TED-Ed

Chemist Lee Cronin is working on a 3D printer that, instead of objects, is able to print molecules. An exciting potential long-term application: printing your own medicine using chemical inks.

Talk by Lee Cronin.

Afghan-American artist Aman Mojadidi calls himself "Afghan by blood, redneck by the grace of god." Playing off his two identities, the TED Fellow's bold, funny, thought-provoking artwork explores jihad, gangsterism, consum...

Nothing is original, says Kirby Ferguson, creator of Everything is a Remix. From Bob Dylan to Steve Jobs, he says our most celebrated creators borrow, steal and transform.

Talk by Kirby Ferguson.

Five great revolutions have shaped political culture over the past 50 years, says theorist Ivan Krastev. He shows how each step forward -- from the cultural revolution of the '60s to recent revelations in the field of neur...

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It's a paradox of ocean life: The largest mammals, like dolphins and whales, survive on the tiniest food, like k...

An insect's ability to fly is perhaps one of the greatest feats of evolution. Michael Dickinson looks at how a fruit fly takes flight with such delicate wings, thanks to a clever flapping motion and flight muscles that are...

This is one of five student perspectives featured in the PBS special "TED Talks Education" (#TEDTalksed.) Learn more here: https://www.ted.com/promos/...

Special thanks to our partners in this endeavor: WNET...

This is one of five student perspectives featured in the PBS special "TED Talks Education" (#TEDTalksed.) Learn more here: https://www.ted.com/promos/...

Special thanks to our partners in this endeavor: WNET...

This is one of five student perspectives featured in the PBS special "TED Talks Education" (#TEDTalksed.) Learn more here: https://www.ted.com/promos/...

Special thanks to our partners in this endeavor: WNET...

This is one of five student perspectives featured in the PBS special "TED Talks Education" (#TEDTalksed.) Learn more here: https://www.ted.com/promos/...

Special thanks to our partners in this endeavor: WNET...

This is one of five student perspectives featured in the PBS special "TED Talks Education" (#TEDTalksed.) Learn more here: https://www.ted.com/promos/...

Special thanks to our partners in this endeavor: WNET...

Is there a definitive line that divides crazy from sane? With a hair-raising delivery, Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, illuminates the gray areas between the two. (With live-mixed sound by Julian Treasure and an...

In this short talk, TED Fellow Sarah Parcak introduces the field of "space archeology" -- using satellite images to search for clues to the lost sites of past civilizations.

Talk by Sarah Parcak.

Why is 'x' the symbol for an unknown? In this short and funny talk, Terry Moore gives the surprising answer.

Talk by Terry Moore.

Even a death-defying magician has to start somewhere. High-wire artist Philippe Petit takes you on an intimate journey from his first card trick at age 6 to his tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.

Talk by Philippe Pe...

We've been to the moon, we've mapped the continents, we've even been to the deepest point in the ocean -- twice. What's left for the next generation to explore? Biologist and explorer Nathan Wolfe suggests this answer: Alm...

Surprising, but true: More women now die of heart disease than men, yet cardiovascular research has long focused on men. Pioneering doctor C. Noel Bairey Merz shares what we know and don't know about women's heart health -...

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What can mathematics say about history? According to TED Fellow Jean-Baptiste Michel, quite a lot. From changes to language to th...

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Particles come in pairs, which is why there should be an equal amount of matter and antimatter in the universe. Yet, scientists have not ...

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In 2012, scientists at CERN discovered evidence of the Higgs boson. The what? The Higgs boson is one of two types of fundament...

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There is a mind-boggling amount of data floating around our society. Physicists at CERN have been pondering how to store and share...

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The Greeks had a simple and elegant formula for the universe: just earth, fire, wind, and water. Turns out there's more to it t...

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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 incar...

Over the years, research has shown a counterintuitive fact about human nature: That sometimes, having too much choice makes us less happy. This may even be true when it comes to medical treatment. Baba Shiv shares a fascin...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/m...

How did tuxedo's roots extend from Native American history to black tie evening wear? Jessica Oreck reveals what the Delaware Indian...

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We believe a lot of things because we've been told - from our personal acquaintances and also experts. With so many belief systems being p...

A dung beetle has a brain the size of a grain of rice, and yet shows a tremendous amount of intelligence when it comes to rolling its food source -- animal excrement -- home. How? It all comes down to a dance. (Filmed at T...

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What can some of literature's most famous heroes teach us? From the epic hero (like Beowulf) to the tragic hero (like Oedipus), each has somethi...

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Patenting a new drug helps finance its immense cost to develop -- but that same patent can put advanced treatments out of reach for ...

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In this intimate talk filmed at TED's offices, energy innovator Amory Lovins shows how to get the US off oil and coal by 2050, $5 trillion...

Are we born to be optimistic, rather than realistic? Tali Sharot shares new research that suggests our brains are wired to look on the bright side -- and how that can be both dangerous and beneficial.

Talk by Tali Sharot.

Oops! Nobody wants to see the 404: Page Not Found. But as Renny Gleeson shows us, while he runs through a slideshow of creative and funny 404 pages, every error is really a chance to build a better relationship.

Talk by ...

There are people who can quickly memorize lists of thousands of numbers, the order of all the cards in a deck (or ten!), and much more. Science writer Joshua Foer describes the technique -- called the memory palace -- and ...

In this epic overview, Michael Tilson Thomas traces the development of classical music through the development of written notation, the record, and the re-mix.

Talk by Michael Tilson Thomas.

As you surf the Web, information is being collected about you. Web tracking is not 100% evil -- personal data can make your browsing more efficient; cookies can help your favorite websites stay in business. But, says Gary ...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/p...

Dr. Ivan Pavlov's groundbreaking work revealed that a dog will respond to neutral stimuli, such as a bell, in the same ...

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Billions of stars. Billions of galaxies. A thousand years just to count all of the stars in our galaxy and then another thousand to co...

Coding isn't just for computer whizzes, says Mitch Resnick of MIT Media Lab -- it's for everyone. In a fun, demo-filled talk Resnick outlines the benefits of teaching kids to code, so they can do more than just "read" new ...

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What color is a mirror? How much does a video weigh? Michael Stevens, creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce, spen...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/m...

From something as miniscule as a cell to the biosphere we all call home, living things fit together in numerous interesting ...

High school science teacher Tyler DeWitt was ecstatic about a lesson plan on bacteria (how cool!) -- and devastated when his students hated it. The problem was the textbook: it was impossible to understand. He delivers a r...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/s...

What is everything made of? Thus far, we can break everything in the universe down to a few very small e...

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Imagine a country where girls must sneak out to go to school, with deadly consequences if they get caught learning. This was Af...

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"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" asks Regina Dugan, then director of DARPA, the Defense Adva...