Every TED Talk Under the Sun

≡ Category: Video - Arts & Culture, Video - Science |Comments

If you regularly visit Open Culture, then you’re probably familiar with TED Talks — the series of 15 minute “riveting talks by remarkable people” that TED produces and makes free to the world. We’ve included TED in our collection, Intelligent Video: The Top Cultural & Educational Video Sites, and it’s one of the best sources [...]

Bill Gates Puts Richard Feynman Lectures Online

≡ Category: Physics, Science, Video - Science |Comments

From The New York Times:
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates believes that if he had been able to watch physicist Richard Feynman lecture on physics in 1964 his life might have played out differently…
However, Mr. Gates, who is also well known for his sharp and varied intellectual interests and his philanthropic commitment to education, said this week that he [...]

When Galaxies Collide

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

What will happen 3 to 5 billion years from now, when our galaxy will likely merge with the Andromeda galaxy? The (soundless) video above will give you a quick preview. This footage from the Hubble Space Telescope offers multiple views of recent galaxy collisions. It’s worth noting that when galaxies “collide,” they don’t literally hit one [...]

Jupiter Slips Behind the Sun

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

“NASA’s STEREO spacecraft sees Jupiter move behind the Sun in this 30 hour animation compressed into just 11 seconds. Meanwhile, you can see Jupiter’s moons orbiting it.” Get more on this cool footage from Discover Magazine and be sure to check out the Bad Astronomer Channel on YouTube, which features more videos along these lines.

Death by Black Hole!

≡ Category: Physics, Science, Video - Science |Comments

Perhaps you’ve pondered your own mortality. But have you ever imagined perishing as you fall into a black hole? Probably not. But if you’re intrigued by this admittedly unlikely scenario, then watch the clip above.  Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist who heads up the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, breaks down the scene for you step-by-step [...]

The Future of Human Health TED-Style

≡ Category: Science, Stanford, Video - Science |Comments

This week the 2009 TED Conference is kicking into full gear, and it’s getting live blogged by BoingBoing throughout the week. See for example here, here and here. If you’re familiar with the TED format, you’ll know that the goal is to take influential thinkers and have them deliver the “talk of their lives” in [...]

Darwin’s Legacy on YouTube

≡ Category: Science, Stanford, Video - Science |Comments

Back in October, I mentioned that Stanford had posted on iTunes a course called Darwin’s Legacy, which helped commemorate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species.
The course brings together important scholars from across the US who explore Darwin’s legacy in fields as diverse as anthropology, religion, medicine, [...]

When a Volcano Erupts Beneath the Ice

≡ Category: Video - Science |Comments

I’m not sure that it’s quite as intriguing as what happens when waves freeze in Newfoundland, but it’s still pretty neat.

Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity: Now Live on YouTube and iTunes

≡ Category: Online Courses, Physics, Science, Stanford, Video - Science |Comments

This week, Stanford has started to roll out a new course, Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Taught by Leonard Susskind, one of America’s leading physics minds, this course is the fourth of a six-part sequence – Modern Physics: The Theoretical Minimum – that traces the development of modern physics, moving from Newton to Black Holes. As the [...]

Alex the Parrot and the Hidden World of Animal Intelligence

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

Alex the Parrot spent his days working with animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg at Harvard and Brandeis. And, along the way, he upended the belief held by many scientists that birds lack basic intelligence and can only mimic words, and not really use them in any meaningful way. As you’ll see below, Alex (who died in 2007 [...]

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out was produced in 1981 by the BBC and PBS, and it features Richard Feynman, the charismatic, Nobel prize-winning physicist, talking in a very personal way about the joys of scientific discovery, and how he developed his enthusiasm for science. About the program, Harry Kroto (winner of the Nobel Prize for [...]

The Life of a Star: 12 billion Years in Six Minutes

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

Voila, the birth, life and death of a G-type star, like our Sun. 12 billion years boiled down to six simple minutes. We’ve added it to our YouTube Favorites.

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via Digg

The Presidents Guide to Science

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

Aired first in September, this BBC production asks famous scientists to offer important words of advice to the next American president. What does Obama need to know to make smart decisions about key issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate change? Here it goes:

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via Kottke

Animated Aurora Borealis

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

While working on the International Space Station, Astronaut Don Pettit created this remarkable video of the aurora borealis (otherwise known as The Northern Lights). How? By stitching together a large sequence of still images that he took from space. It makes for some good viewing.

 
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via NYTimes DotEarth

The Birth Of A Tornado

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

It’s almost eerie to watch how a tornado takes shape. As you’ll see below, it starts with a wisp of nothing much and, within minutes, morphs into a terrible force. For more precise details on how tornadoes form, you can check out this dynamic presentation over at USA Today.
Related Content: Waves Freeze in Newfoundland

via Daily [...]

