Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.
What moves Jill Bolte Taylor? "I love talks that contribute to the overall well-being of who we are as humanity -- about how we can explore ourselves as people in relationship with one another and with this beautiful planet."
In a TED Talk, speakers share a bold idea in 18 minutes or less. Want to watch the TED Talks you saw on "60 Minutes" with Charlie Rose? Here are the six talks highlighted in the story, at full length. For more, check out the list of all 50 talks shown for even a split-second.
Brandon Boyd, lead singer of Incubus, says, "I hope to one day perform live music on the moon. Perhaps if all goes according to plan, we can make a TED Talk out of it!" We eagerly await this event. Until then, here are his favorite talks.
Once you watch these talks, you may not be able to get them out of your head. These talks have staying power and, as you go about everyday life, we bet you'll find yourself thinking of them often.
An advocate for women's health, Barbra Streisand founded the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center -- whose director is TEDxWomen star Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz. Together they pick some great talks for women and, really, anyone.
We asked Peter Gabriel what TEDTalks he thinks will still be making waves in 25 years, like his classic 1986 album, "So." Here are his picks, from printing a human kidney to the learning revolution.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian picks 9 talks on the global idea flow. He says, "On an open Internet, where all links are created equal, good ideas win. Anyone, anywhere can share an idea that can be seen by millions."
Beautiful, intimate and ultimately uplifting stories of challenge -- from making a new home in a strange country, to rebuilding life after unthinkable tragedy.
The first TED was held in 1984. What kind of predictions did people make 30 years ago? (And did they turn out to be right?) Watch the world change over three decades in this nearly year-by-year playlist.
Are schools killing creativity? What makes a great leader? How can I find happiness? These 25 talks are the ones that you and your fellow TED fans just can't stop sharing.
John Boswell is the musician and producer behind the Symphony of Science. The goal of the project is to bring scientific knowledge and philosophy to the public through music. So far in the series, he's mixed together insights on topics such as the earth's place on the cosmos, the quantum world and, as shown below an "ode to the brain," featuring...
Starting tonight, you can watch five hour-long blocks of TEDTalks on the Science Channel. Each hour in this five-part series shares some of the best science, tech, economic ideas and inventions from creative minds featured at TED. Within each hour, TED Curator Chris Anderson gives a brief intro, and then the talks play, uncut, in their entir...
One morning when she woke up, Jill Bolte Taylor felt pain behind her left eye similar to what she’d felt biting into an ice cream cone. Soon, her own appearance -- from her hands to her reflection -- felt utterly bizarre to her. Next she lost her balance and then her internal chatter simply stopped -- years of thinking dissolving into silenc...
Below, a look at some members of the TED community with news to share this week:
Sara Lewis confirms to a local paper that there are in fact more fireflies this summer, and that we are in midst of peak firefly season. Hurry—it ends mid-August! (Watch Sara’s TED Talk, “The loves and lies of fireflies.”)
Language historian Anne Curzan speaks...
According to our best estimates, TED has surpassed a billion video views! Our most recent metrics show that TED Talks are being viewed at a rate of 1.5 million times a day -- which means that a new viewing commences 17 times a second. We in the TED office cannot thank you enough for helping us reach this milestone of 1,000,000,000 views -- n...
“Science: It’s a Girl Thing!” That’s what is claimed in a goofy public service announcement, made by the European Commission, which aims to convince young women that science careers are in fact “cool.” Naturally, for a few days the Twittersphere has been atwitter over the very pink ad, which instead shows that girls can simultaneously do scie...
By Liz Jacobs and Thu-Huong Ha
Our brains work in mysterious ways. They make us laugh, they make us cry, and sometimes, they make us 19-year old geniuses. The 11 speakers in this All-Stars session specialize in areas of the brain as diverse as personality, trauma and gender, but they all agree: Our minds matter.
Below, read a deta...
Over the weekend, we asked the TED community on Facebook this question:
"If you wanted to show a TEDTalk to open the school year, which one would you choose?" It's inspired by a question tweeted from the #jed21 conference. On Facebook, almost 1,000 responses flowed in. The job of tallying the results -- given in freeform comments -- fell to our...
Cross-country skier Janine Shepherd was Olympics-bound in 1986, with many thinking that she was a strong contender to earn Australia’s first-ever medal at the winter games. But everything changed on a training bike ride through the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Shepherd was hit by a truck, and broke both her back and neck.
Doctors did ...
TED begins its holiday break today. Please enjoy this playlist from guest blogger Ben Lillie, of Storycollider, and add your own suggestions in comments below.
The single most powerful way to connect with another person is to tell them a personal story, or to listen to them tell one. We do it all the time: while eating with friends, when int...
TED2013, “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered,” begins in just 20 days and we at the TED Blog are gearing up to bring you live reporting on each of the 70 speakers who’ll be ascending the stage, not to mention assorted news from the scene in Long Beach, California. One thing we hope to see more of at this amazing event: props. There’s some...