TED: Arthur Benjamin and "Mathemagic."

I teared up at the very end of this one. I was also laughing at the same time. I think it's because I wanted to stand up and applaud the guy. Sorry about giving away the ending. 1 hankie

(I know these posts seem to come in fits and starts, or maybe repetitive as I watch multiple episodes or clips from the same source, but I'm just documenting each time I get weepy as they happen.)

TED: Jill Bolte Taylor on her stroke.

Just watch it. A remarkable and beautiful talk from Jill Bolte Taylor. It helps reinforce my belief that we are a truly remarkable species and that we don't need to resort to fairy tales or the supernatural to discover the profound and powerful truths within us. 4 hankies

(Somebody on Digg.com posted a list of most popular TED talks that I'll likely be working my way through, so expect more of these, soon. TED talks usually cover profound material.)

TED: Susan Savage-Rumbaugh on Bonobos

Chimpanzee and Bonobos have long fascinated me. These close cousins of ours are proto-people. This video illustrates that in an impossible-to-deny fashion. I don't mind eating meat, I don't even protest most animal testing (if it's necessary). People are a few rungs up the evolutionary ladder, and I do value a human's life more than most other animals. The other great apes, though... they're practically human. They deserve to be treated as such.

A bit over six minutes in: "This is a smile on the face of a Bonobo." 1 hankie

At the very end: "We're sharing tools, technologies, and language with another species." 2 hankies