News Are we bold enough? Join TEDAI San Francisco this OctoberPosted by: TED Staff September 15, 2025at 12:00 pm EDTArtificial intelligence is shaping our lives faster than almost any other technology in history. It generates breathtaking breakthroughs and equally daunting questions. At TEDAI San Francisco 2025, taking place October 2122, were bringing those questions front and center.Are We Bold Enough?This one question, with infinite futures, will guide our theme for 2025. Together, well explore bold ideas and ask brave questions around how AI systems are reshaping the world transforming industries, institutions, communities and culture.For two days in October, TEDAI San Francisco will convene leading voices in AI, science, philosophy and design to spark conversations that matter.Before the main event (October 1819): A 48-hour Hackathon, where developers and researchers will collaborate at the frontier of whats possible.Day 1 (October 21): A full day of TED Talks bold ideas from the cutting edge of AI and beyond.Day 2 (October 22): Panels and interactive sessions designed to engage the audience in dialogue, debate and discovery.TEDAI San Francisco is about more than talks. Some of the most powerful moments happen offstage in the hallways, at the after-parties and in conversations between sessions. These are the moments when sparks fly, ideas evolve and collaborations are born.Well be announcing more speakers and panels soon, and we hope youll join us this Octoberin San Francisco, California, where youll have the opportunity to think differently, connect deeply and shape the future of AI together.TEDAI San Francisco 2024 (Photo: Gene X Hwang)Ilya Sutskever at TEDAI San Francisco 2023 (Photo: Gene X Hwang)TEDAI San Francisco 2023, Day 2: Panels and Interactive Sessions (Photo: Gene X Hwang)TEDAI San Francisco 2024, Day 2: Panels and Interactive Sessions (Photo: Gene X Hwang)TEDAI San Francisco 2024, Hackathon (Photo: Gene X Hwang)TEDAI San Francisco 2024 (Photo: Gene X Hwang)Like what you see above? Apply to attend!TEDAI

News 3 vital AI conversations well explore together at TEDAI ViennaPosted by: TED Staff August 28, 2025at 11:00 am EDTArtificial intelligence has become one of the great topics of our age. We read about it daily, we marvel at its abilities, and we worry about its dangers. Beneath the excitement and anxiety, there are some deeper conversations we are still failing to have: questions about how we as thinkers, leaders and builders can shape the world we will all have to live in with AI. And the window to answer these questions is closing fast.Thats why, for three remarkable days, we will gather in the heart of Europe, in Vienna, Austria, to dedicate our time and attention to the most crucial conversations on AI and especially the ones we are not yet having. These are questions that shape how our daily lives unfold, how our markets operate and how our political systems function. At TEDAI Vienna, we will create space for nuance and contradiction, foster genuine debate and dive into three conversations uncomfortable and yet necessary that we must have at this moment in history before its too late.(Photo: Cherie Hansson / TEDAI Vienna)1. AI and the erosion or evolution of critical thinkingIn the age of AI, theres a growing risk that well grow accustomed to answers that come too easily. We might one day realize that what weve lost isnt our intelligence but, perhaps even worse, our patience for thinking. The beauty and burden of critical thinking isnt about knowing the answer: its about learning how to doubt, to compare, to weigh and to hold a question in the mind long enough to see its complexities. At TEDAI Vienna, researcher Advait Sarkar will premiere new work tools which, if used well, can become a partner in this process: tools that ask us better questions, challenge our assumptions and sharpen our reasoning. But we cant allow the conversation to stop there. As technological progress accelerates at astonishing speed, we must ask ourselves: What could thinking and consciousness look like for a superintelligent mind? Philosopher Joscha Bach will lead us through this profound question and share his latest research insights from the frontier of machine consciousness.(Photo: Robert Leslie / TEDAI Vienna)2. AI is beyond Silicon ValleyWe often speak of AI as if it were born in just one small corner of the world. But in truth, AI is now everywhere. At TEDAI Vienna, well hear from Oriol Vinyals, technical lead of Gemini at Google DeepMind, on how AI is being advanced in research labs in the UK; from policymakers such as Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president of the EU Commission, shaping its governance; from Hiroaki Kitano, president of Sony CSL in Japan, applying it to robotics; from Mercedes Bidart, empowering micro-entrepreneurs in Colombia to harness its potential; and from Bolor-Erdene Battsengel, bringing it into classrooms across Mongolia.We can no longer afford to view AI through the lens of a single location or discipline. Our world, our economies, our lives, are too interconnected. The rules we set in one place will reverberate everywhere, while the benefits and harms will know no borders. To guide AI wisely, we need the insights, values and priorities of a truly global conversation and it will require the participation of each and every one of us.(Photo: Cherie Hansson / TEDAI Vienna)3. AI is not a race to be won, but a home to be builtWe often describe AI in the language of competition: a race. The problem with a race is that it ends at a finish line. There are clear winners and losers, and once its over, there is little thought for what comes next.A more helpful metaphor might be that of building a home. A home is created slowly, with care and cooperation. It involves many skills and perspectives: architects and builders, but also designers, leaders, educators, economists and the people who will live there, shaping it with their needs and hopes. A home must be safe, open to visitors and strong enough to last through storms.If we thought of building AI as building a home, we might place more value on the long-term work of trust, fairness and accessibility. We might remember that everyone whether they helped design it or not will have to live within its walls. And we might focus less on being the fastest to build it and more on ensuring it is worth inhabiting.Few people in the world can speak to this better than Verity Harding, who will take the stage at TEDAI Vienna to share her incisive view on why the arms-race metaphor is leading us astray, and how we might instead imagine a better and bolder path forward.These three conversations about our thinking habits, the global nature of AI and the metaphors we use are not peripheral. They are the foundation for a future in which AI is not something that happens to us but something we shape together. From TED Talks to small-circle debates, from deep-dive thematic dinners to relaxed get-togethers, at TEDAI Vienna were building an environment to hold space for these conversations. Whether youre a technology builder, a business leader, a creative or a researcher, now is the time to show up and help lay the foundations of the AI future we will all inhabit.

