The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico
Nancy Rabalais / Marine scientist, educator
TEDFilms Original: "Illusions for a better society"

Could visual illusions be a cure for polarization? (TEDFilms is a new program led up by TED’s director of Production and Video Operations, Mina Sabet.)

What is consciousness?

Playlist: Fascinating talks that explore one of the most mysterious phenomenons in the universe: the "self" and why it exists

Newest Talks

  1. The "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico
  2. The harm reduction model of drug addiction treatment
  3. A printable, flexible, organic solar cell
  4. What's missing in the global debate over refugees
  5. What if we ended the injustice of bail?
  6. How we need to remake the internet

Trending

  1. How do you explain consciousness?
  2. Save the oceans, feed the world!
  3. The beautiful math of coral
  4. How we're growing baby corals to rebuild reefs
  5. Think your email's private? Think again
  6. How pollution is changing the ocean's chemistry

recommended today

  1. How state budgets are breaking US schools
  2. How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard
  3. Use data to build better schools
  4. Why open a school? To close a prison
  5. Teach arts and sciences together
  6. Teach teachers how to create magic

Explore playlists

Heard on TED Radio Hour

  1. For more wonder, rewild the world
  2. Life in Biosphere 2
  3. The voice of the natural world
  4. Why bees are disappearing
  5. How to raise successful kids -- without over-parenting
  6. To raise brave girls, encourage adventure

TEDx fan favorites

  1. My philosophy for a happy life
  2. How to stop screwing yourself over
  3. What makes you special?
  4. Why you should quit social media
  5. Plus-size? More like my size
  6. Why people believe they can't draw

TED-Ed lessons: feed your curiosity

  1. A simple way to tell insects apart
  2. Why do cats act so weird?
  3. The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it)
  4. The science of skin color
  5. How playing an instrument benefits your brain
  6. What would happen if you didn't sleep?

lifelong learning

  1. The life-long learner
  2. How to get better at the things you care about
  3. 12 truths I learned from life and writing
  4. Why some of us don't have one true calling
  5. We should aim for perfection -- and stop fearing failure
  6. Life's third act

and now ... a few bad ideas

  1. 3 ways to spot a bad statistic
  2. Battling bad science
  3. Why people believe weird things
  4. On being wrong
  5. Why we make bad decisions
  6. What I learned from 100 days of rejection

be an activist. start now

  1. The antidote to apathy
  2. Activism needs introverts
  3. How to make peace? Get angry
  4. Courage is contagious
  5. How protest is redefining democracy around the world
  6. How the US government spies on people who protest -- including you

deep space science

  1. How to take a picture of a black hole
  2. The hunt for a supermassive black hole
  3. How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe
  4. The sound the universe makes
  5. Is our universe the only universe?
  6. Let's look for life in the outer solar system

About TED

TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 110 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.