Last month, the folks at TED announced that the talks given at their meetings — talks which run the gamut of psychology, science, engineering, human nature, and more — were available on Netflix. A talk I gave at TEDxBoulder in September 2011 is on that list, and I’ve been getting great feedback on it.
If you don’t get Netflix, never fear: the Science Channel is running some of the talks as well! They’ve put together and have been airing a five-part series of talks covering various topics… including mine! My talk, "How to Defend the Earth from Asteroids", will air on Sunday April 15*.
Here’s a preview of the talks:
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TED’s slogan is Ideas Worth Spreading, and that’s a wonderful thought. If you watch these videos, you’ll see why. They’re full of Big Ideas, and having watched quite a few myself, I can guarantee they’ll make you think, make you wonder, and maybe even spark your imagination. That’s what ideas do, and it’s one of the best things we humans do.
* So no, you can’t use the threat of a giant asteroid impact as an excuse to not do your taxes.
Even cooler: my own TED talk, "How to Defend Earth from Asteroids" is one of their initial offerings! They packaged a few space talks, including mine, along with talks by Brian Cox, Carolyn Porco (that one is a must-see), Jill Tarter, and many others. There are also packages about health, biology, computers, and more.
If you are a Netflix subscriber these talks are free. I’ll note they’re all online at the TED site as well, but this may open up the talks to a bigger audience, which I think is just fine. I have Netflix, and found them easily by searching on "TED" (duh).
Not only that, but TED has a new initiative for education called TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing. These are short, great educational lessons that fit well inside established classroom curricula. There are lots of such things available, of course, but these are hand-picked and will augment a teacher’s lessons. I think this is a cool idea, since TED already has a trusted brand and a wide audience. Just to be clear, there lessons are online, not on Netflix like the big talks.
If you don’t have Netflix, well, like I said you can find these talks on the TED website. And because why not, here’s mine. Enjoy:
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Friday, Thursday, December 1, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (US) time (18:00 UTC) I’ll be doing a live online chat about asteroid impacts and astronomy at the TED website. This text-based chat is open to anyone; all you have to do is register which is free and only takes a moment.
The chat will revolve around my TED talk called "An Asteroid Impact Can Ruin Your Whole Day", which I gave here in Boulder in September. You can watch that talk online, which I suggest you do if you want to come to the chat. It’s only 14 minutes long, but it does feature me gesticulating a lot.
If you’re curious what it will be like, my Discover Magazine co-blogger Sean Carroll did a TED chat in May 2011. This is a fun way to interact with people, and I’m looking forward to it, so drop on by and ask a question!
I am extremely honored and pleased to announce that my talk, "An asteroid impact can ruin your whole day", is now featured on the TED website!
I gave this talk in September at TEDxBoulder, and I had a fantastic time. The talks were great, and it was wonderful to be a part of that.
However, I made two errors in this talk. One was logistical; I forgot to say that the "dinosaur space program" line is from science fiction writer Larry Niven, and for that I apologize to him — I usually do credit him, so I’m not sure what happened there.
The second error?
In April 2010, physicist and outspoken lover of science Brian Cox spoke at a TED meeting about the state of science funding in the UK and the world, and why we do science. Trust me, you need to find the 17 minutes today to watch this.
Man, he’s good. Someone should give him a TV show.
Tip o’ the LHC to Goran Prunk.
In 2007, James Randi took the stage at TED and apparently had a pretty good time (I still hear stories about it). The folks at TED just put the video up, and it’s a hoot.
I’ll note that Randi was 79 when this was filmed. Could you do this well now? There’s a reason his middle name is "Amazing".