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The Super Mario Effect - Tricking Your Brain into Learning More

Watch on YouTube: TEDx Talks | Mark Rober |  TEDxPenn When 50,000 of Mark Rober's 3 million YouTube subscribers participated in a basic coding challenge, the data all pointed to what Rober has dubbed the Super Mario Effect. The YouTube star and former NASA engineer describes how this data-backed mindset for life gamification has stuck with him along his journey, and how it impacts the ways he helps (or tricks) his viewers into learning science, engineering, and design. Mark Rober has made a career out of engineering, entertainment, and education. After completing degrees in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University and the University of Southern California, Rober joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2004. In his nine years as a NASA engineer, seven of which were on the Mars rover Curiosity team, Rober worked on both the Descent Stage (the jet pack that lowered the Rover to the surface) and some hardware on the Rover top deck for collecting samples. In 20...
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Overcoming hopelessness

Watch on YouTube: TEDx Talks Nick Vujicic  | TEDxNoviSad |  Nick talks about the importance of parenting in early childhood and it's significance in overcoming hopelessness. Willpower is a driving force for making our big dreams come true, but if we don't get a miracle in life, we can always be a miracle to someone else. Nick Vujicic was born in Australia to a Serbian immigrant family, with a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. Most of his childhood he struggled with depression, and after a suicide attempt he decided to concentrate on what he did have instead on what he didn't. He realized that his life story inspires many people. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events ar...
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Demand to Understand: How Plain Language Makes Life Simpler

Watch on Youtube: TEDx Talks Deborah Bosley  | TEDxCharlotte |  Tired of trying to read information that is confusing, complex, and irritating? I believe that as citizens we have the right to receive information that is clear, concise, and credible. This talk with teach you what you can do to insist on clarity. I have spent the past 20 years helping Fortune 100/500 corporations, non-profits, and government agencies create written information that is easy for people to understand and use. I believe that only by communicating with clarity, conciseness, and credibility can our democracy thrive ad organizations understand the power of “leading with simplicity” As an advocate for plain language, I believe that people have the right to understand information that affects their lives, and they should “demand to understand.” I’m always astonished that people shrug when I ask: “Why would you agree to or sign something you don’t understand?” This talk was giv...
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How do you define yourself?

Watch on YouTube: TEDx Talks | Lizzie Velasquez |  TEDxAustinWomen Never miss a talk! SUBSCRIBE to the TEDx channel: http://bit.ly/1FAg8hB In a time when beauty is defined by supermodels, success is defined by wealth, and fame is deified by how many followers you have on social media, Lizzie Velasquez asks the question how do you define yourself? Once labeled, "The Worlds Ugliest Woman," Lizzie decided to turn things around and create her own definitions of what she defines as beauty and happiness. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self...
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Why we need to talk about porn

Watch on YouTube: TEDx Talks Jo Robertson TEDxChristchurch Warning: This talk contains explicit verbal descriptions of aggressive pornography.  With one in four children being exposed to online porn by the age of twelve or younger, it's critical we know what they're seeing—and it's critical we talk to them about it. Jo Robertson is a sex therapist who researches porn. In this gut-wrenching and unflinching talk, she explains the new porn landscape, the potential impacts on our kids, and how to get past the awkwardness and have the healthy conversations we need to have.  Jo Robertson is the Research and Training Lead for The Light Project, a charitable trust equipping youth, whānau and professionals to navigate the new porn landscape. From an early age, Jo knew she wanted to serve people; she had a strong concern for those who felt no one was listening to them. This compelled her to train in social policy, counselling and sexual health, and to earn her Ma...
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One Trillion Dollars, Student Debt and Higher Education

Watch on YouTube: TEDx Talks Greg Gottesman at TEDxSeattle Greg Gottesman is a Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group, a leading venture capital firm based in Seattle. Greg currently serves on the boards of 10 private companies, as a board member of Startup Weekend and the W Fund, and as President of the Evergreen Venture Capital Association. He founded Rover.com, the Web's largest dog sitting marketplace, and teaches Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. Greg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University and with honors from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. When not spending time helping to build startups or trying to be a good father to three children, Greg regularly injures himself playing non-contact sports. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks vi...
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Homeopathy, Quackery and Fraud

TED Watch on YouTube James Randi http://www.ted.com Legendary skeptic James Randi takes a fatal dose of homeopathic sleeping pills onstage, kicking off a searing 18-minute indictment of irrational beliefs. He throws out a challenge to the world's psychics: Prove what you do is real, and I'll give you a million dollars. (No takers yet.) TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10
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