Countdown 6 takeaways from day 2 of TED Countdown Summit 2025Posted by: Brian Greene, Oliver Friedman and Maria Ladias June 17, 2025at 1:00 pm EDTHosts Ryan Panchadsaram and Lindsay Levin speak at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Who says climate talks cant come with a plot twist? Day 2 of TED Countdown Summit 2025 flipped the script on what we think of as the drivers of climate progress. Its not just solar panels and policy its in the flow of money, trust and imagination. Informal economies are bursting with potential. Even refrigeration and rewilding got their spotlight as unsung heroes of resilience. The common thread? Climate action works best when it works for people. Heres what stood out from day 2:Anuj Tanna speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Capitalism, but make it work for everyone. Entrepreneur Anuj Tanna sees Africas informal economies not as something broken but as something brilliant a space of creativity, community and grit. He dives into how identity, trust and peer-based learning are transforming side hustles into scalable enterprises, and why empowering this movement may be the most sustainable path forward. This thinking led him to build MESH: a platform designed to boost visibility, share skills and grow networks. His call? Stop trying to fix the informal economy. Unlock it instead. Sustainability investor Steve Howard flips the lens to capitalism itself, asking whether the same tools that helped break the planet might also help save it. With bold policy and long-term thinking, even profit-driven systems can scale climate solutions fast if we dare to change the rules.Yi Li speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)When profits protect the planet. We often think solving climate change means deploying new tools and training. But what if the real breakthrough starts with something far more basic: a steady paycheck? Agribusiness groundbreaker Yi Li shares how financial sustainability not just climate solutions is the key to long-term agricultural impact. When farmers thrive financially, she says, the climate benefits follow. Climate equity entrepreneur Sandeep Roy Choudhury highlights carbon credits as an imperfect but powerful financial tool to make solutions a reality, especially in vulnerable communities already facing the worst effects of climate change. From mangrove restoration to clean cooking initiatives that cut emissions, these projects build resilience and create jobs.Sebastin Kind speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)De-risking the energy transition. Renewable energy pioneer Sebastin Kind helped transform Argentina into a global model for clean energy growth despite economic crises and skepticism by building political trust and protecting investors. Now, through his nonprofit RELP, hes helping other countries follow the same path. What about the uncertainties no one can control? Enter climate risk advisor Amy Barnes, who reframes climate risk insurance as a warning bell. She explains why protecting lives, infrastructure and investments means getting ahead of disasters, not just reacting to them. Barnes underscores investing in resilience, both through adaptation and smarter tools, before those safety nets disappear entirely.Jacqueline Novogratz speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Electricity is empowerment. From enduring climate shocks to preserving medicine, the infrastructure we build today will shape who thrives tomorrow. Impact investor Jacqueline Novogratz shows how electrifying the hardest-to-reach places on Earth is more than a climate solution its a moral test of our courage and imagination, one we can pass by mobilizing the right kind of capital. Electricity powers a lot, including your refrigerator, which is connected to an entire network of thermal control called the cold chain. Writer and researcher Nicola Twilley urges us to recognize the hidden force of the refrigeration systems quietly sustaining our food, health and supply networks quite literally, the cold that keeps life going.Harjeet Singh speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)We cant fight climate change with one-size-fits-all solutions. Policy expert Harjeet Singh argues that development must mean adaptation, tailoring responses to fit local realities, not global ideals. From Indian farmers braving deadly heat waves with solar-powered pumps to floating farms in flood-prone Bangladesh, real solutions are already saving lives and livelihoods. But adaptation cant happen in isolation; it requires development, resources and justice. Climate tech leader Hao Xu turns our attention to accelerating innovation. As vice president of sustainable social value at Tencent, he explains that we already have the science to turn CO into fuel, plastic, even jet fuel. The challenge now is scaling both engineering and business. Xu makes the case for making low-carbon businesses profitable and accelerate climate action through bold, tech-driven solutions.Isabella Tree speaks at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Conservation, everywhere and anywhere. Leading Microsofts AI for Good Lab, AI visionary Juan M. Lavista Ferres introduces SPARROW: Solar-Powered Acoustic and Remote Recording Observation Watch. This simple yet powerful open-source technology transforms how conservationists collect, transmit and analyze biodiversity data, turning months of delay into real-time insights critical for saving species and ecosystems now. Environmentalist Isabella Tree shows that rewilding isnt reserved for grand parks; it can begin in your own garden. She shares how letting animals roam free on her farmland brought the land back to life reviving ecosystems, boosting biodiversity and even capturing carbon, all in just a few years. Tree leaves us with some practical tips for rewilding at home: disturb the Earth, mimic animal behavior, welcome wetlands and leave dead things be encouraging us all to let green spaces grow wild.Ghetto Classics Dance performs at Countdown Summit 2025 on June 17, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)

