"I am not a visionary ... I'm an engineer"

A genuinely charming look at how Linus Torvalds works and thinks. Open in your browser

This week on TED.com April 9, 2016

Talk of the week Linus Torvalds: A rare interview with the mind behind Linux 21:30 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted Apr 2016 · TED2016 Linus Torvalds transformed technology twice -- first with Linux, which helps power the Internet, and again with Git, the source code management system used by coders worldwide. In a rare interview with TED's curator, Chris Anderson, Torvalds discusses with remarkable openness the personality traits that prompted his unique philosophy of work, engineering and life. "I am not a visionary, I'm an engineer," Torvalds says. "I'm perfectly happy with all the people who are walking around and just staring at the clouds ... but I'm looking at the ground, and I want to fix the pothole that's right in front of me before I fall in." Watch now »

Playlist of the week Secret realities Delve into talks that explore the hidden communities and unseen places that exist just off the beaten path of our everyday lives. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 2:08:36

More TED Talks Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Brave, WALL-E and more, and discover how Pixar interweaves art and science to create fantastic worlds where the things you imagine can become real. Watch » "I want you to reimagine how life is organized on earth," says global strategist Parag Khanna. As our expanding cities grow more connected through communications networks, we are evolving past our tradirional geographical boundaries. Khanna asks us to embrace a new maxim for the future: "Connectivity is destiny." Watch » Haley Van Dyck is transforming the way America delivers critical services to everyday people. At the United States Digital Service, Van Dyck and her team are using lessons learned by Silicon Valley and the private sector to improve services for veterans, immigrants, disabled people -- and all citizens. "We don't care about politics," she says. "We care about making government work better, because it's the only one we've got." Watch » Something massive, with roughly 1,000 times the area of Earth, is blocking the light coming from a distant star known as KIC 8462852, and nobody is quite sure what it is. As astronomer Tabetha Boyajian investigated this perplexing celestial object, a colleague suggested something unusual: Could it be an alien-built megastructure? Such an extraordinary idea would require extraordinary evidence. In this talk, Boyajian gives us a look at how scientists search for and test hypotheses when faced with the unknown. Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com Universe: We talk more with Tabby Boyajian about her mysterious star » "We’re just broadening the list of prospective scenarios."   Humans: A gorgeous gallery of humans in all colors » Angélica Dass celebrates the beauty of our skin   Minds: A powerful talk on adults with autism » Different, but not less ...   Archeology: Inside the search for a fabled Norse site in North America » With the help of satellites   A special TED Talk: Insight on the Panama Papers It's the largest data leak in history: the "Panama Papers" have exposed rich and powerful people hiding vast amounts of money in offshore accounts and shell companies. But what does it all mean? We called Robert Palmer of Global Witness to find out, in this short, insightful talk. Watch »

Quote of the Week “ We have taken on such enormous debts since the financial crisis, but have we invested them in inclusive growth? No, not yet. Only when we build sufficient, affordable housing, when we invest in robust transportation networks to allow people to connect to each other both physically and digitally, that's when our divided cities and societies will come to feel whole again." Parag Khanna How megacities are changing the map of the world

 

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