Books and Author Talks!

Have you ever seen a TED talk? They are videos intelligent men and women speaking on what they are passionate about in their chosen fields. Or, as TED puts it, "riveting talks by remarkable people". The best thing, these are free for anyone to watch! Unfortunately these talks on a wide range of subjects run from 5 to thirty minutes. Fortunately, many of these interesting speakers have written books, that we have! The following is a list of great TED presentations that you can watch and a link to the book in our catalog (and trust us, these speakers will make you want to learn more).


Susan Cain's talk "The Power of Introverts" is an excellent introduction to her bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. In it, she explores the role introverts play in shaping the world. This is especially interesting as there is an increasing amount of platforms for communication and that these further the impact of extroverts. Her talk describes how our culture promotes environments specifically adapted for extroverts and calls for society to take time to recognize the importance of being unplugged.


If you are interested in the division between religion and politics, especially with their common foundations in morality, you should read Jonathon Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. His book can serve as a primer for the current culture wars in the United States. To hear Haidt speak about the growth of morality and why people seek religions, listen to Religion, Evolution, and the Ecstasy of Self-Transcendence. He explains the concept that humans have the capacity for both a sacred and non-spiritual mindset, that humans seek out transcendent, spiritual experience and why this is important culturally.


Alison Gopnik says, "Babies and young children are like the R&D division of the human species". Her TED Talk, "What do babies think?", explores how babies make decisions based upon their environmental observations. In her book, The Philosophical Baby, she takes her ideas further to explaining how babies learn from their actions to achieve the outcomes that they want. She applies this to thinking about how we can learn about the human condition from how babies and children learn.

Looking for a humorous,rambling story about love and aliens? John Hodgman's TED talk: Aliens, Love--Where are They? is just that. John recounts his personal history of searching for aliens and love.If you enjoy Hodgman's humor, look for his "Complete World Knowledge" trilogy. His most recent and final book the series, That is All, is an almanac of completely made up trivia with sections such as "Genetic Mutations of Robber Barons" and "See the World Before it Splits Apart".


Check out the huge range of TED talks available on their website, what is your favorite?