Debora SzpilmanWe persist in hiring and training as if were running a bowling squad, as if easily measured skills are all that matter.What causes successful organizations to fail? What makes stocks fade, innovations slow, customers jump ship? We can agree that certain skills are essential. That hiring coders who cant code, salespeople who cant sell, or architects who cant design is a waste. But these skills lets call them vocational skills have become the backbone of the recruitment process.But how do you explain that similar organizations, with similarly vocationally skilled people, find themselves with very different outcomes? Most of the textbooks that students experience and the tests they take are about vocational skills, the checkboxes that have to be checked to get a job. By misdefining vocational and focusing on these allegedly essential skills, weve diminished the value of the other skills that matter.We give too little respect to the other skills when we call them soft and imply that theyre optional. What actually separates thriving organizations from struggling ones are the difficult-to-measure attitudes, processes and perceptions of the people who do the work.Vocational skills can be taught: Youre not born knowing engineering or copywriting or even graphic design, therefore they must be something we can teach. But we let ourselves off the hook when it comes to decision-making, eager participation, dancing with fear, speaking with authority, working in teams, seeing the truth, speaking the truth, inspiring others, doing more than were asked, caring and being willing to change things. We underinvest in this training, fearful that these things are innate and cant be taught. Perhaps theyre talents. And so we downplay them, calling them soft skills, making it easy for us to move on to something seemingly more urgent.At scale, organizations pay less attention to soft skills when hiring because weve persuaded ourselves that vocational skills are impersonal and easier to measure. If its easier to test for, it seems more important when selecting our team.And we fire slowly (and retrain rarely) when these skills are missing, because were worried about stepping on toes, being called out for getting personal or possibly wasting time on a lost cause.But these skills can all be learned, as obvious skills like chess or typing can be learned. We learn them accidentally, by osmosis, by the collisions we have with teachers, parents, bosses and the world. Even though theyre more difficult to measure, that doesnt mean we cant improve them, cant practice them or cant change the way we do our work.Of course we can.Lets stop calling them soft. Theyre interpersonal skills. Leadership skills. The skills of charisma and diligence and contribution. But these modifiers, while accurate, somehow edge them away from the vocational skills, the skills that we actually hire for, the skills we measure a graduate degree on.So lets uncomfortably call them real skills instead.Real because they work, because theyre at the heart of what we need today.Real because even if youve got the vocational skills, youre no help to us without these human skills, the things that we cant write down or program a computer to do.Real skills cant replace vocational skills, of course. What they can do is amplify the things youve already been measuring.Imagine a team member with all the traditional vocational skills: productive, skilled, experienced. A resume that can prove it. Thats a fine baseline.Now add to it. Perceptive, charismatic, driven, focused, goal-setting, inspiring and motivated. Generous, empathic and consistent. A deep listener, with patience. What happens to your organization when someone like that joins your team?Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Lou Solomon reports that 69 percent of managers are uncomfortable communicating with their employees. Id guess that many of the other 31 percent are lying.Communicating with employees is uncomfortable because weve built systems of compliance and dominance that make it difficult. We ask people to leave their humanity at the door, then use authority to change behavior. We overlay corporate greed and short-term thinking with a human desire to create work that matters.How do we build people-centric organizations while also accepting the fact that two thirds of our managers (presumably well paid, well trained and integral to our success) are so uncomfortable doing an essential part of their job that they admitted it to a stranger?In a recent survey, the Graduate Management Admission Council reported that although MBAs were strong in analytical aptitude, quantitative expertise and information-gathering ability, they were sorely lacking in other critical areas that employers find equally attractive: strategic thinking, written and oral communication, leadership and adaptability. Are these mutually exclusive? Must we trade one for the other?The foundation of all real skills is this one: the confidence and permission to talk to one another. Not to manage, belittle, intimidate or control. Simply to seek to be understood and to do the work to understand.Excerpted from The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams by Seth Godin, in agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright Seth Godin 2023.Watch his TED Talk now:

Hosts Rebekah Shirley and Logan McClure Davda speak at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Across the final two sessions of TED Countdown Summit 2025, experts, changemakers and dreamers explored actionable solutions to fix todays problems, alleviate tomorrows and build aclean energy future. Here are some highlights from day 3:Doreen Orishaba speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Africas electric vehicle revolution is leapfrogging traditional fossil fuel transit. Electrical engineer Doreen Orishaba explores how electric bus company BasiGo is using innovative financing models and locally assembled buses to conquer Kigalis hills, limiting environmental impact and saving operators money. With 90 percent renewable energy powering these silent electric fleets, emerging companies like BasiGo show how Africa isnt playing catch-up in sustainable transportation its poised to lead the global revolution with every green kilometer. All of those electric vehicles will need rare earth minerals that have become increasingly important across the world, which is where mining innovator Mfikeyi Makayi comes in. At KoBold, Makayis team is building the mine of the future through radical new AI-aided technology that can model thousands of geological possibilities simultaneously, enabling safer, more sustainable mines that maximize resource recovery while minimizing environmental impact.Tasso Azevedo speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Data-driven