Boing Boing » TED2012

TED2012: Joshua Foer - Moonwalking with Einstein

Mark Frauenfelder — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:15:53 +0000

[Video Link] At TED2012 I interviewed Joshua Foer, who gave a presentation about his recent book, Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. In his book, Joshua writes about covering the United States Memory Championship for a magazine. Joshua decided to enter the contest himself and learned many ancient as well as cutting-edge techniques to help him memorize long lists of numbers, the order of cards in a deck, pictures of things, etc. He ended up winning the championship.

See all my TED2012 interviews here.

TED2012: Susan Cain: The power of introverts

Mark Frauenfelder — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:28:36 +0000

As someone with a mild introvert tendency, I enjoyed this talk by Susan Cain at TED2012.

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

Our world prizes extroverts -- but Susan Cain makes a case for the quiet and contemplative.

Susan Cain: The power of introverts

See all my TED2012 coverage here.

TED2012: Lucy McRae, Body Architect

Mark Frauenfelder — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:26:58 +0000

[Video Link] Lucy McRae was trained as a classical ballerina and an architect, and her work as a "body architect" incorporates these interests and more. She is the recipient of a TED Fellowship. I interviewed her this morning at TED 2012.

See all my TED2012 coverage.

TED2012: Post Secret - Frank Warren

Mark Frauenfelder — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:30:51 +0000

[Video Link] Frank Warren is the founder of Post Secret. He's received over 500,000 postcards from anonymous people around the world who have shared a secret they've never told anyone before. I interviewed Frank right after his fantastic TED talk this afternoon, which got standing ovation.

See all my TED2012 coverage here.

A pessimist and an optimist talk at TED2012

Mark Frauenfelder — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:26:55 +0000

The first two videos from TED2012 are up. They're from yesterday's session. Paul Gilding, author of The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World, gave a very depressing talk about the imminent end of life as we know it. It's titled The Earth is Full:

Have we used up all our resources? Have we filled up all the livable space on Earth? Paul Gilding suggests we have, and the possibility of devastating consequences, in a talk that's equal parts terrifying and, oddly, hopeful.

Gilding's talk was followed by a much more positive one by Peter Diamandis, chair of the X Prize Foundation and Singularity University, titled Abundance is our Future:

Onstage at TED2012, Peter Diamandis makes a case for optimism -- that we'll invent, innovate and create ways to solve the challenges that loom over us. "I’m not saying we don’t have our set of problems; we surely do. But ultimately, we knock them down.”

I was glad Diamandis' talk followed Gilding's, because I tend to believe the most recent argument I hear.

TED2012: littleBits creator Ayah Bdeir

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:18:49 +0000

[Video Link] Ayah Bdeir is the founder and lead engineer of littleBits, an open source library of electronic modules that snap together with tiny magnets for prototyping and play. littleBits won Popular Science's "Best of Toy Fair 2012" and Ayah was named a TED Fellow this year. I interviewed her this morning at TED2012 in Long Beach, CA.

See all my TED2012 coverage here.

Backyard Brains at TED2012 - Neuroscience kits for high school students

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:14:20 +0000

[Video Link] Here at TED2012 Gregory Gage of Backyard Brains showed me how to measure the electrical activity of a neuron in a cockroach leg. At around the 12:00 minute mark, Gregory pumps the electrical signal from music on his iPhone into the cockroach's leg, causing it to twitch in time with the beat. (The cockroach's leg will grow back.)

Bre Pettis and MakerBot 3D printer at TED2012

Mark Frauenfelder — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:15:30 +0000

[Video Link] I'm here at TED2012! Here's a short interview with Bre Pettis, co-founder of MakerBot Industries. He shares news about the new Replicator 3D printer, and the printing of an old school mechanical clock with an escapement mechanism. (I called it a "catchment mechanism" in the video -- oops.")

Coffee Common at TED2012

Mark Frauenfelder — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:10:54 +0000

[Video Link] Our friend Sean Bonner filled me in on the goings on here at TED2012's Coffee Common.