Garrett Lisi: A beautiful new theory of everything
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Conceptual, Science, TED talks
Physicist and surfer Garrett Lisi presents a controversial new model of the universe that — just maybe — answers all the big questions. If nothing else, it’s the most beautiful 8-dimensional model of elementary particles and forces you’ve ever seen.
Matthieu Ricard: Habits of happiness
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under TED talks, life
What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard says we can train our minds in habits of well-being, to generate a true sense of serenity and fulfillment.
Marvin Minsky: Health, population and the human mind
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under AI, Science, TED talks, life
Marvin Minsky’s arch, eclectic, charmingly offhand talk on health, overpopulation and the human mind is packed with subtlety: wit, wisdom and just an ounce of wily, is-he-joking? advice. Marvin Minsky is one of the great pioneers of artificial intelligence — and using computing metaphors to understand the human mind. His contributions to mathematics, robotics and computational linguistics are legendary and far-reaching.
Stefan Sagmeister: Things I have learned in my life so far
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Architecture, Art, Conceptual, Design, Photography, TED talks, life
Rockstar designer Stefan Sagmeister delivers a short, witty talk on life lessons, expressed through surprising modes of design.
In this talk graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister takes the audience on a whimsical journey through moments of his life that made him happy — and notes how many of these moments have to do with good design.
Liz Diller: Architecture is a special effects machine
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under 3D, Architecture, Art, Conceptual
In this engrossing EG talk, architect Liz Diller shares her firm DS+R’s more unusual work, including the Blur Building, whose walls are made of fog, and the revamped Alice Tully Hall, which is wrapped in glowing wooden skin.
Liz Diller and her maverick firm DS+R bring a groundbreaking approach to big and small projects in architecture, urban design and art — playing with new materials, tampering with space and spectacle in ways that make you look twice.
Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Science, TED talks, life
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.
Golan Levin: The truly soft side of software
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Art, Computers, Conceptual, Music, TED talks
Engineer and artist Golan Levin pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with audiovisuals and technology. In an amazing TED display, he shows two programs he wrote to perform his original compositions.
Murray Gell-Mann: Beauty and truth in physics
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Science, TED talks
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?
Brian Greene: The universe on a string
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Conceptual, Science, TED talks, life
Physicist Brian Greene explains superstring theory, the idea that minscule strands of energy vibrating in 11 dimensions create every particle and force in the universe.
Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modelling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. It is considered one of the most promising candidate theories of quantum gravity. Superstring theory is a shorthand for supersymmetric string theory because unlike bosonic string theory, it is the version of string theory that incorporates fermions and supersymmetry. You can find more on wiki/superstring_theory
Paul Rothemund: The astonishing promise of DNA folding
Posted by Rudolf Getel | Filed under Science, TED talks, life
In 2007, Paul Rothemund gave TED a short summary of his specialty, DNA folding. Now he lays out in clear, adundant detail the immense promise of this field — to create tiny machines that assemble themselves.
