If it's specifically about SMP as it has been, "Inherit the Wind", ldo.

A rather good Prada commercial by Jordan and Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) with excerpts from a text that was found among a collection of early Christian writings at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/d...happiness.html

sklansky incarnate imo

seriously, this guy puts EV in terms that everyone on earth should hear

Witten on String Theory

String Theorists on Witten

Lisa Randall on Charlie Rose

The Elegant Universe
Documentary about the String Theory

One of these days I'm going to have to learn wtf string theory is.

max raker if anyone you should know this, wtf is the deal with ed witten's academic background?

Truly bizarre. For those that don't know, Witten's only undergrad degree is a BA in history. He tried a few random things after undergrad, eventually quit and decided to do math at princeton. I'm not 100% sure how he even got in. I'm sure he had perfect tests scores and maybe took some grad level math classes, but that alone is no where near enough. Admssions are very competitive and a ton of smart kids with a BS in physics/math from harvard/MIT etc don't get in every year. I am guessing that Witten is just one of those people (maybe the only one? ) who you can have a five minute conversation on any technical topic and come away knowing that he very well could be on a completely different level than everybody else.

At Princeton, he switched to physics very soon and within a year was producing highly original results that were interesting both mathematically and physically. From that point on (nearly a 30 year stretch) he has been the dominant figure in theoretical physics with no equals. Looking at his work only in terms of math, he would easily be one of the top 10 mathematicians in the world and with a strong case for being even higher.

How he almost didn't go into math/physics is crazy. Perhaps he was just that good at everything so he never realized his special talents in physics .

stories like that always make me reevaluate what it takes to be great in a given field. every time i think i have an idea of what causes the giants to be giants i hear about something like that

My wife and I just watched this. Great video.

Jib & Erf (and others), please see this video when you get a chance (it's just under an hour long) if you still have questions about non-human consciousness, sense of "self" & "other", free will, and morality.

ehh next time i have time ill watch all these, good thread.

Here are my favorite Ted Talks:

Dan Dennett:

1. Dangerous Memes
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/d...ous_memes.html

2. Consciousness
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/d...ciousness.html


Richard Dawkins on The Strangeness of Science
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/r..._universe.html

Michael Shermer on why people believe strange things
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/m...ge_things.html


And finally, my all time favorite, an absolute must watch, imo:

Susan Blackmore on Memes
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/s...and_temes.html

I haven't been on this site in a couple months. I always get lost for a couple hours, tonight was no exception....

Love all the ones you mentioned. I think Richard Dawkins: The universe is queerer than we can suppose was the first TED talk I saw. I hadn't seen the Shermer one before, but recognize him from other documentaries/interviews.

I <3 Dawkins. Posted alot of his stuff in my earlier post, here is a link to his youtube channel playlists, all great. Your post reminded of a long interview session called The Four Horsemen with Dawkins, Dennet, Hitchens, and Harris which was insightful. I think I remember most of them drinking throughout it, Hitchens gets a little drunk and Dawkins' face is a little flush at times, really good stuff.
Four Horsemen Hour 1
Four Horsemen Hour 2

Here are a few more of my favorite TED talks:
Jonathan Haidt: The real difference between liberals and conservatives
Bjorn Lomborg: Our priorities for saving the world
Spencer Wells: Building a family tree for all humanity
Steven Pinker: The stuff of thought
Steven Pinker: A brief history of violence
Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen

So many more, such an amazing resource. Their search filters/tags/etc are great.

Excellent talk. I want to give it a second recommendation.

On a bit more of the lighter side, the "dogs nuts" of playing with alkali metals is presented here (fun science and the periodic table mix, 5 Stars)

Everyone needs to view this one:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55kgyApYrY


-Zeno

i had problems with the Four Horsemen interview, it felt kind of like it was just watching some very smart people in the act of mutual masturbation. i mean, how long can you go on with a conversation where both parties have studied the same subject, lectured on the subject, and pretty much agree on all the main points.