2016年4月23日 星期六

We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely

"This is the single most exciting adventure humans have ever been on" Open in your browser
TED
This week on TED.com
April 23, 2016

Juan Enriquez: We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely

14:49 minutes · Filmed Nov 2015 · Posted Apr 2016 · TED Talks Live

For four billion years, what lived and died on Earth depended on two principles: natural selection and random mutation. Then humans came along and changed everything — hybridizing plants, breeding animals, altering the environment and even purposefully evolving ourselves. Juan Enriquez provides five guidelines for a future where this ability to program life rapidly accelerates. "This is the single most exciting adventure human beings have been on," Enriquez says. "This is the single greatest superpower humans have ever had."

Playlist of the week

Talks to make you feel good about getting older

Along with the extra candles on the birthday cake, you might notice a little extra wisdom. Remind yourself of the benefits that come with age. Watch »

6 TED Talks • Total run time 1:07:47

More from this week's TED Talks

As different as we humans are from one another, we all age along the same great sequence, and the shared patterns of our lives pass into the pages of the books we love. In this moving talk, journalist Joshua Prager explores the stages of life through quotations from Norman Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates, William Trevor and other great writers, set to visualizations by graphic designer Milton Glaser. "Books tell us who we've been, who we are, who we will be, too," Prager says. Watch »

What would you do if your job was to save the planet? When Christiana Figueres was tapped by the UN to lead the Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December 2015, she reacted the way many people would: she thought it would be impossible to bring the leaders of 195 countries into agreement on how to slow climate change. Find out how she turned her skepticism into optimism -- and helped the world achieve the most important climate agreement in history. Watch »

It's true: talking about menstruation makes many people uncomfortable. And that taboo has consequences: in India, three out of every 10 girls don't even know what menstruation is at the time of their first period, and restrictive customs related to periods inflict psychological damage on young girls. Growing up with this taboo herself, Aditi Gupta knew she wanted to help girls, parents and teachers talk about periods comfortably and without shame. She shares how she did it. Watch »

What happens when you discover a dinosaur? Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara details his unearthing of Dreadnoughtus -- a 77-million-year-old sauropod that was as tall as a two-story house and as heavy as a jumbo jet -- and considers how amazingly improbable it is that a tiny mammal living in the cracks of the dinosaur world could evolve into a sentient being capable of understanding these magnificent creatures. Join him in a celebration of the Earth's geological history and contemplate our place in deep time. Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com

Design: Why a great logo sometimes makes you think twice »
Wisdom from graphic designer Milton Glaser

Biology: A newly drawn Tree of Life has a whole new branch »
Explore this dramatic reshaping of life on Earth

Secrets: Do you have a great story you can't tell anyone? »
Be part of a pilot for TED's new audio podcast: "Sincerely, X"
 

A very special TED Talk from our own Chris Anderson

TED's secret to great public speaking
There's no single formula for a great talk, but there is a secret ingredient that all the best ones have in common. TED Curator Chris Anderson shares this secret — along with four ways to make it work for you. Do you have what it takes to share an idea worth spreading? Watch »

TED's secret to great public speaking
 

Quote of the Week

“

We've been doing this for thousands of years: breeding, changing, mixing, matching all kinds of life-forms. This is not something new. The humble mustard weed has been modified so that if you change it in one way, you get broccoli. And if you change it in a second way, you get kale. And if you change it in a third way, you get cauliflower. So when you go to these all-natural, organic markets, you're really going to a place where people have been changing the lifecode of plants for a long time."

Juan Enriquez
We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely

beyond tolerance

Most of us were raised to believe that tolerance is a good thing, but is it enough? TED speakers Arthur Brooks, Vernā Myers, Aspen Baker and Aziz Abu Sara talk about how to move beyond tolerance to a place of deeper understanding, on the newest TED Radio Hour »

 

 

2016年4月16日 星期六

Meet the Comma Queen

The art of making writers look good. Open in your browser
TED
This week on TED.com
April 16, 2016

Mary Norris: Meet the New Yorker's Comma Queen

09:49 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted Apr 2016 · TED2016

"Copy editing for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop for a Major League Baseball team -- every little movement gets picked over by the critics," says Mary Norris, who has played the position for more than thirty years. In that time, she's gotten a reputation for sternness and for being a "comma maniac," but this is unfounded, she says. Above all, her work is aimed at one thing: making writers look good. Explore The New Yorker's distinctive language with the person who knows it best in this charming, informative and funny talk.

Playlist of the week

Talks for when you want to start a business

Ever dreamed of starting your own business? These talks can help get your idea off the ground. Watch »

10 TED Talks • Total run time 2:03:13

More TED Talks

It sounds like science fiction, but journalist Stephen Petranek considers it fact: within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. In this provocative talk, Petranek makes the case that humans will become a spacefaring species and describes in fascinating detail how we'll make Mars our next home. "Humans will survive no matter what happens on Earth," Petranek says. "We will never be the last of our kind." Watch »

Cancer is a very clever, adaptable disease. To defeat it, says medical researcher Paula Hammond, we need a new and powerful mode of attack. With her colleagues at MIT, Hammond engineered a nanoparticle one-hundredth the size of a human hair that can treat the most aggressive, drug-resistant cancers. Learn more about this molecular superweapon and join Hammond's quest to fight a disease that affects us all. Watch »