Richard Feynman on the Essence of Science

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

It’s grainy. It’s from 1964. It’s only a minute long. But, here, famed physicist Richard Feynman gives you the quick summary of what the scientific process is all about. Watch it below. (And if you want to watch him play the bongos and sing the praises of orange juice, then just click here. Also, you can download [...]

Fire Ants Create a Living Lifeboat in the Amazon

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

Yet further proof that ants are endlessly fascinating, and, on a related note, see our earlier piece: Central Intelligence: From Ants to the Web.

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Thomas Friedman on the Green Revolution

≡ Category: Business, Economics, Science, Video - Science |Comments

Thomas Friedman has a new book out, Hot, Flat, and Crowded. And it gets into the whole question of what a “green revolution” is really all about. New books mean book tours, and here we have an outtake from a spirited talk he recently gave in Northern California. You can watch the full talk on [...]

China’s Space Walk: Fresh Footage

≡ Category: Current Affairs, Science, Video - Science |Comments

As US stock declines, China’s stock keeps going up. It’s the story of the decade, really. Here’s footage from China’s first space walk this past week …

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What Happens on Mars

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

From The Daily Dish:
“Clouds move across the sky on Mars. The sun rises. Snow falls – but never touches the ground.”
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Solar Eclipse Seen From Outer Space

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

“The NASA STEREO spacecraft sees the disk of the Moon pass in front of the Sun in a view never seen before by human eyes.” For more videos, see The Bad Astronomy channel on YouTube, which we’ve added to our collection: Intelligent Life at YouTube: 70 Educational Video Collections.

What It Feels Like To Have a Stroke (And More About Your Brain)

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

From the TedTalks conference. Fascinating talk. Here’s a summary that introduces the clip below …
“Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding [...]

Free Stanford Computer Science & Engineering Courses Now Online

≡ Category: Online Courses, Stanford, Technology, Video - Science |Comments

Stanford Engineering Everywhere is a new project rolling out of Stanford, and it’s making available to anyone, anywhere 10 complete online computer science and electrical engineering courses. This includes the three-course Introduction to Computer Science series taken by the majority of Stanford undergraduates.
The top-notch courses are free, which means that we’ve added them to our [...]

Learning Chemistry on YouTube

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science, YouTube |Comments

This is perhaps a first: A university-sponsored video collection on YouTube that hangs together and contributes to developing a larger body of knowledge. The University of Nottingham has launched a channel called The Periodic Table of Videos, which offers a video for each element on the periodic table. In total, you will find 118 videos, [...]

Top 10 Amazing Physics Videos (Including Boomerang in Zero Gravity)

≡ Category: Physics, Science, Video - Science |Comments

Wired Science gives you their favorites here. Below, we’ve posted a sample: It’s called “Boomerang in Zero Gravity” and shows that, even in outer space, a boomerang will always return to the person who threw it.

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500 KM Asteroid Hits Earth

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

The Discovery Channel has produced a rather impressive (though certainly bleak) simulation of what would happen:

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Stephen Hawking Asks Big Questions About The Universe

≡ Category: Physics, Science, Video - Science |Comments

Speaking at the 2008 TED conference, physicist Stephen Hawking asks some Big Questions about our universe: How did the universe begin? How did life begin? Are we alone? And, during his ten minute talk, he offers some thoughts on how we might go about answering these big enchilada questions. (We’ve added the clip to our [...]

Top Ten Psychology Videos

≡ Category: Psychology, Science, Video - Science |Comments

PsychCentral has posted its list of the ten best psychology videos available on the web. Below, we have posted links to the videos themselves. But if you want a quick description of each clip, then definitely read through the original post. Thanks to Kottke.org for bringing this to light.
1. An Unquiet Mind: Personal Reflections on [...]

The Genius of Charles Darwin (According to Richard Dawkins)

≡ Category: Science, Video - Science |Comments

Darwinmania is kicking into full gear as we celebrate Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of Origin of Species (download zip audio here). It perhaps seems appropriate, then, that the festivities would get started with Richard Dawkins launching a three part series on British TV called The Genius of Charles Darwin. (Read the official [...]

Physics for Future Presidents: Buy the Book, or Download the Course

≡ Category: Current Affairs, Online Courses, Physics, Science, UC Berkeley, Video - Science |Comments

Richard Muller teaches one of the most popular undergraduate courses at UC Berkeley: Physics for Future Presidents. You can download the course in audio (iTunes – Feed – MP3s) or watch it on YouTube (see first lecture below and get full course here). And now you can buy Muller’s new book. Just published by [...]

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  • About Us

    Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best cultural and educational media. He finds the books you want, the classes you need, and plenty of enlightenment in between.