TED talks and similar science based/related videos

[Tank]

Regina Dugan: From mach-20 glider to humming bird drone

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" asks Regina Dugan, then director of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In this breathtaking talk she describes some of the extraordinary projects -- a robotic hummingbird, a prosthetic arm controlled by thought, and, well, the internet -- that her agency has created by not worrying that they might fail. (Followed by a Q&A with TED's Chris Anderson)

Well worth 25 minutes of your life.

[xSilverPhinx]

Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in action

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you'll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.

[history_geek]

Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals

I remember that we had a small discussion on the idea of "human behavior", and by that extent things such as empathy, as not beings so unique to us as we would want to believe. Well, if you ever doubted it, have a look at this.

Excellent and informative as well as entertaining look into the basic behavior of some other animals. 

[ablprop]

David Deutsch introduces some of the ideas from his amazing book, The Beginning of Infinity. His comments on Spaceship Earth and The Anthropic Principle in particular I found to be deeply thought-provoking.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_on_our_place_in_the_cosmos.html

Be warned; many environmentally-minded people won't like this.

[Tank]

Christina Warinner: Tracking ancient diseases using ... plaque

Imagine what we could learn about diseases by studying the history of human disease, from ancient hominids to the present. But how? TED Fellow Christina Warinner is an achaeological geneticist, and she's found a spectacular new tool -- the microbial DNA in fossilized dental plaque.

Think twice before brushing your teeth, you may be destroying vital evidence 

[Amicale]

Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals

I remember that we had a small discussion on the idea of "human behavior", and by that extent things such as empathy, as not beings so unique to us as we would want to believe. Well, if you ever doubted it, have a look at this.

Excellent and informative as well as entertaining look into the basic behavior of some other animals. 

I watched this just last night when I was listening to The Thinking Atheist Podcast, the April 17th release, "good without a God". This video was mentioned, and it's awesome!

I love TED talks stuff. So, so many neat things to think about.

[Tank]

David Deutsch introduces some of the ideas from his amazing book, The Beginning of Infinity. His comments on Spaceship Earth and The Anthropic Principle in particular I found to be deeply thought-provoking.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_on_our_place_in_the_cosmos.html

Be warned; many environmentally-minded people won't like this.

Those were fantastic. Thank you for posting!

[Amicale]

The first 15 or so minutes of Julia Sweeney's "Letting go of God" show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtIyx687ytk

Hilarious and awesome.

[Icarus]

Julia Sweeny does; "The Talk" on TED. Hilarious.