Columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences -- insights with massive implications for economics and politics as well as our own self-knowledge. In a talk full of humor, he shows how you can't hope to understand humans as separate individuals making choices based on their conscious awareness.

Experimental psychologist Petter Johansson researches choice blindness -- a phenomenon where we convince ourselves that we're getting what we want, even when we're not. In an eye-opening talk, he shares experiments (designed in collaboration with magicians!) that aim to answer the question: Why do we do what we do? The findings have big implicat...

Petter Johansson and his research group study self-knowledge and attitude change using methods ranging from questionnaires to close-up card magic.

Chika Esiobu's work is grounded in the conviction that indigenous knowledge offers a foundational pathway to community transformation and planetary renewal.

Why is there something rather than nothing? In his book "Why Does the World Exist?" Jim Holt dares to ask.

Self-driving cars were just the start. What's the future of big data-driven technology and design? In a thrilling science talk, Kenneth Cukier looks at what's next for machine learning -- and human knowledge.

Mark Forsyth strolls through the English language, telling stories, making connections and banishing hobgoblins.

In her groundbreaking book Girls & Sex, Peggy Orenstein explores the changing landscape of modern sexual expectations and its troubling impact on adolescents and young women.

Soft robotics expert Jamie Paik designs "robogamis" -- folding robots inspired by origami that are more adaptable than classical robots.

As a water scholar and protector, Kelsey Leonard seeks to establish Indigenous traditions of water conservation as the foundation for international water policy-making.

Engaging scientific knowledge, Nancy N. Chen examines the intersections of medicine, political economy and social inequality.

Daphne Koller is enticing top universities to put their most intriguing courses online for free -- not just as a service, but as a way to research how people learn. With Coursera (cofounded by Andrew Ng), each keystroke, quiz, peer-to-peer discussion and self-graded assignment builds an unprecedented pool of data on how knowledge is processed.

About this event: In the context of Professional Development, students watched TEDx talks and listened to Platon Graduates talking about their professional steps since they graduated from highschool. Profession and Happiness. Creativity, Motivation, Choice. Key points to self-knowledge and self-actualization.

On TED Health, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider is taking you on a special journey to embrace your healthiest self. Join her and experts from across the healthcare space for our “A Healthier You” series, where we dive deeper into ideas and knowledge that could change the way you think about health — from your heart to your brain to your gut. Up first: ...

It can be easy to believe that humans are insignificant. We're specks of dust on a random planet in a vast universe. Less powerful than elephants. Fewer than ants. But David Deutsch believes that's all beside the point, because humans possess one unique skill: attaining knowledge. David Deutsch -- Oxford professor, father of quantum computing, r...

Jimmy Wales recalls how he assembled "a ragtag band of volunteers," gave them tools for collaborating and created Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, never-finished online encyclopedia.

This is an episode of the TED Health podcast's “A Healthier You” series, where host Shoshana Ungerleider guides you on a special journey to embrace your healthiest self. Join her and experts from across the healthcare space as they dive deeper into ideas and knowledge that could change the way you think about health – from your heart to your bra...

Almost 30 years ago, Pico Iyer took a trip to Japan, fell in love with the country and moved there. A keen observer of the human spirit, Iyer professes that he now feels he knows far less about Japan -- or, indeed, about anything -- than he thought he knew three decades ago. In this lyrical meditation on wisdom, Iyer expands on this curious insi...

At TED@Cannes, Gary Wolf gives a 5-min intro to an intriguing new pastime: using mobile apps and always-on gadgets to track and analyze your body, mood, diet, spending -- just about everything in daily life you can measure -- in gloriously geeky detail.

Armed with a sense of humor and laypeople's terms, Nobel winner Murray Gell-Mann drops some knowledge on TEDsters about particle physics, asking questions like, Are elegant equations more likely to be right than inelegant ones?

What would Latin America look like if colonization hadn't interrupted its ancient civilizations? Imagining a future where ancestral knowledge intertwines with modern aesthetics, designer Catalina Lotero shows how "pre-Columbian futurism" draws inspiration from Indigenous symbolism and technology — empowering Latin America to reclaim lost cultura...

What can you do if you're the victim of revenge porn or cyberbullying? Shockingly little, says journalist and activist Darieth Chisolm, who found herself living the nightmare scenario of having explicit photos taken without her knowledge or consent posted online. She describes how she's working to help victims and outlines the current state of l...

TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. The Edge of Knowledge explores the fascinating implications of some of science's most perplexing theories: quantum mechanics, general relativity and attempts to unify the...

Swami Dayananda Saraswati unravels the parallel paths of personal development and attaining true compassion. He walks us through each step of self-realization, from helpless infancy to the fearless act of caring for others.

About this event: TEDxRutgers has been on a journey since its birth. It has gone from "Connecting the Unconnected" to "Beyond What We Are" to finally this year "Igniting a Global Enlightenment." These progressions represent the development of an idea into action. First, people must be connected in order to share ideas, then once they are connected, they can be...

In every workplace, there are three basic kinds of people: givers, takers and matchers. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant breaks down these personalities and offers simple strategies to promote a culture of generosity and keep self-serving employees from taking more than their share.

Every morning we wake up and regain consciousness -- that is a marvelous fact -- but what exactly is it that we regain? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio uses this simple question to give us a glimpse into how our brains create our sense of self.

Inspired by biological design and self-organizing systems, artist Heather Barnett co-creates with physarum polycephalum, a eukaryotic microorganism that lives in cool, moist areas. What can people learn from the semi-intelligent slime mold? Watch this talk to find out.

Shimon Schocken and Noam Nisan developed a curriculum for their students to build a computer, piece by piece. When they put the course online -- giving away the tools, simulators, chip specifications and other building blocks -- they were surprised that thousands jumped at the opportunity to learn, working independently as well as organizing the...

Is space the “final frontier” — or the perfect place to revolutionize life on Earth? Space architect Ariel Ekblaw reveals how self-assembling structures could build orbiting real estate in space dedicated to solving humanity’s greatest dilemmas on Earth, leading to scientific and medical breakthroughs only possible in zero gravity.