Wow TED

This week & one before has been tough for me, I have been going through excruciating pains of body induced infirmity. And I have been trying to take my mind away from it by watching endless sessions of brilliant presentation of ideas on TED. Now what’s TED? Many people may have not heard about and many more may not have fully comprehended this 3 letter phenomenon called TED. I’ll give an interesting analogy; Everyone must be aware of the smash hit movie of the early 80s called Superman. In the movie there is this glowing green crystal that magically builds the Fortress of Solitude resembling the architecture of Krypton on earth. Activating a control panel inside the fortress, a vision of Jor-El (Superman’s father) explains Clark (Superman, originally Kal-El) on origins, educating him in his powers and responsibilities and finally empowers him to save the world. Now imagine if there ever was such a green crystal in reality what would it do? Ofcourse it would build a fortress of wonder & rediscovery by enabling visions of some of the most talented & intelligent people on earth doing things that usually occupy the outer reaches of fiction. They may not be Kryptonites but their ideas certainly border on Möbius Strip, much like its mathematical origins, blurs boundaries and they are out there to suspend people’s beliefs & imagination and to educate them just like in the movie. TED is equivalent of that green crystal because that’s exactly what it’s set out to do.

TED in short for technology, entertainment and design is a small non-profit devoted to ideas worth spreading and was the brainchild of Richard Wurman but now run by Chris Anderson. It may have started with three disciplines 25 years ago but has become the meeting place of the greatest minds from across disciplines today . The Quality of the speakers & their crisp 18 minute and thereabout talk addresses just about everything. Sample this
• Do you know just in time or as it happens mapping of brain is possible? Christopher deCharms demonstrates a new way to use fMRI to show brain activity -- thoughts, emotions, pain -- while it is happening
• Want to know why the Osama Bin Laden’s or the Pramod Mutalik (of Pink Chaddi fame) of the world do & act the way they do? Blame it on dangerous Memes that Dan Dennett explains
• Are you aware of the 4 sets of Ideas that are impacting India & its implication on the world at large ? Delve into Nandan Nilekani’s mind for answers
• Do you know that the search for cosmic company till now has been equivalent to scooping one glass of water from an ocean and we are already expecting fish in it? SETI's Jill Tarter explains..

You could watch this & many more at www.ted.com and be a part of the growing list of 100 million plus lucky viewers to date.

Freakonomics: Economics for the Rest of Us - A Book Review

Economics can feel like a rollercoaster of extremes. On one side, you’ve got a mountain of theories from greats like Keynes and Smith, unraveling the mysteries of market forces at macro and micro levels. On the other, you’re neck-deep in mind-bending math and stats, where economics drowns in complex equations and endless data. Enter Levitt and Dubner with Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, a book that fearlessly meets economics in the middle, stripping it down to its relatable core and making it understandable—even enjoyable—for the average reader.

Through an engaging blend of case studies and wit, Levitt and Dubner argue that economics, at its heart, is just a system of incentives and disincentives. And with this simple concept, they manage to connect the most unexpected dots. For instance, they highlight the curious similarities between schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers—both, as it turns out, have been known to bend the rules of the game to benefit themselves. And did you know drug cartels operate like McDonald's? Yep, Freakonomics compares their organizational structure to that of any savvy corporate entity, and it makes for fascinating reading.

The book even dives into controversial waters, like the assertion that legalized abortion significantly reduced crime rates in America—a claim that challenges popular beliefs. Levitt and Dubner also reveal how the Internet has thrown a wrench into "Information Asymmetry," leveling the playing field between experts (think doctors, lawyers, real estate agents) and everyone else. “Information is the currency of the Internet,” they write, illustrating how it efficiently shifts knowledge from those who have it to those who don’t—bad news for experts hoping to guard their secrets.

In short, Freakonomics is an incredible collection of insights from a self-described “economist who, instead of grand macro thoughts, prefers offbeat micro curiosities.” It’s economics for the curious, the skeptical, and the rest of us who just want to know how the world really works.