Category: Viewing

Hartford describes ways in which Trial and Error development trumps the God Complex method of development (i.e. bringing in a smart person who has all the answers). Instead of looking for the ‘single best’ answer (which Hartford shows has failed time and again), he encourages a use of the old-fashioned ‘trial and error’ (which Hartford shows generally succeeds).

A cool demonstration of what the future may bring: a device that can read your brainwaves.

Michel uses math to map history. Interesting and short.

Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history (TED)

Ariely discusses how society has few big cheaters but is full of small cheaters who do more collective economic harm than all the big cheaters combined. Such “small” cheating comes as we distance ourselves (and our behavior) from the people we affect, thus making it easier to rationalize the harm we may cause them. Ariely also found, the cheating drops dramatically if the mind is primed with moral code, even if it is not a moral code we personally believe in.

RSA Animate: The Truth About Dishonesty
The Truth About Dishonesty (RSA)
Dan Ariely: Why we think it’s OK to cheat and steal (sometimes) (TED)
Dan Ariely: Our buggy moral code
Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our decisions?

Dutton presents a theory, based on a broad variety of intriguing insights, that our perception of beauty has far less to do with our cultural upbringing and much more to do with evolution. For example, Dutton points out that beautiful landscapes with grass, some body of water (or evidence of a body of water in the distance), trees (preferably ones that would be easier to climb), evidence of wildlife and with a path are considered beautiful the world over, even in places without such nature. This, Dutton points out, is reminiscent of the savannah environment that we grew up in.

Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty (TED)