The beauty of being a misfit

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This week on TED.com May 28, 2016

Talk of the week Lidia Yuknavitch: The beauty of being a misfit 12:58 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted May 2016 · TED2016 To those who feel like they don't belong: there is beauty in being a misfit. Author Lidia Yuknavitch shares her own wayward journey in an intimate recollection of patchwork stories about loss, shame and the slow process of self-acceptance. "Even at the moment of your failure, you are beautiful," she says. "You don't know it yet, but you have the ability to reinvent yourself endlessly. That's your beauty." Watch now »

Playlist of the week Plug into your power! There are plenty of ways to be engaged in your community beyond voting. Tap into your inner activist with these talks about accomplishing real change. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 1:41:00

More TED Talks Can the way you speak and write today predict your future mental state, even the onset of psychosis? In this fascinating talk, neuroscientist Mariano Sigman reflects on ancient Greece and the origins of introspection to investigate how our words hint at our inner lives -- and details a word-mapping algorithm that could predict the development of schizophrenia. "We may be seeing in the future a very different form of mental health," Sigman says, "based on objective, quantitative and automated analysis of the words we write, of the words we say." Watch » Zaria Forman's large-scale compositions of melting glaciers, icebergs floating in glassy water and waves cresting with foam explore moments of transition, turbulence and tranquility. Join her as she discusses the meditative process of artistic creation and the motivation behind her work. "My drawings celebrate the beauty of what we all stand to lose," she says. "I hope they can serve as records of sublime landscapes in flux." Watch » The barbershop can be a safe haven for black men, a place for honest conversation and trust -- and, as physician Joseph Ravenell suggests, a good place to bring up tough topics about health. He's turning the barbershop into a place to talk about medical problems that statistically affect black men more often and more seriously, like high blood pressure. It's a new approach to problem solving with broad applications. "What is your barbershop?" he asks. "Where is that place for you where people affected by a unique problem can meet a unique solution?" Watch » Before he fought in the galactic battles of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Adam Driver was a United States Marine with 1/1 Weapons Company. He tells the story of how and why he became a Marine, the complex transition from soldier to civilian -- and Arts in the Armed Forces, his nonprofit that brings theater to the military. Because, as he says: "Self-expression is just as valuable a tool as a rifle on your shoulder." Followed by a powerful performance of Marco Ramirez's "I am not Batman" by Jesse J. Perez and Matt Johnson. (Adult language) Watch » Adam's talk is featured in TED Talks: War & Peace, premiering Monday, May 30, at 9pm on PBS television.

articles and essays on our blog, ideas.ted.com Invention: The surprising keys to new medical breakthroughs » Right now, the way we discover medical treatments is slow and limited. One visionary researcher shows what's possible when we try something new. Art: Why is it so hard for artists to make a living? » As humans, we treasure art, music and writing -- but we pay art makers poorly. Fiction writer Monica Byrne asks: Why is that?  Conversation: A cup of tea with Oliver Sacks » Science writer Laura J. Snyder recalls a curious chat ...

Quote of the Week “ I don’t want pity. I’m saying this to illustrate that, under the current economic models, even when writers win, they lose. About a year ago, I realized this, and resolved three things: (1) that my work had value and deserved monetary compensation, (2) that I could not trust the existing economic models to give me that compensation, and (3) I had to find new ones." Monica Byrne How do artists make a living?

 

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This scientist can hack your dreams

"...a canvas that flickers to life when we fall asleep" Open in your browser

This week on TED.com May 22, 2016

Talk of the week Moran Cerf: This scientist can hack your dreams 18:00 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted May 2016 · TED2016 What if we could peek inside our brains and see our dreams -- or even shape them? Studying memory-specific brain cells, neuroscientist (and ex-hacker) Moran Cerf found that our sleeping brains retain some of the content we encounter when we're awake and that our dreams can influence our waking actions. Where could this lead us? "Neuroscientists are now giving us a new tool to control our dreams," Cerf says, "a new canvas that flickers to life when we fall asleep." Watch now »

Playlist of the week How music affects us Music is a fundamental aspect of humanity -- so exactly how does it impact us? These talks offer a look at our fascinating relationship with the music we make. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 2:34:53