mapping is transforming the fight against deforestation. Forester-turned-data detective Tasso Azevedo reveals how collaborative mapping initiative MapBiomas has stitched together 40 years of satellite images into near-real-time, courtroom-ready evidence turning Brazils once-invisible deforestation (and even secret jungle airstrips) into bright, undeniable pixels. By producing thousands of precise deforestation reports weekly, MapBiomas (with support from TEDs collaborative funding initiative The Audacious Project) has helped reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 54 percent and denied $1.5 billion in financing to properties with illegal clearing in the last two years. Now theyre expanding their scope. The goal: to map 70 percent of Earths tropical forests by 2030, turning the power of knowledge into protection for our planets lungs.Riddhima Yadav speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Advanced microbes, the potential of geothermal and how to finance it all. Microbe wrangler Karsten Temmes gene-edited soil microbes have reactivated nitrogen-fixing genes designed help farmers replace their synthetic fertilizer, opening up the potential to cut environmental harm while raising yields from Michigan to Kenya. Drawing on the spirit of turning legacy know-how into climate solutions, geothermal trailblazer Cindy Taff is redeploying oil-and-gas drilling tools to tap the energy stored in the deep, hot, dry rock that exists everywhere, creating 24/7 geothermal power and subsurface heat batteries without waiting for another century of R&D. Scaling living fertilizer factories and next-generation geothermal fields will take capital, which is why finance innovator Riddhima Yadav urges investors to drop purity tests and mobilize the extra $2.5 trillion a year the transition still lacks so ideas like Temmes and Taffs can move from promising pilots to the standards of global infrastructure.Melinda Janki speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Bold strategies to pay for and stop the damages of climate change. Economist Esther Duflo asks a blunt question: Why dont we tax the worlds richest people in order to pay for climate damages? She proposes a publicly funded redistribution system, financed by taxes on billionaires and large multinational companies, to pay for the costs of climate change on developing countries and provide direct cash transfers to the people affected. She says this grand bargain is within reach one where the rich world compensates the poor, sparking a cycle of global climate action. Climate justice litigator Melinda Janki approaches climate action from a different angle, using the power of law to protect nature and Indigenous communities. She describes how legal victories against ExxonMobil in her home country of Guyana have set powerful precedents that make drilling harder and costlier. Oil companies may seem invincible, she says, but they are legally vulnerable. With courage, persistence and the strategic use of law, people can fight back and win.Anshul Tewari speaks at Countdown Summit 2025. June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Callie Giovanna / TEDSystemic change in all forms, from empowering young people to tapping into ancient wisdom. For social entrepreneur Anshul Tewari, what began as a personal blog became a movement of change-making stories. He shares how Youth Ki Awaaz, a platform for Indian youth to write, share and speak out on social issues, harnesses the power of young voices. The platform has expanded into climate advocacy, proving that making impact can be a daily, accessible habit for young people everywhere. Ecological futurist Tariq Al-Olaimy also helps people rise to their best selves, but in a different way: by turning to spiritual wisdom. He explores how faith communities, often overlooked in the climate movement, offer powerful tools for navigating environmental collapse with moral courage, resilience and a spiritual compass.Akoth Jumadi & MR. LU* perform at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)

StocksyEver have your hard work including your successes go unnoticed by your manager? Fixable, TEDs new podcast, is here to do just that to fix the problems of everyday people who call in with their work woes.In episode four, cohosts and top leadership coaches Frances Frei and Anne Morriss got to know Naia, a caller who struggled with receiving recognition after a major reorganization paired her with a new and preoccupied boss. Naia was going above and beyond to do her job well, but the lack of acknowledgement and encouragement and even awareness of her work was causing her to lose motivation.Francess and Annes first piece of advice to Naia was simple: See the humanness of whats going on and of your manager.Sometimes the barrier to showing up as a great collaborator with your manager can be that theres still some residual frustration about the situation, Anne explained. But that emotion is not going to be useful to you.Instead, they encouraged Naia to recognize the humanity of her manager and forgive them for making mistakes.Frances and Anne also shared this strategy with her to practice: Choose curiosity over judgment.Heres how Frances put it: You have a choice between judgment and curiosity, because both cant exist at the same time. So if you have judgment about your manager, you cant really be curious about their situation. And when youre thinking of your manager as a person whos got a lot of part-time jobs, how do we set them up for success?The simplest expression of curiosity which is truly a magical elixir in a workplace is in the form of questions, said Anne. For example, you could start by asking your manager what process works best for them to learn about your accomplishments and contributions. Or, you could focus on how you can make your meetings with them more productive by asking them, How can our one-on-one time be of service to what were trying to achieve together?Another option: Be open about your concerns, and ask your manager what their vision of your success looks like. You could say something like, Heres my fear: Im working really hard, and in this state of flux, Im afraid that six months will go by and people are going to wonder whether or not I did a good job. So its just helpful for me to be clear what is a good job and how can I help in getting that data for you?Across industries and across the world, many people are going