Mark Forsyth: What’s a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak

Most politicians choose their words carefully, to shape the reality they hope to create. But does it work? Etymologist Mark Forsyth shares a few entertaining word-origin stories from British and American history (for instance, did you ever wonder how George Washington became "president"?) and draws a surprising conclusion. (From TEDxHousesofParliament in London)

Mark Forsyth strolls through the English language, telling stories, making connections and banishing hobgoblins.

Ivan Krastev: Can democracy exist without trust?

Five great revolutions have shaped political culture over the past 50 years, says theorist Ivan Krastev. He shows how each step forward -- from the cultural revolution of the ‘60s to recent revelations in the field of neuroscience -- has also helped erode trust in the tools of democracy. As he says, "What went right is also what went wrong." Can democracy survive?

From his home base in Bulgaria, Ivan Krastev thinks about democracy -- and how to reframe it.

Caitria and Morgan O’Neill: How to step up in the face of disaster

After a natural disaster strikes, there’s only a tiny window of opportunity to rally effective recovery efforts before the world turns their attention elsewhere. Who should be in charge? When a freak tornado hit their hometown, sisters Caitria and Morgan O’Neill -- just 20 and 24 at the time -- took the reins and are now teaching others how to do the same. (Filmed at TEDxBoston.)

When a freak tornado hit her Massachusetts hometown, Caitria O’Neill wasn't an expert in disaster relief recovery. But she learned quickly and is now passing her knowledge on through the website Recovers.org. Full bio »

Pursuing her PhD in atmospheric science did not prepare Morgan O'Neill for a freak tornado hitting her hometown. With her sister, she helped coordinate a local relief effort and is teaching other towns to do the same through the website Recovers.org.

Jon Ronson: Strange answers to the psychopath test

Is there a definitive line that divides crazy from sane? With a hair-raising delivery, Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, illuminates the gray areas between the two. (With live-mixed sound by Julian Treasure and animation by Evan Grant.)

Jon Ronson is a writer and documentary filmmaker who dips into every flavor of madness, extremism and obsession.

Timothy Prestero: Design for people, not awards

Timothy Prestero thought he'd designed the perfect incubator for newborns in the developing world -- but his team learned a hard lesson when it failed to go into production. A manifesto on the importance of designing for real-world use, rather than accolades. (Filmed at TEDxBoston.)

Timothy Prestero loves a flashy "concept car." But in his own work, he aims to design products for social impact, keeping users in mind.

Rob Legato: The art of creating awe

Rob Legato creates movie effects so good they (sometimes) trump the real thing. In this warm and funny talk, he shares his vision for enhancing reality on-screen in movies like Apollo 13, Titanic and Hugo.

Rob Legato creates surprising and creative visual illusions for movies.

The music teacher you wish you had

Far too many of us still have flashbacks to piano lessons, when an uber-serious teacher would rap our knuckles after every wrong note. If only we had taken bass lessons from Victor Wooten of the band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. In the video above — the first ever live-action TED-Ed lesson — five-time Grammy winner Wooten explains that music is a language and that learning to play it shouldn’t be a militaristic affair.

“Think about the first language you learned as a child,” says Wooten in the video. “You were a baby when you first started speaking, and even though you spoke the language incorrectly, you were allowed to make mistakes. The more mistakes you made, the more your parents smiled.”

Watch above, as Wooten envisions a way of learning music whereby children are encouraged to do their own thing and to practice alongside better musicians in order to sharpen their skills.

Candy Chang: Before I die I want to...

In her New Orleans neighborhood, artist and TED Fellow Candy Chang turned an abandoned house into a giant chalkboard asking a fill-in-the-blank question: “Before I die I want to ___.” Her neighbors' answers -- surprising, poignant, funny -- became an unexpected mirror for the community. (What's your answer?)

Candy Chang creates art that prompts people to think about their secrets, wishes and hopes -- and then share them. She is a TED Senior Fellow.

Robert Neuwirth: The power of the informal economy

Robert Neuwirth spent four years among the chaotic stalls of street markets, talking to pushcart hawkers and gray marketers, to study the remarkable "System D," the world's unlicensed economic network. Responsible for some 1.8 billion jobs, it's an economy of underappreciated power and scope.

To research his new book, "Stealth of Nations," Robert Neuwirth spent four years among street vendors, smugglers and “informal” import/export firms.

Shyam Sankar: The rise of human-computer cooperation

Brute computing force alone can’t solve the world’s problems. Data mining innovator Shyam Sankar explains why solving big problems (like catching terrorists or identifying huge hidden trends) is not a question of finding the right algorithm, but rather the right symbiotic relationship between computation and human creativity.

An advocate of human-computer symbiosis, Shyam Sankar looks for clues in big and disparate data sets

Antony Gormley: Sculpted space, within and without

Legendary sculptor Antony Gormley riffs on space and the human form. His works explore the interior space we feel within our own bodies -- and the exterior space we feel around us, knowing that we are just dots in space and time.

Antony Gormley's work plays with the human form in space.

Jonathan Trent: Energy from floating algae pods

Call it "fuel without fossils": Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. Hear his team's bold vision for Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) and how it might power the future.

Not only does Jonathan Trent grow algae for biofuel, he wants to do so by cleansing wastewater and trapping carbon dioxide in the process. And it’s all solar-powered.

Kent Larson: Brilliant designs to fit more people in every city

How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past.

Kent Larson designs new technologies that solve the biggest questions facing our cities

That was painful to watch.

If he had a speech about table settings it would probably go something like this.

History

In the past most food was pre-cut and made to be eaten with a spoon and later a fork from a large, shallow, dish-like bowl. drinks and thin soups were drank from a cup.

Now (and the problem)

As different foods were made soon people needed 2 to 4 forks, 2 spoons, 2 knives, 3 plates, 2 bowls, 2 cups and a glass to have a meal. We just don't have the room on our tables anymore to fit this Victorian ideal of a proper setting.

Solution

We have built a table that will change the head of your fork, spoon and knife at the touch of a button and change the rim of your plate to make it useful for main course, salad, soup and desert, and a flexible silicone cup/glass imbedded with memory wire that will change shape to suit the contents of the class based on its chemical composition, temperature, and color. All of this using low voltage motors and taking up a fraction of the space now used for eating.

ah, yep!

I disliked Antony Gormley: Sculpted space, within and without rather a lot also...