TED-Ed
TED-ED: Rethinking thinking - Trevor Maber
Every day, we meet people and process our interactions--making inferences and developing beliefs about the world around us. In this lesson, Trevor Maber introduces us to the idea of a 'ladder of inference' and a process for rethinking...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What is abstract expressionism? - Sarah Rosenthal
If you visit a museum with a collection of modern and contemporary art, you're likely to see works that sometimes elicit the response, _My cat could make that, so how is it art?" But is it true? Could anyone create one of Jackson...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The 4 greatest threats to the survival of humanity | TED-Ed
With the invention of the atomic bomb, humanity gained the power to destroy itself for the first time in our history. Since then, our risk of either extinction or the collapse of civilization has steadily increased. Just how likely are...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The cancer gene we all have - Michael Windelspecht
Within every cell in our body, two copies of a tumor suppressor gene called BRCA1 are tasked with regulating the speed at which cells divide. Michael Windelspecht explains how these genes can sometimes mutate, making those cells less...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How does laser eye surgery work? | Dan Reinstein
In 1948, Spanish ophthalmologist Jose Ignacio Barraquer Moner was fed up with glasses. He wanted a solution for blurry vision that fixed the eye itself, without relying on external aids. The surgery he eventually devised was called...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What causes sleepwalking? | Emmanuel During
Mumbling fantastical gibberish; devouring blocks of cheese in the nude; peeing in places that aren't toilets; and jumping out of windows. These are all things people have reportedly done while sleepwalking, a behavior that can be...
TED-Ed
How do antidepressants work? | Neil R. Jeyasingam
In the 1950s, the discovery of two new drugs sparked what would become a multi-billion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither drug was intended to treat depression at all— many doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What's the difference between accuracy and precision? - Matt Anticole
When we measure things, most people are only worried about how accurate, or how close to the actual value, they are. Looking at the process of measurement more carefully, you will see that there is another important consideration:...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How do fish make electricity? - Eleanor Nelsen
Nearly 350 species of fish have specialized anatomical structures that generate and detect electrical signals. Underwater, where light is scarce, electrical signals offer ways to communicate, navigate, find, and sometimes stun prey. But...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What's an algorithm? - David J. Malan
An algorithm is a method of solving problems both big and small. Though computers run algorithms constantly, humans can also solve problems with algorithms. David J. Malan explains how algorithms can be used in seemingly simple...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The twins who tricked the Maya gods of death | Ilan Stavans
One day, twin brothers Junajpu and Ixb'alanke discovered their father's hidden ballgame equipment and began to play. Hearing their vigorous game, the lords of the underworld sent a messenger to challenge the boys to a match. Despite the...
TED-Ed
Can you win a game of quantum foosball? | Matteo Fadel
After a long day working on the particle accelerator, you and your friends head to the arcade to unwind. The lights go out for a second, and when they come back, there before you gleams a foosball table. Always game, you insert your...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Networking for the networking averse - Lisa Green Chau
Networking can seem so hard -- but not if you have the right advice. Try taking advantage of weak ties; you never know what friend of a friend of a friend can aid you in your dreams. Lisa Green Chau outlines how being proactive and...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: What are gravitational waves? - Amber L. Stuver
In September 2015, scientists witnessed something never seen before: two black holes colliding. Both about 30 times as big as our Sun, they had been orbiting each other for millions of years. A fraction of a second before the crash, they...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The mighty mathematics of the lever - Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson
Archimedes once said "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth." While the idea of a person moving such a huge mass on their own might sound impossible, chances are you've seen this idea in action at your local playground....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The most notorious scientific feud in history | Lukas Rieppel
After the California Gold Rush of 1848, settlers streamed west to strike it rich. In addition to precious metals, they unearthed another treasure: dinosaur bones. Two wealthy scientists in particular— Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Dissecting Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi - James Earle
The scene of the three wise men offering gifts to a newborn Jesus was widely painted during the Renaissance era, so how did painter Sandro Botticelli create a version that's still well known today? James Earle describes who and what set...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The twisting tale of DNA - Judith Hauck
What do a man, a mushroom, and an elephant have in common? A very long and simple double helix molecule makes us more similar and much more different than any other living thing. But, how does a simple molecule determine the form and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: How do ocean currents work? - Jennifer Verduin
Dive into the science of ocean currents (including the Global Conveyor Belt current), and find out how climate change affects them. -- In 1992, a cargo ship carrying bath toys got caught in a storm. Shipping containers washed overboard,...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Who owns the "wilderness"? | Elyse Cox
In 1903, US President Theodore Roosevelt took a camping trip in California's Yosemite Valley with conservationist John Muir. Roosevelt famously loved the outdoors, but Muir had invited him for more than just camping: Yosemite was in...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Phenology and nature's shifting rhythms - Regina Brinker
With rapidly rising global temperatures come seasonal changes. As spring comes earlier for some plant species, there are ripple effects throughout the food web. Regina Brinker explains how phenology, or the natural cycles of plants and...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why are cockroaches so hard to kill? | Ameya Gondhalekar
In ancient Egypt, there was a spell that declared, "Be far from me, O vile cockroach." Thousands of years later, we're still trying to oust these insects. But from poison traps to brandished slippers, cockroaches seem to weather just...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Shakespearean dating tips - Anthony John Peters
Beyond giving the world dozens of English language masterpieces and inventing countless words (including the word countless), William Shakespeare, ever the overachieving bard, especially had a way with the romantic turn of phrase....
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Myths and misconceptions about evolution - Alex Gendler
How does evolution really work? Actually, not how some of our common evolutionary metaphors would have us believe. For instance, it's species, not individual organisms, that adapt to produce evolution, and genes don't "want" to be passed...