through workplace reorganizations and other sweeping changes. And like Naia, its normal to feel anxious and stressed by whats happening and to need to go through a readjustment period. Leading with questions and seeing your boss as another human youre collaborating with can help you gain back some agency and autonomy.Try doing what you can, and marvel at how the other person changes as a result, as opposed to coming up with the list of how you would like the other person to change, said Frances. I think youre going to be pleasantly surprised; thats the beautiful part of this.No matter your job or business, youll find actionable advice on Fixable that can improve your workdays. In other episodes, learn how to overcome communication roadblocks, scale up your side project and lead more productive meetings. Plus: Click here for a chance to get your own work question answered on the show! Listen to Fixable now wherever you get your podcasts.Watch Anne Morrisss TED Talk now:Watch Frances Freis TED Talk now:

News Learning Science with TED book series debuts at the Beijing International Book FairPosted by: TED Staff July 10, 2025at 3:02 pm EDTThe Learning Science with TED book series launched at the Beijing International Book Fair in June 2025.The first Chinese-language TED science video book series, Learning Science with TED, was officially launched last month at the 31st Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China. The series is a joint initiative by Science Press, New Channel International Education Group and TED. It features more than 100 high-impact topics curated from TEDs education initiative, TED-Ed. The complete collection will comprise 12 volumes sourced from TED-Eds widely viewed science animation library, covering 10 cutting-edge fields including artificial intelligence, mathematics, physics and astronomy.The series introduces a three-dimensional learning model that integrates reading, video, and practice, with content rigorously reviewed by Chinese scientists and primary- and secondary-school educators to ensure accuracy and authority. The series adopts the APPB learning approach (Activity-, Project- and Problem-Based Inquiry Learning), with each volume including guiding questions, core science text, thinking exercises and animated extensions, all designed to spark curiosity and encourage active exploration.Bilingual support includes an English-Chinese glossary of scientific terms and QR codes linking to related animations, promoting cross-cultural scientific literacy. Each volume also features special sections such as knowledge boost, scientific milestones and scientists who changed the world, connecting science with historical and humanistic context. Complementary online courses and challenge-based activities are also in development, extending the series impact into both classrooms and homes.Celebrating the launch of Learning Science with TED at the Beijing International Book Fair.The launch event was attended by Hu Huaqiang, chairman and general manager of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. (Science Press); Professor Hu Min, chairman of New Channel International Education Group and editor-in-chief of the series; Tricia Maia, head of product at TED; and Dr. Zhang Wensheng, researcher at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The event was hosted by Zhang Fan, deputy general manager of China Science Press, and brought together young readers as well as professionals from the publishing and education sectors.Hu Huaqiang, chairman and general manager of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. (Science Press), giving remarks at the event.Chairman Hu Huaqiang stated that the joint launch of the Learning Science with TED series by Science Press, in collaboration with TED and New Channel International Education Group, represents a valuable cross-sector partnership between science and education. This initiative is another step in fulfilling the publishers mission to spread science and create the future. Moving forward, Science Press will build on its interactive science education platform, leveraging its brand, expertise and content to integrate leading research resources, provide comprehensive solutions and advance regional science education and related industries.Professor Hu Min, chairman of New Channel International Education Group and editor-in-chief of the series, giving a presentation at the event.Professor Hu Min, editor-in-chief of the series, introduced New Channels pioneering Global Competence Model, rooted in Chinese culture and oriented toward a global perspective. Built on six core pillars, the model integrates the STREAM framework science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and mathematics to cultivate innovative talent that blends scientific thinking with humanistic values. He also presented the APPB learning method, which underpins the series. By engaging students in activities, projects and problem-solving, APPB promotes real-world application and a deeper understanding of the material.Tricia Maia, head of product at TED, giving remarks at the event.Tricia Maia, head of product at TED, highlighted how TED-Eds animated videos combine storytelling, scientific rigor and visual appeal to help audiences grasp complex concepts. Transforming these widely popular videos into a structured book series aligned with the APPB learning method offers a powerful way to inspire Chinese youth to enhance their scientific literacy and global competence. The initiative represents an extension of TEDs mission to share ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change.Dr. Zhang Wensheng, researcher at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, giving a presentation at the event.Dr. Wensheng Zhang, researcher at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a presentation titled Artificial Intelligence in the Era of Big Data, highlighting how big data is transforming human life, reshaping the way we understand the world and becoming a driving force behind technological innovation.The first six volumes of Learning Science with TED are officially released across mainland China, available now through major distribution channels and e-commerce platforms. TED, New Channel and Science Press will continue to strengthen their collaboration, ensuring that cutting-edge global scientific thinking resonates with Chinese youth and fuels the development of innovative, globally competitive talent.

