Trace the 9,000 year old history of the domestication of corn, or maize, and its effects on global agriculture. — Corn currently accounts for more than one tenth of our global crop production. And over 99% of cultivated corn is the exact same type: Yellow Dent #2. This means that humans grow more Yellow Dent […]
Tag: Ted Education
The myth of Hades and Persephone – Iseult Gillespie
Dig into the Greek myth of Persephone, who is abducted by Hades and is only allowed to leave the underworld every spring. — One day, Persephone was frolicking in a meadow with the nymph, Cyane. As they admired a flower, they noticed it tremble in the ground. Suddenly, the earth split, and a terrifying figure […]
The myth of Prometheus – Iseult Gillespie
Check out our Patreon page: View full lesson: Before the creation of humanity, the Greek gods won a great battle against a race of giants called the Titans. Most Titans were destroyed or driven to the eternal hell of Tartarus. But the Titan Prometheus, whose name means foresight, persuaded his brother Epimetheus to fight with […]
What is consciousness? – Michael S. A. Graziano
Explore the theories of human consciousness and the science of how your brain works to create a conscious experience. — Patient P.S. suffered a stroke that damaged the right side of her brain, leaving her unaware of everything on her left side. If someone threw a ball at her left side, she might duck. But […]
The physics of surfing – Nick Pizzo
Wondering how you can catch the perfect wave? Dive into the fascinating and complex physics of surfing. — Whether or not you realize it, surfers are masters of complicated physics. The science of surfing begins as soon as a board first hits the water. Surfers may not be thinking about weather patterns in the Pacific, […]
Where did Earth’s water come from? – Zachary Metz
View full lesson: Water covers over 70% of the Earth, cycling from the oceans and rivers to the clouds and back again. It even makes up about 60% of our bodies. But in the rest of the solar system, liquid water is almost impossible to find. So how did our planet end up with so […]
The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A guidebook for the underworld – Tejal Gala
View full lesson: Ancient Egyptians believed that in order to become immortal after death, a spirit must first pass through the underworld — a realm of vast caverns, lakes of fire, and magical gates. Needless to say, one needed to come prepared. But how? Tejal Gala describes an Egyptian “Book of the Dead” — a […]
How a few scientists transformed the way we think about disease – Tien Nguyen
View full lesson: This video was created with support from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity: For several centuries, people though diseases were caused by wandering clouds of poisonous vapor. We now know that this theory is pretty ridiculous, and that diseases are caused by specific bacteria. But how did we get to this new […]
Why does ice float in water? – George Zaidan and Charles Morton
View full lesson: Water is a special substance for several reasons, and you may have noticed an important one right in your cold drink: ice. Solid ice floats in liquid water, which isn’t true for most substances. But why? George Zaidan and Charles Morton explain the science behind how how hydrogen bonds keep the ice […]
The wacky history of cell theory – Lauren Royal-Woods
View full lesson: Scientific discovery isn’t as simple as one good experiment. The weird and wonderful history of cell theory illuminates the twists and turns that came together to build the foundations of biology. Lesson by Lauren Royal-Woods, animation by Augenblick Studios. source