discover why a scientific theory...
TED Talks
TED: Why science demands a leap into the unknown | Uri Alon
While studying for his PhD in physics, Uri Alon thought he was a failure because all his research paths led to dead ends. But, with the help of improv theater, he came to realize that there could be joy in getting lost. A call for...
TED Talks
Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge
TED Fellow Sophal Ear shares the compelling story of his family's escape from Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. He recounts his mother's cunning and determination to save her children.
SciShow
Hemispatial Neglect When Half Your World Disappears
Losing half of the world sounds like a weird, abstract dream state. But for those that develop hemispatial neglect, that’s exactly what happens, without them even realizing it.
TED Talks
TED: A magical mantra for nurturing a blissful life | JayaShri Maathaa
As the coronavirus pandemic raged in her native Sri Lanka, monk JayaShri Maathaa had a thought: two magical words that planted something beautiful in her mind and blossomed into a whole new way of being. She shares how this mantra...
TED Talks
TED: The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven't met yet | Tanya Menon
We often find ourselves stuck in narrow social circles with similar people. What habits confine us, and how can we break them? Organizational psychologist Tanya Menon considers how we can be more intentional about expanding our social...
TED Talks
Kevin Kelly: The next 5,000 days of the web
At the 2007 EG conference, Kevin Kelly shares a fun stat: The World Wide Web, as we know it, is only 5,000 days old. Now, Kelly asks, how can we predict what's coming in the next 5,000 days?
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Mysteries of vernacular: Robot - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
In 1920, Czech writer Karel _apek wrote a play about human-like machines, thereby inventing the term robot from the Central European word for forced labor. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the science fiction staple earned its...