Some interesting new talks on TED

Hi,

Some new talks that you might be interested in. Some astronomical, some climate related, and lastly Clifford Stoll

Stephen Hawking: Asking big questions about the universe
In keeping with the theme of TED2008, professor Stephen Hawking asks some Big Questions about our universe -- How did the universe begin? How did life begin? Are we alone? -- and discusses how we might go about answering them.
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/242

Roy Gould & Curtis Wong: WorldWide Telescope
In Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of "generational mission" -- the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement -- to set it right. Gore's stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates' climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future.
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/224

Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis
In Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of "generational mission" -- the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement -- to set it right. Gore's stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates' climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future.
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/243

David Keith: A surprising idea for "solving" climate change
Environmental scientist David Keith talks about a cheap, effective, shocking solution to climate change: What if we injected a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere, to deflect sunlight and heat? As an emergency measure to slow a melting ice cap, it could work. Keith discusses why it's a good idea, why it's a terrible one -- and who, despite the cost, might be tempted to use it.
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/192

Clifford Stoll: 18 minutes with an agile mind
Clifford Stoll could talk about the atmosphere of Jupiter. Or hunting KGB hackers. Or Klein bottles, computers in classrooms, the future. But he's not going to. Which is fine, because it would be criminal to confine a man with interests as multifarious as Stoll's to give a talk on any one topic. Instead, he simply captivates his audience with a wildly energetic sprinkling of anecdotes, observations, asides -- and even a science experiment. After all, by his own definition, he's a scientist: "Once I do something, I want to do something else."
www.ted.com/talks/view/id/237

Cheers,
~Al

Thanks Albert, that 18 minute Clifford Stoll was brill, will look at more when no one is looking...
That was an example of what teaching should be in schools. Interseting point about computers in schools. Our kids are becoming the virtual reality generation....

Declan