TED-Ed

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-architecture-helped-music-evolve-david-byrneAs his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation. Talk by David Byrne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore common types of corruption and find out what we can do to combat it and promote transparency in our institutions.--Corruption is often defined as misuse of a position of power for personal gain. And while corruption in politics is nothing new, it isn’t limited to the political sphere; it can happen in schools, sports, businesses, or religious institutions. So, what exactly is corruption, a...

Download a free audiobook version of “The Vanishing Half“ and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://www.audible.com/ted-ed--While searching for a kidney donor, Karen Keegan stumbled upon a mystery. After undergoing genetic testing, it turned out that some of her cells had a completely different set of genes from the others. And this second set of genes belonged to her twin sister— who had ne...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/hiv-and-flu-the-vaccine-strategy-seth-berkleySeth Berkley explains how smart advances in vaccine design, production and distribution are bringing us closer than ever to eliminating a host of global threats -- from AIDS to malaria to flu pandemics. Talk by Seth Berkley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into Operation Paperclip, a secret intelligence program which brought scientists from Nazi Germany to the US after WWII.--In May of 1945 the Third Reich was in chaos. Adolf Hitler was dead and German surrender was imminent. But while World War II was almost over, a new war was brewing. And the US was eager to recruit the smartest minds in Germany before the Soviets got the chance— regardless o...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-difference-between-classical-and-operant-conditioning-peggy-andoverWhy is it that humans react to stimuli with certain behaviors? Can behaviors change in response to consequences? Peggy Andover explains how the brain can associate unrelated stimuli and responses, proved by Ivan Pavlov's famous 1890 experiments, and how reinforcement and punishment ca...

Dig into political philosopher John Rawls’ classic thought experiment about what principles we need to design a fair society.--A group of strangers have gathered to design a just society. To ensure none of them rig the system, they’ve been placed under a veil of ignorance. Under this veil, they’re blind to information about age, sex, profession, wealth, religion, and so on. Can they build a fair s...

Scott Fraser studies how humans remember crimes -- and bear witness to them. In this powerful talk, which focuses on a deadly shooting at sunset, he suggests that even close-up eyewitnesses to a crime can create "memories" they could not have seen. Why? Because the brain abhors a vacuum. Editor's note: In the original version of this talk, Scott Fraser misspoke about available footage of Two World...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-importance-of-focus-richard-st-johnHow might focus help you succeed? Using examples of famous people from disparate fields, such as James Cameron, Quincy Jones, and Larry Page, Richard St. John suggests why focus is one of eight traits common in successful people. Lesson by Richard St. John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Practice more problem-solving at https://brilliant.org/teded--A mathematician with a knife and ball begins slicing and distributing the ball into an infinite number of boxes. She then recombines the parts into five precise sections. Moving and rotating these sections around, she recombines them to form two identical, flawless, and complete copies of the original ball. How is this possible? Jacquel...

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/visualizing-hidden-worlds-inside-your-body-dee-bregerHow do we see things too small to be detected by the human eye? What about things inside our own bodies? At TEDYouth 2012, Dee Breger uses a scanning electron microscope to give us a glimpse of images including blood clots, thyroid glands, and lungs with pneumonia. Talk by Dee Breger. Learn more about...

Trace the rise and fall of the Maya city Chichen Itza, and how Yucatán’s unpredictable environment contributed to its demise.--During the 8th century CE, warfare and failing agriculture forced Maya people to move north, to hotter, drier Yucatán. Because of its freshwater access, Chichen Itza became the most powerful Maya city, with nearly 50,000 citizens at its height. But the region presented its...

When faced with a parent suffering from Alzheimer's, most of us respond with denial ("It won't happen to me") or extreme efforts at prevention. But global health expert and TED Fellow Alanna Shaikh sees it differently. She's taking three concrete steps to prepare for the moment -- should it arrive -- when she herself gets Alzheimer's disease. Talk by Alanna Shaikh Learn more about your ad choices....

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/patricia-burchat-sheds-light-on-dark-matterPhysicist Patricia Burchat sheds light on two basic ingredients of our universe: dark matter and dark energy. Comprising 96% of the universe between them, they can't be directly measured, but their influence is immense. Talk by Patricia Burchat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/clay-shirky-how-social-media-can-make-historyWhile news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter, and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics. Talk by Clay Shirky. Learn more about your ad choice...