How learning German taught me the link between maths and poetry

In mathematics there are right answers. In poetry there are no wrong ones. Find out how learning a foreign language, especially one that can be as beautifully logical as German, taught World Slam Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker the two were a lot more linked than he realised.



How learning German taught me the link between maths and poetry | Harry Baker | TEDxVienna

I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper

What's it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America's most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it. In this extraordinary talk, she shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines.

Why do people join cults? - Janja Lalich

Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. Broadly speaking, a cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that’s typically embodied in a charismatic leader. But what exactly differentiates cults from other groups – and why do people join them? Janja Lalich describes how cults recruit and manipulate their members.

Dangerous memes | Dan Dennett

Starting with the simple tale of an ant, philosopher Dan Dennett unleashes a devastating salvo of ideas, making a powerful case for the existence of memes -- concepts that are literally alive.



TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts.

I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper

What's it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America's most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it.

In this extraordinary talk, she shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines.



I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper

Can you solve the three gods riddle?

You and your team have crash-landed on an ancient planet. Can you appease the three alien overlords who rule it and get your team safely home? Created by logician Raymond Smullyan, and popularized by his colleague George Boolos, this riddle has been called the hardest logic puzzle ever. Alex Gendler shows how to solve it.



Can you solve the three gods riddle? - Alex Gendler
TED-EX

Jesus One-Ups Pope Francis With A TED Talk Of His Own

Pope Francis made his debut at this year's TED Talks. Not to be outdone, the Messiah Himself dropped by with a few ideas worth spreading.



The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2017

Kickstarting a bicycle safety revolution: Kent Frankovich

As an avid cyclist, Kent Frankovich wants more people to take to two wheels, but understands that lack of visibility is a safety concern for many would-be riders. His desire to increase nighttime bicycle rider safety and visibility, coupled with his electromechanical engineering background, inspired him to co-found Revolights, Inc.

Originally invented as a way to improve on the industry standard for a headlight, visibility benefits of the patented Revolights bike lighting system quickly catapulted it to national attention through CNN, Mashable, the BBC, WIRED, the New York Times and numerous other media outlets.



While at NASA-JPL, Frankovich provided electromechanical design support to Mars' Curiosity rover mission. He also worked to improve GI Tract Diagnostics as a researcher at the Stanford BioRobotics Laboratory. Kent now hopes to use his unique perspective to shed new light on the issue of bicycle safety, ensuring a better future for urbanites in the City2.0.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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Kickstarting a bicycle safety revolution: Kent Frankovich at TEDxSacramento TEDxCity2.0

Bicycle Culture by Design

The focus on re-establishing more liveable cities continues unabated. The primary problem however is that 85 years of traffic engineering revolving around the car has failed miserably. It's time for modern thinking. Design can help. Historically, streets were human spaces. Let's design our cities like we design toasters or smartphones, following the desire lines of our citizens. Using basic design principles instead of engineering is the surest route to developing thriving, human cities.



Mikael Colville-Andersen is an urban mobility expert and CEO for Copenhagenize Consulting. He is often called Denmark's Bicycle Ambassador but he has learned the hard way that this title is a dismal pick-up line in bars. Colville-Andersen and his team advise cities and towns around the world regarding bicycle planning, infrastructure and communication strategies. He applies his marketing expertise to campaigns that focus on selling bicycle culture and bicycle transport to a mainstream audience as opposed to the existing cycling sub-cultures in particular with his famous Cycle Chic brand. Colville-Andersen gives talks around the world about bicycle culture, design and social media.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)



Bicycle Culture by Design: Mikael Colville-Andersen at TEDxZurich

A quest to best pseudoscience | Carrie Poppy

Carrie Poppy is a journalist and investigator of fringe science, spirituality, and claims of the paranormal. At TEDxVienna, she shares how she started investigating pseudoscience -- and why pointing it out matters.

Together with Ross Blocher, she hosts a comic investigations podcast, “Oh No, Ross and Carrie."



More information on http://www.tedxvienna.at

A quest to best pseudoscience | Carrie Poppy | TEDxVienna

November 2017

The incredible history of China's terracotta warriors - Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen

In 1974, farmers digging a well near their small village stumbled upon one of the most important finds in archaeological history – vast underground chambers surrounding a Chinese emperor’s tomb that contained more than 8,000 life-size clay soldiers ready for battle. Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen shares the fascinating history of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.



