TED2007
David Bolinsky: Visualizing the wonder of a living cell
2,216,452 views
Readability: 3.9
Medical animator David Bolinsky presents 3 minutes of stunning animation that show the bustling life inside a cell.
TED Talks with English transcript
TED2007
Will Wright: Spore, birth of a game
1,323,333 views
Readability: 3.5
In a friendly, high-speed presentation, Will Wright demos his newest game, Spore, which promises to dazzle users even more than his previous masterpieces.
TED2003
Deborah Gordon: The emergent genius of ant colonies
1,170,189 views
Readability: 3.5
Deborah Gordon studies ant colonies in the Arizona desert to understand their complex social system. She asks: How do these chitinous creatures get down to business -- and even multitask when they need to -- with no language, memory or visible leadership? Her answers could lead to a better understanding of all complex systems, from the brain to the Web. Thanks, ants.
TED2007
Jonathan Harris: The Web's secret stories
1,153,906 views
Readability: 3.9
Jonathan Harris wants to make sense of the emotional world of the Web. With deep compassion for the human condition, his projects troll the Internet to find out what we're all feeling and looking for.
TED2007
Emily Oster: Flip your thinking on AIDS in Africa
921,618 views
Readability: 4.2
Emily Oster re-examines the stats on AIDS in Africa from an economic perspective and reaches a stunning conclusion: Everything we know about the spread of HIV on the continent is wrong.
TED2006
Alan Russell: The potential of regenerative medicine
1,741,112 views
Readability: 3.9
Alan Russell studies regenerative medicine -- a breakthrough way of thinking about disease and injury, using a process that can signal the body to rebuild itself.
TED2007
Bill Stone: Inside the world's deepest caves
2,137,929 views
Readability: 4.3
Bill Stone, a maverick cave explorer who has plumbed Earth's deepest abysses, discusses his efforts to mine lunar ice for space fuel and to build an autonomous robot for studying Jupiter's moon Europa.
TED2007
Hans Rosling: New insights on poverty
3,769,031 views
Readability: 3.1
Researcher Hans Rosling uses his cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He demos Dollar Street, comparing households of varying income levels worldwide. Then he does something really amazing.
TED2007
Stephen Lawler: Tour Microsoft's Virtual Earth
338,924 views
Readability: 4.5
Microsoft's Stephen Lawler gives a whirlwind tour of Virtual Earth, moving up, down and through its hyper-real cityscapes with dazzlingly fluidity, a remarkable feat that requires staggering amounts of data to bring into focus.
TED2006
Ethel: A string quartet plays "Blue Room"
427,621 views
No Transcript
The avant-garde string quartet Ethel performs the third movement from Phil Kline's four-part suite "The Blue Room and Other Stories." Searching melodic lines show off the deep, emotional musicality of these passionate players.
TED2007
Anand Agarawala: Rethink the desktop with BumpTop
1,679,337 views
Readability: 3.1
Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop, a user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3-D extreme, transforming file navigation into a freewheeling playground of crumpled documents and clipping-covered "walls."
TEDSalon 2006
Robert Thurman: We can be Buddhas
2,047,266 views
Readability: 3.2
In our hyperlinked world, we can know anything, anytime. And this mass enlightenment, says Buddhist scholar Bob Thurman, is our first step toward Buddha nature.
TED2007
Blaise Agüera y Arcas: How PhotoSynth can connect the world's images
5,831,957 views
Readability: 4.3
Blaise Aguera y Arcas leads a dazzling demo of Photosynth, software that could transform the way we look at digital images. Using still photos culled from the Web, Photosynth builds breathtaking dreamscapes and lets us navigate them.
TED2007
John Doerr: Salvation (and profit) in greentech
1,134,698 views
"I don't think we're going to make it," John Doerr says in an emotional talk about climate change and investment. To create a world fit for his daughter to live in, he says, we need to invest now in clean, green energy.
