Can you ever travel from one place to another? Ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea gave a convincing argument that all motion is impossible – but where’s the flaw in his logic? Colm Kelleher illustrates how to resolve Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox.
It’s 2013, yet 2.5 billion people in the world have no access to a basic sanitary toilet. And when there’s no loo, where do you poo? In the street, probably near your water and food sources — causing untold death and disease from contamination. Get ready for a blunt, funny, powerful talk from journalist Rose George about a once-unmentionable problem.
It’s an unfortunate reality in nearly every major city—road congestion, especially during rush hours. Jonas Eliasson reveals how subtly nudging just a small percentage of drivers to stay off major roads can make traffic jams a thing of the past. Talk by Jonas Eliasson.
Scientific approach to the subject of human height. Are we taller than our ancestors? Will our grandchildren grow even more? Find out everything we know about height and growind.
Bees have been rapidly and mysteriously disappearing from rural areas, with grave implications for agriculture. But bees seem to flourish in urban environments — and cities need their help, too. Noah Wilson-Rich suggests that urban beekeeping might play a role in revitalizing both a city and a species.
Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population. If you want to hear the history of this place and get to know a lot of informations associated with it you have to see this lecture.
Have we used up all our resources? Have we filled up all the livable space on Earth? Paul Gilding suggests we have, and the possibility of devastating consequences, in a talk that’s equal parts terrifying and, oddly, hopeful.
From ESO, spectacular star-filled nights frame the telescope array of the new ALMA project, where scientists are taking on the mysteries of the cold hidden reaches of the universe. ALMA is the world’s largest astronomical project. But it is not a conventional telescope. Instead of collecting and analyzing visible light it looks in a different and largely unmapped part of the spectrum. By opening a new window on the cosmos, ALMA explores one of the last frontiers of astronomy — the cold and distant Universe. All in search of answers to some of the deepest questions about our cosmic origins. How do stars and planets form? How did the first galaxies form?
Here is what happened next when we filmed our radioactive random numbers.
How did we get so fat, so fast? The debut episode of this 7-part series debunks the theory that obesity only affects the “gluttons and sloths” among us and is, in fact, a public health problem that impacts everyone.
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.
Our eyes are practically magical, but they cannot see everything. For instance, the naked eye cannot see the moment where all four of a horse’s legs are in the air or the gradual life cycle of plants — but cameras can capture these moments. Bill Shribman gives examples where photography can pick up where the eye leaves off.
