One year of TED picks. (4-4-10 to 4-4-11)

Some I like and agree with some I just thought were interesting.

Google’s driverless car
http://blog.ted.com/2011/03/31/googles-driverless-car-sebastian-thrun-on-ted-com/

It’s time to question bio-engineering
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/paul_root_wolpe_it_s_time_to_question_bio_engineering.html
Lot of crazy awesome things. Ignore the last ethics blurb.

Printing a human kidney
http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

Understanding cancer through proteomic
http://blog.ted.com/2011/02/24/understanding-cancer-through-proteomics-danny-hillis-on-ted-com/
Interesting intro to proteomics.

How to use experts
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/noreena_hertz_how_to_use_experts_and_when_not_to.html
Experts suck.

The linguistic genius of babies
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html

Born to Run
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run.html

How I built a toaster from scratch
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toaster_from_scratch.html
Milton Friedman’s pencil again.

Your brain on improve
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv.html

Collaborative Consumption
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/rachel_botsman_the_case_for_collaborative_consumption.html
We don’t need the rule of law to engage in economic activity.
As the cost of knowledge drops it is less costly for people to self-organize.
Sharing resources, the power drill example is great.
Loved this she even brings up reputation networks.

Parenting Taboos (http://www.babble.com/)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/rufus_griscom_alisa_volkman_let_s_talk_parenting_taboos.html

Why not eat insects
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/marcel_dicke_why_not_eat_insects.html

Why work does’t happen at work
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work.html
The analogy of work/thinking with sleep rings with me. I think the other stuff is a bit over the top.

A theory of beauty
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/denis_dutton_a_darwinian_theory_of_beauty.html
An argument for a non-subjective definition.

Brain
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gero_miesenboeck.html

Games and the Brain
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/tom_chatfield_7_ways_games_reward_the_brain.html

The Brain in your gut
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/heribert_watzke_the_brain_in_your_gut.html

I am my connectome (Brain)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sebastian_seung.html

The quantified self
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gary_wolf_the_quantified_self.html

How pig parts make the world turn
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/christien_meindertsma_on_pig_05049.html
The reverse but reminds me of what Milton Freedman use to do with a pencil.

Our Natural Sleep Cycle
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jessa_gamble_how_to_sleep.html

Child driven education
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

The oldest living things
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/rachel_sussman_the_world_s_oldest_living_things.html

keep your goals to yourself
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html

Monkey economy
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/laurie_santos.html
She is a dirty hippie and takes the wrong lessons from her research but the research is still interesting.

When ideas have sex
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html

Mandelbrot
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benoit_mandelbrot_fractals_the_art_of_roughness.html
I just like Mandelbrot…

Legos for grownups
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/hillel_cooperman_legos_for_grownups.html

Learning disorders
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/aditi_shankardass_a_second_opinion_on_learning_disorders.html
Diagnose them with the machine that looks at the brain not by behavior.

The pattern behind self-deception
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception.html

How architecture helped music evolve
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evolve.html

4-chan: Case for anonymity
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for_anonymity_online.html

Lawrence Lessig: Re-examining the remix | Video on TED.com
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/lessig_nyed.html

Lessons from fashion’s free culture
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture.html

Why I’m a weekday vegetarian
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html

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Software Spots Spin In Political Speeches

According to an article in NewScientist Tech, there is now software that can identify the amount of spin in a politician or candidate’s speech.  The article goes on to analyze the amount of spin in each of the candidates running for president.  Obama spins the most while McCain clinically depressed.

In another article about six months ago recall reading about new software to detect lies from phone calls.

Think of a new reality TV show which shows politicians being monitored while speaking.  I imagine it would be a strange mix of candid camera and the morning political talk shows.  The right producers could make it rather funny and at the same time inject a bit of wonkishness into the American population.

Stanford To Offer Free CS and Robotics Courses

“Stanford University will soon begin offering a series of 10 free, online computer science and electrical engineering courses. Initial courses will provide an introduction to computer science and an introduction to field of robotics, among other topics. The courses, offered under the auspices of Stanford Engineering Everywhere(SEE), are nearly identical to standard courses offered to registered Stanford students and will comprise downloadable video lectures, handouts, assignments, exams, and transcripts. And get this: all the courses’ materials are being released under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.”