Sloths have been on this planet for more than 40 million years. What’s the secret to their success? In a hilarious talk, zoologist Lucy Cooke takes us inside the strange life of the world’s slowest mammal and shows what we can learn from their ingenious adaptations.
Category Archives: TedTalks
What Matters More Than Your Talents
In this Princeton University graduation address, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos makes the case that our character is reflected not in the gifts we’re endowed with at birth, but by the choices we make over the course of a lifetime. It’s worth a watch.
Why it’s so hard to make healthy decisions
Why do we make poor decisions that we know are bad for our health? In this frank, funny talk, behavioral economist and health policy expert David Asch explains why our behavior is often irrational and shows how we can harness this to make better decisions and improve our health care system overall.
How to change your behaviour for the better
What’s the best way to get people to change their behaviour? In this funny and information-packed talk, psychologist Dan Ariely explores why we make bad decisions even when we know we shouldn’t and discusses a couple tricks that could get us to do the right thing (even if it’s for the wrong reason).
Inside America’s Dead Shopping Malls.
Have you watched this Ted Talk on dead shopping malls? It’s a surprisingly funny and lyrical commentary on consumerism, youth culture and the inspiration we can find in decay. Filmmaker Dan Bell guides us through abandoned monoliths of merchandise in America.
How China is changing the future of shopping
China is a huge laboratory of innovation, says retail expert Angela Wang, and in this lab, everything takes place on people’s phones. Five hundred million Chinese consumers regularly make purchases via mobile platforms, even in brick-and-mortar stores. What will this transformation mean for the future of shopping? Learn more about the new business-as-usual, where everything is ultra-convenient, ultra-flexible and ultra-social.
Comics belong in the classroom
In this humorous talk, former teacher and graphic novelist Gene Yang shares some unexpected insights and urges educators to bring comic books into the classroom.
What happens in your brain when you taste food?
Ever wondered what happens in your brain when you taste food? With fascinating research and hilarious anecdotes, neuroscientist Camilla Arndal Andersen takes us into the lab where she studies people’s sense of taste via brain scans. She reveals surprising insights about the way our brains subconsciously experience food, and shows how this data could help us eat healthier without sacrificing taste.
In praise of slowness
Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world’s emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there’s a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives. Take some time for yourself and enjoy this Ted Talk.
Zombie roaches and other parasite tales
In this hilarious and ever-so-slightly creepy talk, science writer Ed Yong tells the story of his favorite parasites; animals and organisms that live on the bodies (and brains!) of other organisms, causing them to do their bidding. Just the thing to get you in the mood for Halloween.