A visual history of human knowledge

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This week on TED.com August 22, 2015

Talk of the week Manuel Lima: A visual history of human knowledge 12:49 minutes · Filmed Mar 2015 · Posted Aug 2015 · TED2015 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 -- from languages to dynasties -- using trees and networks of information. It's a fascinating history of visualizations, and a look into humanity's urge to map what we know. Watch now »

Playlist of the week These speakers have dream jobs What do you want to be when you grow up? These speakers have staked out cool careers — some you probably never knew existed. Watch » 11 TED Talks • Total run time 2:10:05

More from TED.com Alix Generous is a young woman with a million and one ideas -- she's done award-winning science, helped develop new technology and tells a darn good joke (you'll see). She has Asperger's, a form of autistic spectrum disorder that can impair the basic social skills required for communication, and she's worked hard for years to learn how to share her thoughts with the world. In this funny, personal talk, she shares her story -- and her vision for tools to help more people communicate their big ideas. Watch » Tony Wyss-Coray studies the impact of aging on the human body and brain. In this eye-opening talk, he shares new research from his Stanford lab and other teams which shows that a solution for some of the less great aspects of old age might actually lie within us all. It could be a fountain of youth ... but there's a catch. Watch » Dustin Yellin makes mesmerizing artwork that tells complex, myth-inspired stories. How did he develop his style? In this disarming talk, he shares the journey of an artist -- starting from age 8 -- and his idiosyncratic way of thinking and seeing. Follow the twisty, individual, very funny path that leads him up to his latest major work (or two). Watch » Who is listening in on your phone calls? On a landline, it could be anyone, says privacy activist Christopher Soghoian, because (did you know this?) surveillance backdoors are built into the phone system to allow governments to listen in. Now, some tech companies are resisting the call to build the same backdoors into our mobile phones. Learn more about the next frontier of privacy in your pocket. Watch »

read more about ideas on ted.com Tech: This plane can fly for 118 hours nonstop » ... without using a single drop of fuel. The amazing story of Solar Impulse II   Women: The power of "and" » Can we be both fierce and feminine, tough and caring? A lesson from women warriors Art: The beauty of calligraphy meets the pop of street art » A gorgeous London mural inspired by a quote

Quote of the Week “ For a long time, we believed in a natural ranking order in the world around us, the great chain of being, or Scala naturae in Latin, a top-down structure that starts with God at the very top, followed by angels, noblemen, common people, animals, and so on. Over time, this concept adopted the branching schema of a tree. ... However, nowadays we are facing new complex, intricate challenges that cannot be understood by a simple tree diagram. And a new metaphor is emerging, and it's providing us with a new lens to understand the world around us. And this new metaphor is the metaphor of the network." Manuel Lima A visual history of human knowledge

Join the Conversation On the TED Blog: We talk to three self-described introverts who share their stories on Susan Cain's new Quiet community. Here's an idea: Play your way to recovery. TED Fellow Cosmin Mihaiu talks about his videogames that secretly work as physical therapy. Read about a brand-new TV show about TED on Brazilian TV, a Thanksgiving drive to collect stories from elders, and other news from the TED community. Want to find the next TED Talk you'll love to watch? Take the quiz: What TED Talk are you?

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