For many years, I've tried very hard to learn as much as I can about the world around me and the people that inhabit it. Usually, this information comes about through random questioning, frequent Discovery/History/Science Channel marathons, or even just happenings on the internet. However, none of them have spurred me on to do anything really besides the continuation of the basic insatiable thirst for knowledge. That was the case for many a year until I happened upon a video which I will post below. After watching the video, a lecture by J.J. Abrams about how he comes about creating ideas, I really felt inspired and good about myself (for some reason, probably the thought of learning something so cool). Then, I happened to actually visit the website advertised in the video (something I normally do not do) and I came across what is possibly my favorite website ever and found that after every video I watched, no matter the subject, I experienced the same feeling I had when I watched the first video. I had been hoarding this gem for long enough, and after watching a video about black holes I decided to recommend to all of you. TED: Ideas worth spreading features lectures from experienced professionals about diverse topics from storytellling to performing to creating ideas to science...many things... I implore everyone who happens upon this thread to visit the site and find out what you can learn as I have. Here are a few of my favorite videos. J.J. Abrams Mystery Box New Microsoft Picture Technology Large Hadron Collider Isabel Allende's Tales of Passion Stories of Humanity This isn't a TED video but this astrophysicist has blown away ALL of the misconceptions I once regarded as true to scientists. He makes everything understandable and thoroughly entertaining. Black Holes and Various Other Ways of Dying Please, share any inspirational or insightful videos you find and put them in this thread. They do NOT need to be from TED but it is much obliged.
Thanks for that link! I love learning new things, and these lectures seem to be entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking. I've only watched one at TED (about how robot designs should mimic nature's designs) and I can't wait to watch more. Talk about a wealth of knowledge! And the black hole video, with Neil deGrasse Tyson is pretty cool, too. That guy hosted Nova Science NOW, for a long time, and he really helped spark my interest in physics and astronomy.
I remember watching the JJ Abrams vid a little while ago and it was great. I'll certainly be checking out the other ones too. Nice list, Sarge. If I can come up with some that I can remember, I'll be sure to post them here.
Oh, here's the one that I made reference to. Robert Full: How engineers learn from evolution Biologist Robert Full discusses how engineers have used natural design as inspiration for designing the movements of robots.
The Mystery Box is very fun to watch and very inspiring. It gives me ideas that normally would be seamlessly impossible without the proper technology. --- I finished watching the 'Death by Black Hole' video, and I really have to say that it is amazing that an asteroid will become the closest thing to ever come in contact with Earth in April 13, 2029. The outcome of it goes through the keyhole is catastrophic and makes me happy that I live on the East coast. Yet I'm sure there are plenty of things headed in every direction, this gives me one less thing to worry about. --- Thanks for all of this Sarge, I'll try to watch them all.
Not July, April. He says that an asteroid will not hit us when it passes on Friday, April 13th 2029, but it will pass between the surface of the Earth and our orbiting satellites. And if it passes through a "sweet spot", named "the keyhole", then it will hit Earth in the Pacific Ocean on April 13th, 2036. But if it misses that keyhole on either side, then it will either overshoot Earth or undershoot Earth on its next pass. They are currently unable to predict its trajectory enough to know for sure. Then he talks about what will happen to the west coast of America if the thing does hit us. It's pretty cool. Seriously, stop reading and go watch it.
A.J. Jacobs: My year of living biblically Speaking at the most recent EG conference, author, philosopher, prankster and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about the year he spent living biblically -- following the rules in the Bible as literally as possible. I thought this one would be interesting to a lot of the people here, considering the activity in the debate forums. The talk has some humorous moments, and he discusses his profound conclusions from the year he spent doing it. OMG, double post!
Hey I dont know why but this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=related was really inspirational to me. I dont know what it is....I just love watching it. It really is a great video Make sure to watch in high quality....its better
What double post? I just watched the Mystery Box video. That is very inspiring. And I liked: "No community is best served when control is in the hands of the elite." Very nice quote. I'm gonna be spending a lot of time now watching videos at TED, lol. Thanks for sharing Sarge.
How long until someone posts the free hugs campaign? Five minutes? Ten minutes? The betting starts at 2 rep points!!! (lol jk)
Great stuff Sarge, really great. So far I watched all the videos you linked in the OP. I immediately got what he was trying to get across in the Mystery Box. I've always kind of felt that way myself... that not knowing about something gives it a fantastic feeling, the infinite possibility of it can be staggering. It's really hard to put into words. The Tales of Passion one struck a chord with me. I especially like the Stories of Humanity one. I want to find out more about that guy, apparently he's a poet. His presentation was really beautiful. The story of killing the goat... really effective. I'm more of an artsy guy and less of a sciency guy, so those were my favorite ones. Thanks Neverless Wonder for directing me to this thread via the VNCT. I'm going to explore the TED page and find some good stuff, probably tomorrow.
i found one that i thought was pretty interesting, this guy is making little creatures that will soon be able to live on there own...Theo Jansen creates new creatures | Video on TED.com