Lesson by Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen, animation by Zedem Media.

Plato’s best (and worst) ideas - Wisecrack

Few individuals have influenced the world and many of today’s thinkers like Plato. He created the first Western university and was teacher to Ancient Greece’s greatest minds, including Aristotle. But even he wasn’t perfect. Along with his great ideas, Plato had a few that haven’t exactly stood the test of time. Wisecrack gives a brief rundown of a few of Plato’s best and worst ideas.



Lesson by Wisecrack, animation by Aaron, Tom and Mathias Studios.

Simon Anholt: Which country does the most good for the world?

It's an unexpected side effect of globalization: problems that once would have stayed local—say, a bank lending out too much money—now have consequences worldwide. But still, countries operate independently, as if alone on the planet. Policy advisor Simon Anholt has dreamed up an unusual scale to get governments thinking outwardly: The Good Country Index. In a riveting and funny talk, he answers the question, "Which country does the most good?" The answer may surprise you (especially if you live in the US or China).



TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

Why the Rich are Getting Richer | Robert Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki is an entrepreneur and the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, the #1 bestselling personal finance book of all time. In his talk, he discusses the power of financial education and how it relates to income inequality.



Best known as the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki has challenged and changed the way tens of millions of people around the world think about money. He is an entrepreneur, educator, and investor who believes the world needs more entrepreneurs.With perspectives on money and investing that often contradict conventional wisdom, Robert has earned an international reputation for straight talk, irreverence, and courage and has become a passionate and outspoken advocate for financial education.

Why the Rich are Getting Richer | Robert Kiyosaki | TEDxUCSD

Slate Why millions buy Rich Dad, Poor Dad's nonsense.

Scientific Studies: Last Week Tonight

John Oliver discusses how and why media outlets so often report untrue or incomplete information as science.



Video on how science works

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Scientific Studies (HBO)

Video from May 2016

Debunking the paleo diet | Christina Warinner

TED Fellow Christina Warinner is an expert on ancient diets. So how much of the diet phad the "Paleo Diet" is based on an actual Paleolithic diet? The answer is not really any of it.



Dr. Christina Warinner has excavated around the world, from the Maya jungles of Belize to the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, and she is pioneering the biomolecular investigation of archaeological dental calculus (tartar) to study long-term trends in human health and diet.

Christina Warinner is a 2012 TED Fellow, and her work has been featured in Wired UK, the Observer, CNN.com, Der Freitag, and Sveriges TV. She obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2010, specializing in ancient DNA analysis and paleodietary reconstruction.

Colin Stokes: How movies teach manhood

When Colin Stokes’ 3-year-old son caught a glimpse of "Star Wars," he was instantly obsessed. But what messages did he absorb from the sci-fi classic? Stokes asks for more movies that send positive messages to boys: that cooperation is heroic, and respecting women is as manly as defeating the villain.



Filmed November 2012 at TEDxBeaconStreet

Ben Ambridge: 10 myths about psychology: Debunked

How much of what you think about your brain is actually wrong? In this whistlestop tour of dis-proved science, Ben Ambridge walks through 10 popular ideas about psychology that have been proven wrong — and uncovers a few surprising truths about how our brains really work.

Graham Hancock - The War on Consciousness

This is a fantastic talk given by Graham Hancock on TED. TED censored it soon after it was put up, saying something to the effect of "it's not scientifically sound" which is absurd for so many reasons I won't even begin to get into. So I'm uploading it to my channel in the spirit of keeping it alive on the internet, and continue the interest in the censoring issue as well. Please upload it to your own channel if you feel inclined. Graham has specifically encouraged this.




Graham's words: "I am weary and disillusioned by the way the folks at Ted.com have behaved. Yes they have retracted and struck out the inaccurate and misleading comments they originally made about my "War on Consciousness" presentation, and yes they have published my rebuttal of those comments: http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/14/open-for-discussion-graham-hancock-and-rupert-sheldrake/

David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness?

Our consciousness is a fundamental aspect of our existence, says philosopher David Chalmers: "There's nothing we know about more directly.... but at the same time it's the most mysterious phenomenon in the universe." He shares some ways to think about the movie playing in our heads.