TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Talks zum erkunden! On TED.com:

How to grow your own fresh air

Researcher and activist Kamal Meattle shows how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air. Watch this talk >>

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely studies the bugs in our moral code: the hidden reasons we think it’s OK to cheat or steal (sometimes). Clever studies help make his point that we’re predictably irrational — and can be influenced in ways we can’t grasp. Watch this talk >>

PLUS: Read Dan Ariely’s 3 irrational lessonswe’ll learn from the Bernie Madoff scandal, on the TED Blog >>

Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn’t expect, as he shares evolution’s counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things (plus a new theory from Matthew Hurley on why jokes are funny). Watch this talk >>

Humorist Bruce McCall paints a future that never happened — full of flying cars, polo-playing tanks and the RMS Tyrannic, “The Biggest Thing in All the World.” At Serious Play ’08, he narrates a brisk and funny slideshow of his faux-nostalgic art. Watch this talk >>

At EG’08, MythBusters’ Adam Savage talks about his fascination with the dodo bird, and how it led him on a strange and surprising double quest. It’s an entertaining adventure through the mind of a creative obsessive. Watch this talk >>

Isaac Mizrahi, the fashion designer/talk-show host/cabaret star, gives a dizzying tour of his motivations for staying creative in so many fields. What’s his secret? “Always be a little bit bored all the time.”

Cosmologist George Smoot, speaking at Serious Play 2008, asks us to consider the design of the universe — and shows awe-inspiring new images from deep space.

Documentary filmmaker Franco Sacchi tours us through Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry — where local crews telling local stories can shoot a feature film in a week. How do they do it? Focusing on their audience, and the kinds of stories meaningful to them.

At Serious Play 2008, Charles Elachi shares stories from NASA’s legendary Jet Propulsion Lab — including tales and video from the Mars Rover project. His advice: “Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Next talks, Garrett Lisi talks us through his grand new theory of how the universe works — in a beautiful, symmetrical way. Paola Antonelli continues the brain-stretching exercises with a walk-through of her show “Design and the Elastic Mind.” Cultural critic Virginia Postrel cautions us about the seductive power of glamour, while Dr. Dean Ornish celebrates the power of the body to heal and be well (and shares some simple steps we can take to help our bodies do their best).

Garrett Lisi: A beautiful new theory of everything
Physicist and surfer Garrett Lisi presents a controversial new model of the universe that — just maybe — answers all the big questions. If nothing else, it’s the most beautiful 8-dimensional model of elementary particles and forces you’ve ever seen. Watch this talk >>

Paola Antonelli: Design and the elastic mind
MOMA design curator Paola Antonelli walks through the groundbreaking show “Design and the Elastic Mind” — full of ideas, products and designs that reflect the multi-tasking, quickly shifting way we think now. (You can see the exhibit online.) Watch this talk >>

Virginia Postrel: The power of glamour
In a timely talk, cultural critic Virginia Postrel muses on the true meaning, and the powerful uses, of glamour — which she defines as any calculated, carefully polished image designed to impress and persuade. Watch this talk >>

Dean Ornish: Healing and other natural wonders
Dean Ornish talks about simple, low-tech and low-cost ways to take advantage of the body’s natural desire to heal itself. Watch for his jaw-dropping stats on the obesity epidemic — and a few very compelling reasons not to go on the Atkins Diet. Watch this talk >>

Next, Chris Jordan shows how to make art from some of our most surprising statistics of consumption. You won’t look at a paper coffee cup the same way again. George Dyson shares some almost-lost history from the early days of computing — including the creation of the first artificial life. And Robert Full shares video of how we can learn from animals to find new ways to move. Highlights from last week: Julie Taymor‘s moving talk about the magic of theater and the power of imagination; Murray Gell-Mann discussing the roots of all language; and a powerful talk from Wade Davis, who takes us on a whirlwind tour of the worldwide web of belief and Helen Fisher offers a poetic look at the brain science of love.

Robert Full: How engineers learn from evolution
Insects and animals have evolved some amazing skills — but, as Robert Full notes, many animals are actually badly engineered. The trick is to copy only what’s necessary. He shows how human engineers can learn from animals’ tricks. Watch this talk >>

Chris Jordan: Picturing excess
Artist Chris Jordan shows us an arresting view of what Western culture looks like. His supersized images help us picture some almost unimaginable statistics — like the astonishing number of paper cups we use every single day. Watch this talk >>

George Dyson: Scenes from the birth of the computer
Historian George Dyson tells stories from the birth of the modern computer — from its 16th-century origins to the hilarious notebooks of some early computer engineers. Listen for the story of the very first artificial life — stored on a deck of IBM punchcards and ready to come alive again. Watch this talk >>

Julie Taymor: Theater and the imagination
Director/designer Julie Taymor talks about her boundary-shattering theater work — such as turning The Lion King into an astonishing live musical. The key to her work? Always respecting, and relying on, the audience’s imagination. Watch this talk >>

Murray Gell-Mann: Do all languages have a common ancestor?
After speaking at TED2007 on elegance in physics, the amazing Murray Gell-Mann gives a quick overview of another passionate interest: finding the common ancestry of our modern languages. Watch this short talk >>

Wade Davis: The worldwide web of belief and ritual
Anthropologist Wade Davis muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares breathtaking photos and stories of the Elder Brothers, a group of Sierra Nevada indians whose spiritual practice holds the world in balance. Watch this talk >>

Helen Fisher: The brain in love
Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love — and people who had just been dumped. Watch this talk >>

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Kevin Cohen on Julie Taymor’s Theater and the imagination
The willing suspension of disbelief is core to theater and perhaps all of art. Nice discussion of simplicity and the power of minimalism (while maintaining giant production values).

… and Antonio Arch on Taymor’s talk
I normally don’t like to know the tricks of the trade when it comes to what directors and actors are employing to get emotions out of me. In this case it was even more inspiring and wondrous to know that the “magic” involves imagination and participation of the audience. We need theatre!

thierry mortier on Chris Jordan’s “Picturing excess”
Brilliant visualisation. As we’re changing our communication to meet the needs of our visual age, Chris Jordan is definitely on the right track here.

Nathan Myhrvold: Stories from my life of fascinations
Nathan Myhrvold talks about a few of his latest fascinations — animal photography, archeology, BBQ and generally being an eccentric genius multimillionaire. Listen for wild stories from the (somewhat raunchy) edge of the animal world. Watch this talk >>

Susan Blackmore: Thoughts on memes and “temes”
Susan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain like a virus. She makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new kind of meme, the teme, which spreads itself via technology — and invents ways to keep itself alive. Watch this talk >>