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  • All
  • Talks 431
  • People 170
  • Playlists 11
  • Blog posts 273
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1 - 30 of 1113 results

Playlist: Theories of evolution (8 talks)

The enduring ideas, discoveries and observations that define and expand life as we know it.
Curated by TED · 8 talks
http://www.ted.com/playlists/theories_of_evolution

Playlist: The evolution of music (4 talks)

How did music transform into what it is today? A brief journey through time, sound and rhythm.
Curated by TED · 4 talks
http://www.ted.com/playlists/the_evolution_of_music

Alex Gendler: Myths and misconceptions about evolution

How does evolution really work? Actually, not how some of our common evolutionary metaphors would have us believe. For instance, it's species, not individual organisms, that adapt to produce evolution, and genes don't "want" to be passed on -- a gene can't want anything at all! Alex Gendler sets the record straight on the finer points of evoluti...
https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_gendler_myths_and_misconceptions_about_evolution

Playlist: Super nerdy talks about sports (3 talks)

You love sports stats and rewatch classic games for the nuance. These talks on the math, science and evolution of sports are for you.
Curated by TED · 3 talks
http://www.ted.com/playlists/super_nerdy_talks_about_sports

Harvey Fineberg: Are we ready for neo-evolution?

Medical ethicist Harvey Fineberg shows us three paths forward for the ever-evolving human species: to stop evolving completely, to evolve naturally -- or to control the next steps of human evolution, using genetic modification, to make ourselves smarter, faster, better. Neo-evolution is within our grasp. What will we do with it?
https://www.ted.com/talks/harvey_fineberg_are_we_ready_for_neo_evolution

Robert Wright: The evolution of compassion

Robert Wright uses evolutionary biology and game theory to explain why we appreciate the Golden Rule ("Do unto others..."), why we sometimes ignore it and why there’s hope that, in the near future, we might all have the compassion to follow it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_wright_the_evolution_of_compassion

Menno Schilthuizen: The evolution of animal genitalia

Genitals are the fastest-evolving organs in the animal kingdom. But why is this so? And what's the point of having decorative private parts? Menno Schilthuizen explains how the evolutionary biology of nature's nether regions uncovers a hidden world of seduction, conflict, and rivalry. [Directed by Mette Ilene Holmriis, narrated by Adrian Dannatt...
https://www.ted.com/talks/menno_schilthuizen_the_evolution_of_animal_genitalia

Edsel Salvaña: The dangerous evolution of HIV

Think we're winning the battle against HIV? Maybe not, as the next wave of drug-resistant viruses arrives. In an eye-opening talk, TED Fellow Edsel Salvana describes the aggressive HIV subtype AE that's currently plaguing his home of the Philippines -- and warns us about what might become a global epidemic.
https://www.ted.com/talks/edsel_salvana_the_dangerous_evolution_of_hiv

Laurence Hurst: Is human evolution speeding up or slowing down?

In the past 3,000 years, many populations have evolved genetic adaptations to their local environments. People in Siberia and the high arctic are uniquely adapted to survive extreme cold. The Bajau people can dive 70 meters and stay underwater for almost 15 minutes. So what are other recent changes? And will our technological innovations impact ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/laurence_hurst_is_human_evolution_speeding_up_or_slowing_down

Joshua Harvey: The evolution of the human eye

The human eye is an amazing mechanism, able to detect anywhere from a few photons to a few quadrillion, or switch focus from the screen in front of you to the distant horizon in a third of a second. How did these complex structures evolve? Joshua Harvey details the 500 million year story of the human eye. [Directed by Artrake Studio, narrated Ad...
https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_harvey_the_evolution_of_the_human_eye

Prosanta Chakrabarty: Four billion years of evolution in six minutes

Did humans evolve from monkeys or from fish? In this enlightening talk, ichthyologist and TED Fellow Prosanta Chakrabarty dispels some hardwired myths about evolution, encouraging us to remember that we're a small part of a complex, four-billion-year process -- and not the end of the line. "We're not the goal of evolution," Chakrabarty says. "Th...
https://www.ted.com/talks/prosanta_chakrabarty_four_billion_years_of_evolution_in_six_minutes

Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt asks a simple, but difficult question: why do we search for self-transcendence? Why do we attempt to lose ourselves? In a tour through the science of evolution by group selection, he proposes a provocative answer.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_religion_evolution_and_the_ecstasy_of_self_transcendence

A.J. Jacobs: The evolution of the coffee cup lid

Author A.J. Jacobs shows how the coffee cup lid was perfectly designed to give you a full sensory experience while drinking. This video was inspired by the original work of Louise Harpman and Scott Specht and their book "Coffee Lids: Peel, Pinch, Pucker, Puncture."
https://www.ted.com/talks/a_j_jacobs_the_evolution_of_the_coffee_cup_lid

Carl Zimmer: How did feathers evolve?

