TED-Ed

Do you have a right to a healthy planet? Dig into the movement to hold governments accountable for climate change inaction.--Since 2015, an unprecedented movement has been sweeping courts around the world. Groups of young plaintiffs are suing their governments for their inaction on tackling climate change. These suits argue that climate inaction violates their basic human rights. But what do human...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/making-a-ted-ed-lesson-synesthesia-and-playing-cardsHow can a pack of playing cards accurately explain the complicated and nuanced neurological condition, synesthesia? TED-Ed animators explain the process of creating an original animation from planning (storyboard and animatic) to fruition, including the special secrets behind this animation (think playd...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/become-a-slam-poet-in-five-steps-gayle-danleyWith enough passion and practice, becoming a slam poet is within your reach. Explore a distant memory on paper, then read it out loud. Edit. Try reading it out loud again, and add your finishing touches. Gayle Danley offers five steps to being a slam poet -- while being downright poetic in the process. Lesson...

Explore the Amazon rainforest’s flying rivers, and dig into why these invisible waterways are essential to life on Earth.--The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, exists between two rivers — but not in the way you might think. At ground level, the Amazon River and its tributaries weave their path. But above the canopy, bigger waterways are on the move. These flying rivers are almost invis...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/euclid-s-puzzling-parallel-postulate-jeff-dekofskyEuclid, known as the "Father of Geometry," developed several of modern geometry's most enduring theorems--but what can we make of his mysterious fifth postulate, the parallel postulate? Jeff Dekofsky shows us how mathematical minds have put the postulate to the test and led to larger questions of how we u...

Explore how sperm whales use an array of complex vocalizations to communicate with each other, hunt, and assess their surroundings. --Soon after whaling ships began operating in the North Pacific, an interesting trend emerged. Within just a few years, whalers saw a 58% drop in their successful strikes. Sperm whales had suddenly become harder to kill— they had begun fleeing the boats instead of for...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--Once every century, the world’s greatest spiders gather to compete in a series of grueling games. The winner will become the next arachnomonarch, able to command all the world’s spiders to their will. That day is today, and for the first time, you’re casting your name into the ring. Can you attain the mantle of spider supremacy? Dan Fin...

Our bodies get Vitamin D from the sun, but as dermatologist Richard Weller suggests, sunlight may confer another surprising benefit too. New research by his team shows that nitric oxide, a chemical transmitter stored in huge reserves in the skin, can be released by UV light, to great benefit for blood pressure and the cardiovascular system. What does it mean? Well, it might begin to explain why Sc...

Dig into common mistakes that tree-planting programs make, and explore strategies that can successfully re-green the planet.--In fighting climate change, few solutions are discussed more than planting lots and lots of trees. It sounds simple enough: trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, so planting more should help eliminate greenhouse gasses. The trouble is, tree planting efforts don’t always wor...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/haptography-digitizing-our-sense-of-touch-katherine-kuchenbeckerCan the sense of touch be harnessed with technology? The field of haptics explores the revolutionary: interactive touch technology. At TEDYouth 2012, Katherine Kuchenbecker discusses how haptics has the potential to change fields as disparate as museums, dentistry, and stroke rehabilitation....

Explore the common scientific theories about why humans laugh, and how this universal behavior evolved.--Isn’t it odd that, when something’s funny, you might show your teeth, change your breathing, become weak and achy in some places, and maybe even cry? In other words, why do we do this bizarre thing that is laughter? Since there’s no archaeological record of laughter, it’s impossible to say exac...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/4-lessons-from-robots-about-being-human-ken-goldbergThe more that robots ingrain themselves into our everyday lives, the more we're forced to examine ourselves as people. At TEDxBerkeley, Ken Goldberg shares four very human lessons that he's learned from working with robots. (Filmed at TEDxBerkeley.)Talk by Ken Goldberg. Learn more about your ad choices....

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/are-we-ready-for-neo-evolution-harvey-finebergMedical ethicist Harvey Fineberg shows us three paths forward for the ever-evolving human species: to stop evolving completely, to evolve naturally -- or to control the next steps of human evolution, using genetic modification, to make ourselves smarter, faster, better. Neo-evolution is within our grasp. What...

Explore the psychology of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and dig into how these forces contribute to our drive.--Motivation is complicated. Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior. But sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby, finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. Why is motivation so...

Uncover the history of the hidden communities that inhabited the Great Dismal Swamp in North America. --Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the “most repulsive of American possessions.” By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp. But while many deemed it uninhabitable, recent findings suggest that a hidden society persisted in the Swamp until the mid-1...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/toward-a-new-understanding-of-mental-illness-thomas-inselToday, thanks to better early detection, there are 63% fewer deaths from heart disease than there were just a few decades ago. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, wonders: Could we do the same for depression and schizophrenia? The first step in this new avenue of rese...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-lost-art-of-democratic-debate-michael-sandelDemocracy thrives on civil debate, Michael Sandel says -- but we're shamefully out of practice. He leads a fun refresher, with TEDsters sparring over a recent Supreme Court case (PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin) whose outcome reveals the critical ingredient in justice. Talk by Michael Sandel. Learn more about your...

Dig into the history of poker, from the game’s invention in the American South to its explosion of popularity across the world.--From its earliest incarnations, poker has always been a contest of guile, guts, and gambling. The game first emerged around 1800 in the melting pot of New Orleans, and soon spread up the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers. So, how did this simple game of the American...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/building-a-museum-of-museums-on-the-web-amit-soodImagine being able to see artwork in the greatest museums around the world without leaving your chair. Driven by his passion for art, Amit Sood tells the story of how he developed Art Project to let people do just that. Talk by Amit Sood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uncover the most common misperceptions about pandas, and find out why it's so difficult for them to breed in captivity.--In the 1930’s, a grand panda drama unfolded at the Chicago Zoo. Zookeepers procured a female panda named Mei Mei, and they were determined to find her a mate. They found a prospective suitor named Mei Lan, and the public eagerly awaited the patter of tiny panda paws. But the wai...

Discover how mRNA vaccines help your immune system fight viral infections and how this decades-old technology was used to create COVID-19 vaccines.--In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the vaccines for COVID-19 were cleared for emergency use in less than 11 months. The secret behind this speed is a medical technology that’s been developing for...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-hidden-power-of-smiling-ron-gutmanRon Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you'll live -- and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily co...

Dig into how rice became a staple in the world’s diet, and the surprising consequences of its traditional production practices.--Rice contributes over 20% of the calories consumed by humans each year. Korean bibimbap, Nigerian jollof, Indian biryani, Spanish paella, and countless other culinary masterpieces all begin with rice. So how did this humble grain end up in so many cuisines? Carolyn Beans...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/silk-the-ancient-material-of-the-future-fiorenzo-omenettoFiorenzo Omenetto shares 20+ astonishing new uses for silk, one of nature's most elegant materials -- in transmitting light, improving sustainability, adding strength and making medical leaps and bounds. On stage, he shows a few intriguing items made of the versatile stuff. Talk by Fiorenzo Omenett...

Dig into the monetary value of the ocean, from global trade, to tourism, fishing, and more, as Poseidon contemplates selling it.--Surveying his vast domain, Poseidon considers retirement. What if someone else donned the coral crown so he could spend his immortality harmonizing with whales and cozying up to hydrothermal vents? Poseidon decides he needs to prioritize himself for once. So, he summons...