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Kelwalin Dhanasarnsombut

PhD student in Immunology, University of Edinburgh

TEDCRED 50+
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Celebrity scientists

From Richard Dawkin to Brian Cox, from Sean Carroll to E. O. Willson, they have gave their talks here at TED, been on media, inspired and raised much of debates.

Who is your favorite scientist? Who haven't yet been on TED and should be invited to be on TED? and why? What is your opinion on 'Sci-celebrities'? Are they good model for kids, good educator, inspiring icon, or they are over-rated?

Topics: education mass media science
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    Michael McWatters

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    TED StaffTED Attendee
    Feb 4 2013: My choice would be Richard Feynman. Though he is no longer alive, and therefore could not be a TED speaker, many of his talks were recorded and thoroughly documented. And, he published many books, all of which share is great gift of being able to make complex, theoretical subjects understandable for almost anyone. He was genial, wry, creative, and smart.

    His Wikipedia page is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman
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      Michael Greenspan 10+

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      Feb 12 2013: My wife recently had to interview for a residency position and was tipped off that one of the Doctors on the panel likes to pose the question/situation, "teach me something", and the applicant is put on the spot and meant to squirm.

      I had just finished watching Feynman talk about why a rubber band heats when expanded: http://hubski.com:8080/pub?id=54762 and showed it to her. She used a wide rubber band to clasp her papers while at the interview. When asked the question she removed the rubber band and asked her interviewer to put the rubber band in his mouth. She then said, "The world is a dynamic mess of jiggling things....." -Thank you Mr. Feynman! It worked like a charm :)

      • Mary M. 50+

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        Feb 12 2013: I have used that quote from Feynman many times, but had never actually watched the video where he uses it in context regarding a rubber band.

        What a great video!

        Thank you for sharing.

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