11 must-see TED Talks

11 must-see TED Talks · Do schools kill creativity? · Underwater astonishments · If I should have a daughter ... · The best stats you've ever seen · The danger of a ... 19:24SirKenRobinsonDoschoolskillcreativity?19minutes24secondsSirKenRobinsonmakesanentertainingandprofoundlymovingcaseforcreatinganeducationsystemthatnurtures(ratherthanundermines)creativity.05:27DavidGalloUnderwaterastonishments5minutes27secondsDavidGalloshowsjaw-droppingfootageofamazingseacreatures,includingacolor-shiftingcuttlefish,aperfectlycamouflagedoctopus,andaTimesSquare'sworthofneonlightdisplaysfromfishwholiveintheblackestdepthsoftheocean.ThisshorttalkcelebratesthepioneeringworkofoceanexplorerslikeEdithWidderandRogerHanlon.18:25SarahKayIfIshouldhaveadaughter...18minutes25seconds"IfIshouldhaveadaughter,insteadofMom,she'sgonnacallmePointB..."beganspokenwordpoetSarahKay,inatalkthatinspiredtwostandingovationsatTED2011.Shetellsthestoryofhermetamorphosis--fromawide-eyedteenagersoakinginverseatNewYork'sBoweryPoetryClubtoateacherconnectingkidswiththepowerofself-expressionthroughProjectV.O.I.C.E.--andgivestwobreathtakingperformancesof"B"and"Hiroshima."SarahisalsothehostofTED'spodcast"Sincerely,X."19:50HansRoslingThebeststatsyou'veeverseen19minutes50secondsYou'veneverseendatapresentedlikethis.Withthedramaandurgencyofasportscaster,statisticsguruHansRoslingdebunksmythsabouttheso-called"developingworld."18:49ChimamandaNgoziAdichieThedangerofasinglestory18minutes49secondsOurlives,ourcultures,arecomposedofmanyoverlappingstories.NovelistChimamandaAdichietellsthestoryofhowshefoundherauthenticculturalvoice--andwarnsthatifwehearonlyasinglestoryaboutanotherpersonorcountry,weriskacriticalmisunderstanding.19:00HughHerrThenewbionicsthatletusrun,climbanddance19minutesHughHerrisbuildingthenextgenerationofbioniclimbs,roboticprostheticsinspiredbynature'sowndesigns.Herrlostbothlegsinaclimbingaccident30yearsago;now,astheheadoftheMITMediaLab'sBiomechatronicsgroup,heshowshisincredibletechnologyinatalkthat'sbothtechnicalanddeeplypersonal—withthehelpofballroomdancerAdrianneHaslet-Davis,wholostherleftleginthe2013BostonMarathonbombing,andperformsagainforthefirsttimeontheTEDstage.20:19BrenéBrownThepowerofvulnerability20minutes19secondsBrenéBrownstudieshumanconnection--ourabilitytoempathize,belong,love.Inapoignant,funnytalk,shesharesadeepinsightfromherresearch,onethatsentheronapersonalquesttoknowherselfaswellastounderstandhumanity.Atalktoshare.23:41BryanStevensonWeneedtotalkaboutaninjustice23minutes41secondsInanengagingandpersonaltalk--withcameoappearancesfromhisgrandmotherandRosaParks--humanrightslawyerBryanStevensonsharessomehardtruthsaboutAmerica'sjusticesystem,startingwithamassiveimbalancealongraciallines:athirdofthecountry'sblackmalepopulationhasbeenincarceratedatsomepointintheirlives.Theseissues,whicharewrappedupinAmerica'sunexaminedhistory,arerarelytalkedaboutwiththislevelofcandor,insightandpersuasiveness.15:49AlejandroAravenaMyarchitecturalphilosophy?Bringthecommunityintotheprocess15minutes49secondsWhenaskedtobuildhousingfor100familiesinChiletenyearsago,AlejandroAravenalookedtoanunusualinspiration:thewisdomoffavelasandslums.Ratherthanbuildingalargebuildingwithsmallunits,hebuiltflexiblehalf-homesthateachfamilycouldexpandon.Itwasacomplexproblem,butwithasimplesolution—onethathearrivedatbyworkingwiththefamiliesthemselves.Withachalkboardandbeautifulimagesofhisdesigns,Aravenawalksusthroughthreeprojectswherecleverrethinkingledtobeautifuldesignwithgreatbenefit.21:02AmyCuddyYourbodylanguagemayshapewhoyouare21minutes2seconds(NOTE:Someofthefindingspresentedinthistalkhavebeenreferencedinanongoingdebateamongsocialscientistsaboutrobustnessandreproducibility.Read"Criticisms&updates"belowformoredetailsaswellasAmyCuddy'sresponse.)Bodylanguageaffectshowothersseeus,butitmayalsochangehowweseeourselves.SocialpsychologistAmyCuddyarguesthat"powerposing"--standinginapostureofconfidence,evenwhenwedon'tfeelconfident--canboostfeelingsofconfidence,andmighthaveanimpactonourchancesforsuccess.17:40DavidChristianThehistoryofourworldin18minutes17minutes40secondsBackedbystunningillustrations,DavidChristiannarratesacompletehistoryoftheuniverse,fromtheBigBangtotheInternet,inariveting18minutes.Thisis"BigHistory":anenlightening,wide-anglelookatcomplexity,lifeandhumanity,setagainstourslimshareofthecosmictimeline.