Debora SzpilmanWhat separates the very best in the world from the remaining 7 billion of us? Exceptional talent often looks like an act of revolution a person doing something in a way no one has ever done it before but many revolutionary talents are actually built on a foundation of evolutionary tweaks. These tweaks develop over time, often compensating for weaknesses and anxieties that might derail a lesser talent.For all his brilliance, though, Messi is famously anxious. For several years, he habitually vomited on the field before big matches.Take the worlds best soccer player, an Argentinean named Lionel Messi. Messi has won more Ballon dOr trophies, awarded to the best soccer player of the year, than any other player. He has scored more goals in a calendar year than any other living player, is the top all-time scorer in Spains La Liga, and has the highest goal ratio in the sport today, scoring almost once every match.For all his brilliance, though, hes famously anxious. For several years, Messi habitually vomited on the field before big matches. After a string of disappointing national-team losses, another former Argentinean giant of the game, the late Diego Maradona, uncharitably criticized Messi by suggesting that it was useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet twenty times before a game.Being incredibly talented doesnt immunize you against anxiety, and many of the worlds best grapple with anxiety precisely because they expect so much from themselves. But Messi hasnt allowed his anxiety to diminish his brilliance because hes mastered a coping mechanism that also doubles as the secret behind his tactical brilliance.Messi does two things during these first few minutes. First, he calms himself. Second, he scopes out the opposition.A soccer match runs for 90 minutes (plus a few minutes for injury time), and most players are active in the game from the first minute. As soon as the whistle blows, they implore their teammates to pass the ball and pursue the tactics their coaches laid out before the game.But Messi is famous for not playing the game during its opening minutes. This is his evolutionary tweak, which developed as he played the game at progressively higher levels. For the opening minutes, Messi ambles back and forth near the middle of the field and almost never engages with his teammates. Whereas other players run and sometimes sprint, Messi spends much of his time walking, rarely breaking into more than a slow jog.Messi does two things during these first few minutes. First, he calms himself. Easing into the game is Messis way of ensuring hes fully engaged for the remainder of the game. His on-field vomiting has resolved itself, in part perhaps because hes found a more effective way to calm his nerves. Second, he spends this time scoping out the opposition. His legs move slowly, but his eyes dart from player to player, assessing his opponents strengths, weaknesses, and tactics, and monitoring his own teams movement with and around the ball. Messi is less valuable to his team early in the game, but this tactical pause elevates his value for the remaining 95 percent of the game.If you split soccer game play into preparatory and engaged components, Messi leans heavily on preparation. During one classic game between Messis Barcelona and archrivals Real Madrid, in 2017, Messi ran for just four minutes and walked for more than eighty of the games ninety minutes. When he was engaged, though, he was dynamic, creating nine chances, scoring one goal, and feeding the ball to a teammate who scored another goal.As you might imagine, pausing is harder than it sounds. In the face of silence and anxiety, our instinct is to act.That pattern isnt unusual for Messi, and its often in the biggest games that he accentuates his in-game preparation. That preparation also explains his ability to find himself in the right place at the right time, over and over. Though his positional play appears otherworldly, it isnt a miracle; its that hes learned, minute by minute, that a particular defender leaves a particular square of pitch uncovered or that two midfielders leave a small corner of the pitch open when they gravitate to the middle of the field.The lesson for the rest of us is clear: When youre anxious, whether in athletics or in life more broadly, pause. Slow down. Prepare.As you might imagine, pausing is harder than it sounds. In the face of silence and anxiety, our instinct is to act. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has spent much of his career thinking about how to do nothing.About fifteen years ago, Brewer developed a mindfulness-based treatment for addiction.His approach instructs addicts to resist the waves of anxiety during moments of craving by following the four steps of an approach that goes by the acronym RAIN:Recognize what is arising.Allow it to be there.Investigate your emotions and thoughts (e.g., What is happening in my body now?)Note what is happening from moment to moment.Brewer has said that his approach was inspired by clinical psychologist Tara Brachs. To test the approach, Brewer worked with smokers who were struggling to quit. Nicotine addiction is notoriously stubborn more so than many harder drugs that produce stronger immediate responses in users.Before unleashing the program on smokers, Brewer wanted to test the system on himself. The problem was I was a nonsmoker, Brewer wrote, who needed to be able to relate to patients who felt as though their heads were going to explode unless they smoked.Nicotine has a half-life of around two hours, so to begin, smokers need to resist the urge to light up for two hours at a time. Brewer reasoned that smokers who could last two hours without a cigarette would cultivate new nonsmoking habits, extending those stretches till they no longer felt the urge to smoke at all.He simulated these periods of resistance by learning to meditate for two-hour stretches without moving. During moments of restlessness, he followed the RAIN steps recognize, allow, investigate, note and if he moved his body, the clock would reset, and hed have to start again.This might sound easy, but two hours is a long time to sit still without entertainment. Surprisingly it wasnt the physical pain of not shifting for a long time that got me, Brewer wrote. It was the restlessness Those cravings shouted, Get up! Months later, when most of the patients on other treatment plans had relapsed, his mindfulness group stayed clean.For many months, Brewer would get close, then restlessness would defeat him. Then one day, he wrote, I did it. I sat for the full two hours Each subsequent sit got easier and easier because I had the confidence that it could be done. And I knew that my patients could quit smoking. They simply needed the proper tools.Brewer was right. His patients had been stuck, incapable of quitting one of the most addictive substances on earth. But when he ran study after study, pitting his RAIN mindfulness method against the most effective addiction treatment approaches of the day, his approach was more than twice as effective.Months later, when most of the patients on other treatment plans had relapsed, his mindfulness group stayed clean. They were more than five times as likely to have shaken their addictions using an approach that essentially taught them to pause at the moment their bodies were most urgently driving them to act.Of the four steps in Brewers RAIN approach, the second allowing is perhaps the most critical. Allowing an experience to wash over you sounds disarmingly easy because it doesnt require you to do anything. But thats exactly the point. Its difficult because youre forced to do nothing despite the urge to act.For all the benefits of pausing and preparing, though, sometimes the main event doesnt go to plan. Messi has lost countless matches, and not all of Brewers nicotine addicts stayed quit weeks or months after his experiments ended. Mastering the anxiety and discomfort that follow these failures is essential, and its one of the major differences between people who achieve breakthroughs and those who stay mired indefinitely.Excerpted from the new book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Mostby Adam Alter. Copyright 2023 by Adam Alter. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster Inc.Watch his TED Talk now:

Countdown Summit TED Countdown Summit 2025 in photosPosted by: TED Staff July 22, 2025at 10:05 am EDTLast month, more than 600 attendees from 69 countries gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for Countdowns first Summit in the Global South, a region at the forefront of climate innovation. The Summit brought together a visionary group of global innovators, business executives, scientists, policymakers, next-generation leaders, artists, activists all united in their commitment to building a brighter future. Below, enjoy a selection of photos from the Summit. And check out TED Talks from the event, plus follow Countdown on Instagram and LinkedIn for updates.TED Countdown Summit 2025 Photo Team: Callie Giovanna, Humphrey Gateri and Elizabeth ZeeuwTED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Turkana Sessions performs at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Al Gore speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Isabella Tree speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)Yi Li speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)Akoth and MR. LU* perform at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED)James Mnyupe speaks at TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)TED Countdown Summit 2025, June 16 18, 2025, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Humphrey Gateri / TED)

Maria Petrishina / iStockWhat does leadership look like?While there are various approaches to leading a team, many of us land on common questions in the search for an effective leadership style: How can I be there for my team? Do I need to command respect, or earn it? And the most crucial question of all: How can I make sure that my team trusts me?Cady Coleman has been confronting these questions throughout her career as a chemist, engineer, Air Force colonel and astronaut. In conversation with TED science curator David Biello, Coleman shared three strategies to establish and maintain trust in a leader. Whatever your career is, these tips can help you to prepare your team to face any challenge you come across in outer space or here on Earth.People often say, Theres no I in team But maybe there should be.1. Be brave enough to get to know your team members as individualsPeople often say, Theres no I in team But maybe there should be, says Coleman. Every member of your team is a whole person, and since so many of the problems we face at work are interdisciplinary, understanding who each individual is beyond the 9-to-5 is valuable. Being vulnerable enough to get to know your team this way is an essential skill for any leader.When you are able to say, I think your world is different from mine, and Id like to understand more about it, youre not just building trust; youre opening a communication channel that teaches you more about your teammates qualities, says Coleman. This type of conversation requires the willingness and bravery to be vulnerable. Once you know what everyone brings to the table, you can foster the growth of qualities that can lead the team to collective success.For example, as Coleman prepared for life on the space station, her advisors warned that the long periods of time away from family might be too much to handle. For her, however, this wasnt a problem she had been commuting and working away from her family for more than a decade. After sharing her experience, her colleagues realized shed not only be adaptable to life on the space station, but also she could help others cope with the change, too.2. Create a culture thats open to everyones ideasWhile leaders have to guide their teams, its equally important to let everyone know that they can advocate for themselves and bring their own ideas to the table.Coleman benefitted from such leadership at NASA when she was training to go to the space station. In the face of budget cuts, NASA announced that theyd be eliminating their smaller space suits, meaning that if someone wasnt qualified to use a larger space suit, they couldnt go to the space station. This presented a choice for Coleman: wait for NASA to acquire suits that fit her or figure out how she could train in the larger suits. By working with NASAs decision makers, Coleman was able to shift her training to use the bigger suits. Had she not felt the freedom to speak up, she says, she would have been waiting 10 years to go to the space station in a small suit.When you make trust-building a central goal, the rest falls into place more easily.3. Make trust your missionSometimes establishing trust in the workplace can be more difficult than you expect, but when you make trust-building a central goal, the rest falls into place more easily. Workplace dynamics are always changing maybe a teammates work/life priorities have shifted, or a big mistake requires you all to work together under new pressures. These challenges make fostering trust tricky, but they are also moments of opportunity.If a new challenge has arisen or trust has been breached, Coleman reminds us to always figure out the why and the what. Make sure to ask: why has this happened, why do they feel this way, and what can be done about it? Be open to different points of view, and dont give up if you dont get through at first. Connection is often in the smaller things you do; talk about food or music, write a note to compliment an idea and ask to hear more. This level of connection and vulnerability may not seem intuitive at first, but as you make trust a core part of your mission, it becomes easy.Trust, Coleman reminds us, is both given and earned. As a woman, she knew gaining the trust of some male colleagues might be extra challenging. Her approach was simple: she performed well and, with patience and persistence, learned her colleagues language and taught them hers. The challenges in gaining trust will always be there, but if you model vulnerability, openness and understanding for your team, youll find the rewards will always be there, too.This post was adapted from a recent LinkedIn Live conversation with Cady Coleman, former NASA Astronaut and author of the forthcoming book, Sharing Space: An Astronauts Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change, due out July 2024.Watch the full LinkedIn conversation here:A message from our partner the United States Air Force: The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win airpower anytime, anywhere. Whether full-time, part-time, in or out of uniform, everyone who serves plays a critical role in helping us achieve mission success.