To look at the evolution of modern bird feathers, we must start a long time ago, with the dinosaurs from whence they came. We see early incarnations of feathers on dinosaur fossils, and remnants of dinosaurs in a bird's wish bone. Carl Zimmer explores the stages of evolution and how even the reasons for feathers have evolved over millions of yea...
https://www.ted.com/talks/carl_zimmer_how_did_feathers_evolve

Jeremy Rifkin: The empathic civilization

In this talk from RSA Animate, bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways it has shaped human development and society.
https://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_rifkin_the_empathic_civilization

Richard Dawkins: Growing up in the universe

At the Royal Institution in 1991, Richard Dawkins asks us to look at our universe with new eyes. Packed with big questions and illuminating visuals, this memorable journey through the history of life magnifies the splendor of evolution and our place in it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_growing_up_in_the_universe

Juan Enriquez: Will our kids be a different species?

Throughout human evolution, multiple versions of humans co-existed. Could we be mid-upgrade now? Juan Enriquez sweeps across time and space to bring us to the present moment -- and shows how technology is revealing evidence that suggests rapid evolution may be under way.
https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_will_our_kids_be_a_different_species

Suzana Herculano-Houzel | TED Speaker

Suzana Herculano-Houzel shrunk the human brain by 14 billion neurons -- by developing a new way to count them.
Neuroscientist
https://www.ted.com/speakers/suzana_herculano_houzel

Christoph Adami | TED Speaker

Christoph Adami works on the nature of life and evolution, trying to define life in a way that is as free as possible from our preconceptions.
Artificial life researcher
https://www.ted.com/speakers/christoph_adami

Evolution: What Makes us Human?

TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. in What Makes Us Human?, TED speakers tackle humanity’s oldest and deepest questions by playing with primates, excavating ancient remains, and DNA-mapping family trees. E...
https://www.ted.com/read/ted-studies/evolution

Mark Pagel | TED Speaker

Using biological evolution as a template, Mark Pagel wonders how languages evolve.
Evolutionary biologist
https://www.ted.com/speakers/mark_pagel

Kevin Kelly: How technology evolves

Tech enthusiast Kevin Kelly asks "What does technology want?" and discovers that its movement toward ubiquity and complexity is much like the evolution of life.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_how_technology_evolves

Christina Warinner | TED Speaker

Christina Warinner is a researcher at the University of Zurich, where she studies how humans have co-evolved with environments, diets and disease.
Archaeological geneticist
https://www.ted.com/speakers/christina_warinner

Anne Gaskett: The sexual deception of orchids

Nearly 28,000 species of orchid grow all around the world, bearing every imaginable color, shape and pattern. There's a cunning purpose behind these elaborate displays: many orchids trick insects into pollinating, sometimes even into having sex with them. How do they deploy these deceptive tactics? Anne Gaskett dives into the surprisingly comple...
https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_gaskett_the_sexual_deception_of_orchids

Vance Kite: Urbanization and the evolution of cities across 10,000 years

About 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers, aided by rudimentary agriculture, moved to semi-permanent villages and never looked back. With further developments came food surpluses, leading to commerce, specialization and, many years later with the Industrial Revolution, the modern city. Vance Kite plots our urban past and how we can expect future ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/vance_kite_urbanization_and_the_evolution_of_cities_across_10_000_years

Helen Fisher: Why we love, why we cheat

Anthropologist Helen Fisher takes on a tricky topic – love – and explains its evolution, its biochemical foundations and its social importance. She closes with a warning about the potential disaster inherent in antidepressant abuse.
https://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_why_we_love_why_we_cheat

Gregory Stock: To upgrade is human

In this prophetic 2003 talk -- just days before Dolly the sheep was stuffed -- biotech ethicist Gregory Stock looked forward to new, more meaningful (and controversial) technologies, like customizable babies, whose adoption might drive human evolution.
https://www.ted.com/talks/gregory_stock_to_upgrade_is_human

Kevin Kelly | TED Speaker

There may be no one better to contemplate the meaning of cultural change than Kevin Kelly, whose life story reads like a treatise on the value and impacts of technology.
Digital visionary
https://www.ted.com/speakers/kevin_kelly

Playlist: Dinos! (9 talks)

Dinosaurs once roamed the Earth. What were they like, why did they disappear, and what can we learn from them?
Curated by TED · 9 talks
http://www.ted.com/playlists/dinos

Elaine Morgan: I believe we evolved from aquatic apes

(NOTE: Statements in this talk have been challenged by scientists working in this field. Read "Criticisms & updates" below for more details.) Elaine Morgan was a tenacious proponent of a theory that is not widely accepted. The aquatic ape hypothesis lays out the idea that humans evolved from primate ancestors who dwelt in watery habitats. He...
https://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_i_believe_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes
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