I've come across this amazing resource on Youtube which provides lectures, etc, from the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference held annually in Montery, CA.
There are a ton of videos ranging a ton of subjects. All I can say is that I've been watching them for the last few weeks (each one is typically less than 20 minutes) and they're great for anyone generally interested in Science, Creativity, Technology, and Design.
There are also musical performances which I admittedly skip over, but I'm sure they're equally entertaining if you're so inclined.
To give you an idea of the wide range of topics, here are a few of my favourites (the Suburbia one is my all-around favourite to date) with links, but you should visit their Youtube page -
TED Talks- for access to the rest - 154 of them! (apparently they're available on their website as well, along with other information:
www.ted.com)
Enjoy!
Chris Anderson: Technology's Long Tail
Chris Anderson, the editor of WIRED, explores the four key stages of any viable technology: setting the right price, gaining market share, displacing an established technology and, finally, becoming ubiquitous. To demonstrate this trajectory, Anderson explores the evolution of the DVD player as it passes through each of these four tipping points, then offers specific examples of current trends in technology -- ranging from DNA sequencing to the hybrid -- to illustrate each stage of the game.
Al Seckel: Your brain is badly wired — enjoy it!
Al Seckel, a cognitive neuroscientist and master of visual illusions, explores some of the perceptual illusions that fool our eyes and our brains. Running through example after example of images that buck our expectations, he asks why such tricks make us so happy (The Pursuit of Happiness was the theme of the 2004 TED conference). He even creates some of his own illusions, challenging our notion of what's true.
Chris Bangle: Great cars are Art
American designer Chris Bangle explains his philosophy that car design is an art form in its own right, with an engaging account of the BMW Group's Deep Blue project, intended to create the SUV of the future.
James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia
In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about. Reengineering our cities will involve more radical change than we are prepared for, Kunstler believes, but our hand will be forced by earth crises stemming from our national lifestyle. "Life in the mid-21st century," Kunstler says, "is going to be about living locally."
Vik Muniz: Art with wire, thread, sugar, chocolate
Artist Vik Muniz delights in subverting the expected. He creates images from wire, thread, sugar, chocolate, even dust and clouds that simultaneously comment on art and are art. In a charming talk, he describes how growing up in Brazil turned him into a trickster, and shows lots of his work -- gorgeous photographs and constructions filled with mischievous spirit.
CKA Uber 
CKA Uber 
CKA Super Elite 