More TED Talks Anyone who has lost a loved one to pancreatic cancer knows the devastating speed with which it can affect an otherwise healthy person. TED Fellow and biomedical entrepreneur Laura Indolfi is developing a revolutionary way to treat this complex and lethal disease: a drug delivery device that acts as a cage at the site of a tumor, preventing it from spreading and delivering medicine only where it's needed. "We are hoping that one day we can make pancreatic cancer a curable disease," she says. Watch » Sebastian Junger has seen war up close, and he knows the impact that battlefield trauma has on soldiers. But he suggests there's another major cause of pain for veterans when they come home: the experience of leaving the tribal closeness of the military and returning to an alienating and bitterly divided modern society. "Sometimes, we ask ourselves if we can save the vets," Junger says. "I think the real question is if we can save ourselves." (This talk comes from the PBS special TED Talks: War & Peace, which premieres Monday, May 30.) Watch » Everyone has an opinion about how to legislate sex work (whether to legalize it, ban it or even tax it) ... but what do workers themselves think would work best? Activist Toni Mac explains four legal models that are being used around the world, and shows us the model that she believes will work best to keep sex workers safe and offer greater self-determination. "If you care about gender equality or poverty or migration or public health, then sex worker rights matter to you," she says. "Make space for us in your movements." (Adult themes) Watch » In the US, the press has a right to publish secret information the public needs to know, protected by the First Amendment. But government surveillance has made it ever more dangerous for whistleblowers, the source of virtually every important story about national security since 9/11, to share information. In this concise, informative talk, Freedom of the Press Foundation co-founder and TED Fellow Trevor Timm traces the recent history of government action against individuals who expose crime and injustice, and advocates for technology that can help them do it safely and anonymously. Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com Education: The surprisingly good things that kids are learning from video games » Kids don't love "educational video games" -- but what can they learn from the games they really love, like Minecraft, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft?

Quote of the Week “ Charles Darwin said, 'I sometimes think that general and popular treatises are almost as important for the progress of science as original work.' In fact, Origin of Species was written for a general and popular audience, and was widely read when it first appeared. Darwin knew what we seem to have forgotten, that science is not only for scientists." Laura Snyder The philosophical breakfast club

 

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Can you really tell if a kid is lying?

They're surprisingly good at it ... Open in your browser

This week on TED.com May 14, 2016

Talk of the week Kang Lee: Can you really tell if a kid is lying? 13:36 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted May 2016 · TED2016 Are children poor liars? Do you think you can easily detect their lies? Developmental researcher Kang Lee studies what happens physiologically to children when they lie. They do it a lot, starting as young as two years old, and they're actually really good at it. Lee explains why we should celebrate when kids start to lie (really!) and presents a new lie-detection technology that could someday reveal our hidden emotions. Watch now »

Playlist of the week The secret lives of plants Trees talk, flowers make traps ... and some plants can even come back from the dead. These fascinating talks may just grow on you. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 2:08:25

More TED Talks What happens in your brain when you hear a good story? In the lab of neuroscientist Uri Hasson, experiments reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become "aligned," when we hear the same idea or story. This amazing neural mechanism allows us to transmit brain patterns, sharing memories and knowledge. "We can communicate because we have a common code that presents meaning," Hasson says. Watch » Conceptual artist and TED Fellow Sanford Biggers uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to spark challenging conversations about the history and trauma of black America. Join him as he details two compelling works and shares the motivation behind his art. "Only through more thoughtful dialogue about history and race can we evolve as individuals and society," he says. Watch » A technique called CRISPR allows scientists to easily change a sequence of DNA -- and even guarantee that the edited genetic trait is inherited by future generations. This opens up the possibility of altering an entire species forever; imagine editing a disease-resistant mosquito so it no longer transmits Zika. How will this new power affect humanity? What are we going to use it to change? Are we gods now? Join journalist Jennifer Kahn as she ponders these questions. Watch » What if we could find cancerous tumors years before they can harm us -- without expensive screening facilities or even steady electricity? Physician and bioengineer Sangeeta Bhatia leads a multidisciplinary lab that searches for novel ways to understand, diagnose and treat human disease. Her target: the two-thirds of deaths due to cancer that she believes are fully preventable. With remarkable clarity, she breaks down complex nanoparticle science and shares her dream for a radical new cancer test that could save millions of lives. Watch »