"Great dreams aren't just visions," says Astro Teller: "They're visions coupled to strategies for making them real." The head of X (formerly Google X), Teller takes us inside the "moonshot factory," where his team seeks to solve the world's biggest problems through experimental projects -- like balloon-powered Internet. Find out X's secret to creating an organization where people feel comfortable working on big, risky projects and exploring audacious ideas. Watch »

Hugh Evans started a movement that mobilizes "global citizens," people who self-identify first and foremost not as members of a state, nation or tribe but as members of the human race. In this uplifting and personal talk, learn more about how this new understanding of our place in the world is galvanizing people to take action in the fights against extreme poverty, climate change, gender inequality and more. "These are ultimately global issues," Evans says, "and they can only be solved by global citizens demanding global solutions from their leaders." Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com

Space: The 4 big questions humanity needs to ask itself about Mars »
Sure, it's fun to think about moving there, but let's ask ourselves these 4 questions first

Code: Work and life wisdom from Linux' Linus Torvalds »
A master engineer on the value of a really, really quiet office

Writing: Talking about the future -- and the present -- with science fiction writer William Gibson »
"The technocrats have taken over, but it's not going very well..."

Gallery: What can you learn about the world from a toothbrush? »
Surprisingly fascinating: How the world brushes its teeth

Toothbrushes in the Philippines

Quote of the Week

“

Every time somebody has said to me, "I don't really worry about invasions of privacy because I don't have anything to hide," I always say the same thing to them. I get out a pen, I write down my email address. I say, "Here's my email address. What I want you to do when you get home is email me the passwords to all of your email accounts, not just the nice, respectable work one in your name, but all of them, because I want to be able to just troll through what it is you're doing online, read what I want to read and publish whatever I find interesting. After all, if you're not a bad person, if you're doing nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide.

Not a single person has taken me up on that offer."

Glenn Greenwald
Why privacy matters

solve for x

Math intimidates a lot of us, but it can deliver surprising answers to life's pressing questions.TED speakers discuss the elegant simplicity, and giddy complexity, of solving for x, on this week's TED Radio Hour »

 

 

2016年4月9日 星期六

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

A genuinely charming look at how Linus Torvalds works and thinks. Open in your browser
TED
This week on TED.com
April 9, 2016

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."

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 »

Robert Palmer TED Talk

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
Chris Anderson's TED Talks book
 

2016年4月2日 星期六

The surprising habits of original thinkers

Adam Grant on 3 unexpected habits. Open in your browser
TED
This week on TED.com
April 2, 2016

Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers

15:25 minutes · Filmed Feb 2016 · Posted Apr 2016 · TED2016

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk, learn three unexpected habits of originals -- including embracing failure. "The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they're the ones who try the most," Grant says. "You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones."

Playlist of the week

The autism spectrum

Explore the science of autism -- and hear from people who live it. Watch »

10 TED Talks • Total run time 2:29:32

More TED Talks

Angélica Dass's photography challenges how we think about skin color and ethnic identity. In this personal talk, hear about the inspiration behind her portrait project, Humanæ, and her pursuit to document humanity's true colors rather than the untrue white, red, black and yellow associated with race. Watch »

Is it possible to run a company and reinvent it at the same time? For business strategist Knut Haanaes, the ability to innovate after becoming successful is the mark of a great organization. He shares insights on how to strike a balance between perfecting what we already know and exploring totally new ideas -- and lays out how to avoid two major strategy traps. Watch »

If we hope to one day leave Earth and explore the universe, our bodies are going to have to get a lot better at surviving the harsh conditions of space. Using synthetic biology, Lisa Nip hopes to harness special powers from microbes on Earth -- such as the ability to withstand radiation -- to make humans more fit for exploring space. "We're approaching a time during which we'll have the capacity to decide our own genetic destiny," Nip says. "Augmenting the human body with new abilities is no longer a question of how, but of when." Watch »

It doesn't matter whether you love or hate guns; it's obvious that the US would be a safer place if there weren't thousands of them sold every day without background checks. Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, makes a passionate, personal appeal for something that more than 90 percent of Americans want: background checks for all gun sales. "For every great movement around the world, there's a moment where you can look back and say, 'That's when things really started to change,'" Gross says. "For the movement to end gun violence in America, that moment is here." Watch »

Read more on ideas.ted.com

Reading: Why boys should read girl books »
Girls are expected to read books about boys, but we assume boys don't want books about girls. Are we selling boys short?
 
Politics: What led to the rise of Donald Trump? »
Nick Hanauer: The Republican Party is coming apart, and Donald Trump is leading the charge
 
Video: The last-ever interview with Dr. Oliver Sacks »
Wise, warm and funny ... watch this poignant short interview with the legendary neurologist

Oliver Sacks

Quote of the Week

“

I keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly can, I keep my mind open, and I'm always prepared to be amazed, and I'm never disappointed."

Celeste Headlee
10 ways to have a better conversation

join us for tedsummit 2016

TEDSummitTEDSummit is a five-day event for the global TED community, June 26–30, 2016, in Banff, Canada. Along with talks from some of your favorite TED speakers, the gathering features community brainstorms, discussions with speakers, performances and hands-on workshops. It's a new kind of conference, participatory and connected ... and you're invited. Learn more »