TED-Ed

Dig into the strategies employed by sports betting apps to keep you gambling, and how these tactics can cause addictive behavior.--Sports gambling has become more popular than ever. Mobile apps make it easier to place bets anywhere or anytime, especially for young people who make up the fastest-growing demographic. And the sports betting apps work just like the games in a casino— built to ensure t...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/aparna-rao-high-tech-art-with-a-sense-of-humorArtist and TED Fellow Aparna Rao reimagines the familiar in surprising, often humorous ways. With her collaborator Soren Pors, Rao creates high-tech art installations -- a typewriter that sends emails, a camera that tracks you through the room only to make you invisible on screen -- that put a playful spin on...

Dig into the mathematical rules and patterns of folding origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. --Origami, which literally translates to “folding paper,” is a Japanese practice dating back to at least the 17th century. In origami, a single, traditionally square sheet of paper can be transformed into almost any shape, purely by folding. The same simple concepts yield everything from a p...

Look into the financial and environmental costs of taking a private jet, and find out what can be done to reduce aviation emissions.--Across 2023 and 2024, one internationally renowned musician flew their private jet 396 times in 365 days. Figures like this aren’t uncommon among the world’s richest jetsetters— in fact, this frequent flier probably isn’t even the celebrity you’re thinking of. So, w...

Download a free audiobook version of “Atlas of the Heart“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--One day, Echo was drifting through the woods and fell in love with a handsome young hunter named Narcissus. Cursed by Hera to only repeat the last words spoken by another, Echo was unable to converse with him and was soon cruelly rejected. Heartbroken, she died. Seeing...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/deb-roy-the-birth-of-a-wordMIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language -- so he wired up his house with video cameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life, then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch "gaaaa" slowly turn into "water." This astonishing, data-rich research has deep implications fo...

Dig into what we know about Komodo dragons, and find out what you should do if you encounter these giant lizards in the wild.--Clambering through the bush on one of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, suddenly you spy a Komodo dragon in the clearing ahead. Forked tongue flickering; sharp, saw-like teeth glimmering; and strong, scaly body stretching up to 3 meters, Komodo dragons are formidable. So,...

View full lesson here: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-meanings-of-yin-and-yang-john-bellaimeyThe ubiquitous yin-yang symbol holds its roots in Taoism/Daoism, a Chinese religion and philosophy. The yin, the dark swirl, is associated with shadows, femininity, and the trough of a wave; the yang, the light swirl, represents brightness, passion and growth. John Bellaimey explains why we all conta...

Puzzle through an ethical dilemma and decide: what responsibility do we have to honor the wishes of the dead?--For decades, Yvonne and Zaina have been happily married and co-leading a non-profit. One day the couple is involved in a car accident, and on her deathbed, Yvonne asks Zaina to promise her two things. First, to continue financially supporting their non-profit. And second, to never remarry...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-does-work-work-peter-bohacekThe concepts of work and power help us unlock and understand many of the physical laws that govern our universe. In this Lesson, Peter Bohacek explores the interplay of each concept when applied to two common objects---a lightbulb and a grandfather clock. Lesson by Peter Bohacek, animation by Luke Cahill. Learn more about...

Teaching is both a science and an art, and many teachers around the world spend endless hours perfecting their professional practice. At TEDActive 2013, a few teachers from the United States offer some tricks of the trade they've learned (and continue to hone) along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the possibility of transitioning to a green economy, and if the trillion-dollar up-front cost is worth the investment.--Global warming is very, very expensive: extreme weather, rising sea levels, crop failures, health issues, and industry disruptions all cost money. So, what’s the best way forward? Is the estimated trillion-dollar price tag that comes with transitioning the world to clean...

Explore how greenhouse gas emissions impact global warming and why it’s necessary to get emissions down to net zero. --Since 1850, global average temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius. That may not sound like a lot, but it is. Why? 1 degree is an average. Many places have already gotten much warmer and if average temperatures increase one more degree, the coldest nights in the Arctic might g...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/dance-vs-powerpoint-a-modest-proposal-john-bohannonUse dancers instead of PowerPoint. That's science writer John Bohannon's "modest proposal." In this spellbinding choreographed talk he makes his case by example, aided by dancers from Black Label Movement. Talk by John Bohannon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into how your age can affect your decision making, and explore the psychology of how we weigh risks against rewards.--Welcome to Risky Business, the game where we find out how far people will go to win a prize! Today’s contestants are a 21 year-old, a 16 year-old, and a 12 year-old. They'll compete in a series of three challenges: eating ghost pepper cookies, swimming in honey, and crossing a...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-english-evolve-kate-gardoquiWhat is the difference between "a hearty welcome" and "a cordial reception"? In a brief, action-packed history of the English language, Kate Gardoqui explains why these semantically equal phrases evoke such different images. Lesson by Kate Gardoqui, animation by Ben Tobitt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

Get to know the story of Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii, and how she fought the US annexation of the islands. --On January 16th, 1895, two men arrived at Liliʻuokalani’s door, arrested her, and imprisoned her. The Missionary Party had recently seized power and now confiscated her diaries, ransacked her house, and claimed her lands. Liliʻuokalani was Hawaii’s queen and she ruled thro...

Co-creator of the philanthropic FEED bags, Ellen Gustafson says hunger and obesity are two sides of the same coin. In her talk, she launches The 30 Project -- a way to change how we farm and eat in the next 30 years, and solve the global food inequalities behind both epidemics. (Filmed at TEDxEast.)Talk by Ellen Gustafson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover the origins of dragon legends, and find out how geological events could have inspired these stories in ancient civilizations.--From the Chinese Loong to the Filipino Bakunawa, the Scottish Beithir and the Greek Hydra, dragons have inflamed imaginations for millennia. Their ubiquity across world mythology has led many scholars to ponder their possible origins. Could it be that tales of dra...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/dna-the-book-of-you-joe-hansonYour body is made of cells -- but how does a single cell know to become part of your nose, instead of your toes? The answer is in your body's instruction book: DNA. Joe Hanson compares DNA to a detailed manual for building a person out of cells -- with 46 chapters (chromosomes) and hundreds of thousands of pages covering eve...

Dig into the science of how psychedelic drugs affect your brain, and how they could be used for psychiatric treatment.--In 1943, chemist Albert Hofmann accidentally exposed himself to a drug he derived from ergot fungus and recorded its unexpected, mind-altering effects. The drug, lysergic acid diethylamide— or LSD— was soon heralded for its psychiatric potential. But how do LSD and other psychede...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/kevin-slavin-how-algorithms-shape-our-worldKevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. Slavin also warns that we are writing code...

Why do we fill pauses in speech with words like “um,” “uh,” and “like”? Dig into the hesitation phenomenon to find out their linguistic significance.--For as long as we’ve had language, some people have tried to control it. And some of the most frequent targets of this communication regulation are the ums, ers, and likes that pepper our conversations. These linguistic fillers occur roughly 2 to 3...

Teaching is both a science and an art, and many teachers around the world spend endless hours perfecting their professional practice. At TEDActive 2013, a few teachers from the United States offer some tricks of the trade they've learned (and continue to hone) along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore 4 common misconceptions about Ancient Rome, and find out what living in this time period was actually like.--Minerva, the esteemed Roman goddess of reason, wisdom, handicrafts, and war, is judging a contest: duo vera et mendacium. Three brave contestants will put their knowledge about ancient Rome to the test. How much of what they know about the time period is actually true? And which con...