TED Talks
Ideas worth Spreading
Nina Jablonski breaks the illusion of skin color (TED2009, 2009)
Nina Joblonski opens by commenting on Darwin's pigmentation and his upbringing. She further speaks of his voyage on the Beagle and his interest in the pigmentation of humans. Darwin did not believe that there was any correlation to skin pigmentation and climate. However, Joblonski points out that if Darwin had access to NASA satellites that he may have come to a different conclusion. One of NASA's satellites has capabilities to monitor the Earth's radiation close to the surface. As a result, researchers today have been able to study skin pigmentation and the exposure to solar radiation and find that there is a perfect gradient and strong correlation between the two.
Therefore, skin color is a product of evolutionary forces as human adapted to their environments and their skin adapt to the levels of radiation that they were receiving. The earliest humans evolved in climates close to the equator that were high in radiation. Types of UV rays are needed to serve important roles in the human body such as the breakdown of vitamin D The lecture points out how different skin pigmentations are better suited to different latitudes. She further points out how this pigmentation can be used to teach people about evolution since it is such a clear example that people can understand.
Figure 1 - UV Light and Skin Color
This lecture is interesting because it points out how superficial skin pigmentation really is to humans. Furthermore, since we live in an age in which science and evolution are under attack from many sources such as creationism and intelligent design, it also points out a simple and clear example that can be used to talk evolution to people that are unacquainted with the science behind it. For example, by pointing out the differences in skin color and how superficial this difference really is, not only can we promote tolerance...
He was active in research and was viewed as an intellect by his professors but he did not have social life[footnoteRef:8]. [8: Douglas, John, and Olshaker, Mark, the Anatomy of Motive (Scribner, 1999)] Early life records and analysis of Kaczynski also reveal that he would have strange dreams during his stay at University of Michigan. His personal writings have been analyzed and researchers assert that he would dream about psychologists,
watching the lectures on video. When I first realized that part of the course would be watching lectures on video, I thought that I would be bored by them. After all, in a video lecture environment, the ability to interact with the teacher is missing, so I thought it would be a very stilted and dry way to receive information. However, I was very surprised that I found the lectures
Faith vs. Tradition This paper addresses the lecture on faith Vs tradition. It shows how many traditions are mistaken for faith and thus followed. It also sheds light on how these ideas have gone to twist the Muslim faith and look at Islam as an oppressor religion. The paper discuses the lecture and several other resources regarding the same topic. The confusion between faith and tradition is common in many religions. Islam
Spot a Liar, a presentation given by Pamela Meyer (2011) as part of the TedTalks series, Meyer provides a lecture on the different types of lies individuals are exposed to everyday and the signals that present when an individual is not telling the truth. Meyer presents her lecture in an easy to follow format and provides examples and visuals that allow the viewer to better understand lying and how
Religion Atheist 2.0 is a short video featuring discussions on remaking atheism. The speaker asks those that do not believe in religion to take their most favorite aspects of different religion and piece them together to create something meaningful using culture as the basis rather than scripture. Atheists who do not rely on religion, but on education cannot really learn true morality from education. They cannot receive proper guidance from universities
speech of a public institution's faculty member to be protected under the Pickering/Connickline of cases, what criteria must be satisfied? Do these criteria suitably balance the interests of faculty members and the institution in the higher education context? There are really two key principles that must be satisfied. The first is that the court determines whether the speech in question hinges on a matter of public concern. If it does,
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