Sir Ken Robinson's Do Schools Kill Creativity?
This banned TED talk is mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIhOXCgSunc
Good talk, I agree with everything he said. The amazing part is where he said our lower/middle class incomes would be $45,000/year higher if the wasn't for the rich rigging the economy for the last 30 years. Is there a source for that number?
Very interesting talk, but I think he has a huge problem is this line: |Taxing the rich to pay for investments that benefit all Many people in the US (myself included) believe that increased taxes, whether on the rich or poor, will benefit all. It's far more likely that the money will be used to benefit politicians.
I think it comes down to what the benefit is. If the poor have their tax increased but the money ends up funding corporations and war/oil and not in educating and developing genuinely effective social programmes then it won't benefit them, whereas if the rich have their tax increased they just have a bit less money in their bank account. If the rich shoulder more of that burden (along with the appropriate allocation of resources to genuinely benefit all) then it gives more advantage and opportunity to more people. I think a big part of the problem is people don't see this in a historical context. If good policy was accepted and media and politicking played less of a role, it would still take decades to see a turnaround in fortunes (pun intended..) I hope that makes sense. Trying to make sure I explain myself but sometimes I'm not even sure what I think.
This interview can give you more background about what happened. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOsZSIcU9OM
This is the one I came to post. Brilliant! Light in slow motion! They use it to see around corners, and at the end he talks about how, at this speed, sometimes the light reaches the camera in the wrong order.
I like underdogs. Dan Meyer on how math classes need a makeover.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science.h... Not really sure how to name links so that is mine. A little side note, after Dr Goldacre made these remarks about Gillian Mckeith, she actually posted rather slanderous volumes on him on her website, resulting in a legnthy legal battle. Hilariously, the material was removed from the site, but not the code. If you dont know Gillian, google her. You will learn to hate.
I really enjoyed this TEDEducation animated speech by Adam Savage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8UFGu2M2gM
I think he gives the best talks. I also liked his other talk (I don't think it was a TED) on his reconstruction of a dodo. It inspired me to replicate what his process and just start collecting and compiling images of things that I'm interested in. I've got gigs of images from planes to brains to tablets, it's actually cool to look back and see a timeline of interests.
Do you happen to have a link to that specific talk?
Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight, it's beautiful, in a way. I just love how her story shows that even if you know why your brain is making you feel the way you do, it doesn't diminish the experience. I suppose it appeals to me as a naturalist/materialist who took mushrooms and felt it was beautiful, perhaps "spiritual", even though it was "just" brain chemistry, not magic.
I wish I could find it ive looked and looked but I cant. The talk was about the physical laws of our universe and how they are as they are now because of the time we are here experiencing the uninverse in its current state. Over time the physical laws of the universe will change. we are in effect in a goldy locks window in the life of the universe which is able to support life as it is.
Ed Gavagan: A story about knots and surgeons Had me crying like a baby. Hell of a story.
http://youtu.be/gVLu99Ja2mA This one by Dan Phillips starts off deceptively simple: It's just some old hippy looking guy talking about his unique housing projects that are eco-friendly and stylish... And then about a couple of minutes in, he starts mixing in concepts in epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy, and brings all of this together with his design philosophy and how we cause a lot of waste. Best of all, this guy is hilarious!
I love TED talks but I have to admit what actually got me to watch them (as sad as this may be.) was the 2023 enactment of it for Prometheus where Guy Pierce plays Peter Weyland and talks about Transhumanism.
Steven Pinker has done wonders for popularizing language and mind studies, even if I don't entirely agree with him. It's kind of rare to find linguists with any ounce of showmanship so this is a breath of fresh air. http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_language_and_thoug...
Here's a short favourite: http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge.html