Emmanuel De Merode Ted Talk

Thanks to Emma S and Steve G for the link!

TED talk: Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar

Christopher "moot" Poole's (creator of 4chan) TED talk

Thanks to Mark W for the link - I don't really feel strongly about the privacy issues discussed here but the story behind the creation and rise of 4chan is cool.

and in case you have never seen the rules of the internet - here they are:

TED talk: Paul Bloom: The origins of pleasure

Thanks to Torsten B for the link

From TED:

Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists -- that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is.

TED talk: Costa Rica FTW!!! The Happy Planet Index: Why good lives don't have to cost the earth

My favorite line from this talk is:

"I have a dream, that the future doesn't have to be a nightmare"

(If you find this getting a bit dry at first, just fast forward to the 7:30 mark thats when it gets GREAT!) -MA

From the TED website:

Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised.

Sherman's Lagoon TED talk: how a catoonist can change the world.

When I accidentally ended up taking anthro 101 for my undergrad social science requirement (all the cool courses were full :P), I remember what I loved about the field was (the claim at least) that it is holistic. Meaning that any one approach to understanding our evolutionary history was not going to cut it. I think that is true of most of the interesting things that we study and the problems we are trying to solve. It irks me, when people think they have come up with "the solution" or "the approach". Are we not at a point where we realize that things are incredibly interconnected and no one way is going to work everywhere (or anywhere for that matter). For example, when people say "surveys aren't conservation" or even that "conservation science isn't conservation". It's true, a survey alone or a study on any aspect of conservation is nothing without followup, but we are all contributing our puzzle pieces. Yes, law enforcement is important and currently lacking, but without conservation education and knowing what we are protecting, conservation cannot work in the long term. My point is, we can all do our part, no matter how small, to change people's minds and make conservation and ecological sustainability a global concern and goal. A cartoon strip might not seem much like conservation, but imagine how many young minds Jim Toomey has touched, how many people are thinking about conservation when maybe they would not have otherwise.-MA

via treehugger.com

Dr. Ramachandran TED talk. The evolution of empathy & social learning via mirror neurons

NB: Apes are tool users and show empathy so not sure about the broad strokes implications suggested herein, nevertheless, fascinating - MA

Thanks to Jojo B for the link!

Sam Harris' TED talk - Science can answer moral questions

A short but poignant TED talk by Sam Harris on why we absolutely do not need religion to answer moral questions. For more info visit the TED website.

Thanks to Cleve H or the link!

Amazing TED talk: Pranav Mistry's SixthSense technology!

At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

AMAZING! Willie Smits restores a rainforest

Please take 20 minutes and watch this phenomenal story.
(click here if video does not work)