Quote of the Week “ Imagine that you invented a device that can record my memories, my dreams, my ideas, and transmit them to your brain. That would be a game-changing technology, right? But in fact, we already possess this device, and it's called storytelling." Uri Hasson This is your brain on communication

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You are receiving this email because you've subscribed to our mailing list. We also send out daily emails, if you can't get enough of us. We love you too. If someone forwarded you this email, (a.) they like you, and (b.) here's how to subscribe and get your own copy of this email next week. Copyright © 2016 TED, All rights reserved. You're receiving the TED Talks weekly newsletter because you subscribed to it on TED.com. (Was this forwarded by a friend? You can sign up here: http://www.ted.com/newsletter ) Our mailing address is: TED 330 Hudson Street 11th Floor New York, NY 10013 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences   view email in browser

The dream we haven't dared to dream

Human. Kind. Be both. Open this email in your browser

This week on TED.com May 7, 2016

Talk of the week Dan Pallotta: The dream we haven't dared to dream 11:56 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted May 2016 · TED2016 What are your dreams? Better yet, what are your broken dreams? Dan Pallotta dreams of a time when we are as excited, curious and scientific about the development of our humanity as we are about the development of our technology. "What we fear most is that we will be denied the opportunity to fulfill our true potential," Pallotta says. "Imagine living in a world where we simply recognize that deep, existential fear in one another -- and love one another boldly because we know that to be human is to live with that fear." Watch now »

Playlist of the week Talks to help you focus on what really matters It's easy to get caught up in the daily dramas of life. These talks can help you step back, slow down and appreciate the bigger picture. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 1:52:07

More TED Talks When Sarah Gray's son Thomas was diagnosed with a terminal condition before his birth, she and her family made an extraordinary, brave choice: to donate his organs to scientific research. In this powerful tribute to life and discovery, she shares her journey to meet the scientists who are using Thomas' legacy to create new hope. Watch » Virtual reality is no longer part of some distant future, and it's not just for gaming and entertainment anymore. Michael Bodekaer wants to use it to make quality education more accessible. In this refreshing talk, he demos an idea that could revolutionize the way we teach science in schools. Watch » In this ode to design renegades, Alice Rawsthorn highlights the work of unlikely heroes, from Blackbeard to Florence Nightingale. Drawing a line from these bold thinkers to some early modern visionaries like Buckminster Fuller, Rawsthorn shows how the greatest designers are often the most rebellious. Watch » Science fiction writer Monica Byrne imagines rich worlds populated with characters who defy our rstereotypes. In this bold performance, Byrne appears as a hologram named Pilar, transmitting a story of love and loss back to us from a near future when humans have colonized the universe. "It's always funny what you think the future is going to be like," she says, "versus what it turns out to be." Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com Science: We could use CRISPR to fix everything. What's wrong with that? » Behind a new gene-snipping technique are some big ethical questions Art: An epic mural that spans 50 buildings » Celebrating a neighborhood and the power of a big vision

Quote of the Week “ The three most famous words in all of Western philosophy, Cogito ergo sum, are routinely translated as 'I think, therefore I am.' But there is a better translation. The Latin word cogito is derived from the prefix 'co,' meaning 'together,' and the verb agitare, meaning 'to shake.' So the original meaning of cogito is 'to shake together.' And the proper translation of cogito ergo sum is: 'I shake things up, therefore I am.'" James Geary Metaphorically speaking

The Case for Optimism When the future is uncertain, how should we respond? Are we wired to be positive? Or are there real reasons to be optimistic? TED speakers Al Gore, John Hunter, Tali Sharot, Mia Birdsong and Tania Luna explore why they believe the future is bright. Get TED Radio Hour on iTunes »

 

You are receiving this email because you've subscribed to our mailing list. We also send out daily emails, if you can't get enough of us. We love you too. Copyright © 2016 TED, All rights reserved. You're receiving the TED Talks weekly newsletter because you subscribed to it on TED.com. (Was this forwarded by a friend? You can sign up here: http://www.ted.com/newsletter ) Our mailing address is: TED 330 Hudson Street 11th Floor New York, NY 10013 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences   view email in browser