TED2007
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Want to help Africa? Do business here
1,351,670 views
We know the negative images of Africa -- famine and disease, conflict and corruption. But, says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, there's another, less-told story happening in many African nations: one of reform, economic growth and business opportunity.
TED2003
Tierney Thys: Swim with the giant sunfish
1,360,712 views
Readability: 3.8
Marine biologist Tierney Thys asks us to step into the water to visit the world of the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish. Basking, eating jellyfish and getting massages, this behemoth offers clues to life in the open sea.
TED2003
Jeff Hawkins: How brain science will change computing
1,674,773 views
Readability: 3.2
Treo creator Jeff Hawkins urges us to take a new look at the brain -- to see it not as a fast processor, but as a memory system that stores and plays back experiences to help us predict, intelligently, what will happen next.
TED2006
Stewart Brand: What squatter cities can teach us
1,098,442 views
Readability: 3.7
Rural villages worldwide are being deserted, as billions of people flock to cities to live in teeming squatter camps and slums. Stewart Brand says this is a good thing. Why? It'll take you 3 minutes to find out.
TED2002
David Kelley: Human-centered design
1,060,932 views
IDEO's David Kelley says that product design has become much less about the hardware and more about the user experience. He shows video of this new, broader approach, including footage from the Prada store in New York.
TED2004
James Howard Kunstler: The ghastly tragedy of the suburbs
2,071,596 views
Readability: 3.7
In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about.
TED2006
Stew: "Black Men Ski"
672,395 views
Readability: 3.4
What happens when a black man visits Aspen? Singer/songwriter Stew and his band are about to let you know.
TED2004
Sergey Brin + Larry Page: The genesis of Google
1,819,827 views
Readability: 3.1
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin offer a peek inside the Google machine, sharing tidbits about international search patterns, the philanthropic Google Foundation, and the company's dedication to innovation and employee happiness.
TED2002
Natalie MacMaster: Cape Breton fiddling in reel time
832,973 views
Readability: 4.9
Violinist Natalie MacMaster and TED Musical Director Thomas Dolby play Dolby's original song "Blue Is a River" in this ethereal duet -- with a little dancing.
TED2002
Dan Dennett: Dangerous memes
1,954,033 views
Readability: 3.8
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.
TED2004
Rachelle Garniez: "La Vie en Rose"
476,886 views
Readability: 10
Featuring the vocals and mischievous bell-playing of accordionist and singer Rachelle Garniez, the TED House Band -- led by Thomas Dolby on keyboard -- delivers this delightful rendition of the Edith Piaf standard "La Vie en Rose."
TED2006
Tom Rielly: A comic sendup of TED2006
694,175 views
Readability: 4.4
Satirist Tom Rielly delivers a wicked parody of the 2006 TED conference, taking down the $100 laptop, the plight of the polar bear, and people who mention, one too many times, that they work at Harvard. Watch for a special moment between Tom and Al Gore.
TED2002
Richard Dawkins: Militant atheism
5,735,087 views
Readability: 5.3
Richard Dawkins urges all atheists to openly state their position -- and to fight the incursion of the church into politics and science. A fiery, funny, powerful talk.
TED2005
Tom Honey: Why would God create a tsunami?
683,538 views
In the days following the tragic South Asian tsunami of 2004, the Rev. Tom Honey pondered the question, "How could a loving God have done this?" Here is his answer.
TED2003
Eddi Reader: "Kiteflyer's Hill"
575,533 views
Readability: 2.1
Singer/songwriter Eddi Reader performs "Kiteflyer's Hill," a tender look back at a lost love. With Thomas Dolby on piano.
TED2003
Eddi Reader: "What You've Got"
515,331 views
Readability: 2.6
Singer/songwriter Eddi Reader performs "What You Do With What You've Got," a meditation on a very TED theme: how to use your gifts and talents to make a difference. With Thomas Dolby on piano.