News TEDSports The stage is set for the inaugural TEDSports conference, where leadership meets playPosted by: TED Staff August 18, 2025at 10:00 am EDTThe worlds first TEDSports conference is set to transform Indianapolis into a global laboratory for sports innovation this September 9-11, 2025. As we prepare to welcome athletes, tech entrepreneurs and thought leaders from around the world, were stepping into the TED world of what a conference can be not just a series of talks, but a curiosity-fueled experience, pushing boundaries and forging lasting connections.Secure your spot now and be a part of history at the first-ever TEDSports.Here are some highlights of whats to come:Explore unseen opportunities in sportsTEDSports will redefine our understanding of the sporting ecosystem, bringing together visionary leaders who are not just talking about the future but actively shaping it.Take Linda Rheinstein, whos using her background at NASA to dream up an audacious vision of sports in space for future Astroletes. Theres alsoPaul Triple H Levesque WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time World Champion and now chief content officer who will pull back the curtain on WWEs powerful storytelling machine, exploring the psychology of performance and the universal power of heroes, villains and redemption arcs that captivate more than a billion fans globally.Joining them is game-changing athletic director Warren Keller, whorevolutionized sports at Gallaudet University, from integrating 5G helmet technology for deaf football athletes to fostering an environment where every individual can unleash their potential.We will also hear the incredible journeys of Cindy Ngamba, who rose from detention camps to Olympic glory as the first individual to win a medal as part of the International Olympic Committees refugee team, and Sam Ramsamy, who bravely fought apartheid through sport. These individuals serve as powerful testaments to the transformative power of sport.Beyond spectating: How to succeed under pressureAt TEDSports, learning isnt passive its powerful, hands-on and unforgettable. Through immersive experiences like themed dinners, workshops with sporting legends and hands-on activities, attendees dont just listen they lead.An example: An immersive talk on teamwork, seen through the lens of a high-octane pit stop challenge with Arrow McLaren, featuring legendary driver Tony Kanaan at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In this test of speed, teamwork and precision, youll learn (and perform) with an actual pit crew to understand what it takes to lead under pressure because in racing and in life, a split-second misstep can make all the difference.Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo: Penske Entertainment)Ready to kick things up a notch? At TEDSports, the Performing Under Pressure Discovery Session takes you to the legendary Lucas Oil Stadium for a once-in-a-lifetime field goal challenge, coached by Super Bowl champ Stephen Hauschka. On the same turf where NFL history is made, youll test your nerves, focus and follow-through. Whether youre a rookie or a vet, this is leadership under pressure, with the game on the line and the stadium lights on you.Interested in learning from a GOAT? Sign up for a workshop with Kerri Walsh-Jennings, who will share her secrets of preparation and recovery that resulted in three Olympic Gold Medals, a win streak of 112 consecutive matches and being one half of the greatest beach volleyball team of all time.These immersive challenges are designed to provide practical insights, foster teamwork and equip participants with the resilience and collaborative spirit needed to thrive in any dynamic environment.Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (Photo: Indy Arts Council)Indianapolis: More than just a venueIndianapolis is the perfect backdrop for TEDSports, as it embodies how a city can build a sports ecosystem and evolve through an intentional sports strategy. Its home to the Indianapolis 500, the NCAA headquarters, the Colts, Pacers and Fever, USA Track & Field, USA Gymnastics and USA Football and a fast-growing sports tech scene. The city is supported by world-class research and academic offerings with Indiana University, Purdue University and the American College of Sports Medicine. This Midwestern hub has completely transformed itself into the epicenter of sports, anchored by the best midsize airport in North America for 12 consecutive years.And the timing couldnt be better. The US is entering an unprecedented era of global sports prominence, with the FIFA World Cup 2026 just around the corner and the LA2028 Olympics on the horizon. Indianapolis represents the heartland of this sporting renaissance its accessible yet ambitious, traditional yet incredibly innovative.Indianapoliss compact downtown also ensures attendees can walk between all event venues, creating a massive sports-village-like experience where every moment helps you make connections and sparks bold new ideas.Downtown Indianapolis (Photo: Jesse Faatz)The team behind the visionCo-chairs and founders of TEDSports Indianapolis, Patrick Talty (left) and Neelay Bhatt (right) (Photo: TEDSports Indianapolis)Behind every groundbreaking event is a dedicated team. For TEDSports Indianapolis, that vision is championed by co-chairs Neelay Bhatt and Patrick Talty, along with a team of pioneers across every sector that make up the local organizing committee. This collaborative philosophy is part of Indys DNA and has been at the heart of our approach to TEDSports from day one, said Talty.The team has curated global viewpoints to craft an experience that one can get only at TED and only in Indianapolis, Bhatt adds.Indianapolis isnt just hosting TEDSports; its living it.To immerse yourself in three days of the most awe-inspiring experiences and ideas in sports, join us from September 9-11, 2025.Secure your spots now and be a part of history at the first-ever TEDSports.

MINIWIDE / iStockGood news: You can be a generous person without writing a bunch of checks. In fact, many of the most awe-inspiring and effective examples of generosity are gifts of time and energy, talent and love, custom-fitted to a specific need. This type of giving is open to everyone.Many of the most awe-inspiring and effective examples of generosity are gifts of time and energy, talent and love, custom-fitted to a specific need.Not sure where to begin? Here are six gifts of time and attention that have the strong potential to spark ripple effects that affect millions, from head of TED Chris Andersons new book, Infectious Generosity. 1. Shift attentionZen master Thich Nhat Hanh taught that attention is the most precious gift we can give someone. This is where generosity starts with a willingness to stop focusing on ourselves and to instead pay attention to someone else and their needs. From that act of connection, anything can happen.Truth is, it can be difficult. We spend much of our time lost in our own worlds. We are often reluctant to focus on the issues that others are dealing with. So we put up shields. And that means that many of the people who could really use our attention never feel seen by us. The generosity of attention is therefore the generosity of being willing to be a little uncomfortable, to take down those shields, to give up some time, to risk coming to care about someone else.Whether you stop and have a meaningful connection with a person in need or spend 30 minutes researching a cause you think might matter, you have already begun your generosity journey. 2. Build bridgesIn our connected era, theres a type of generosity that matters more than ever: a willingness to reach out to those with whom we disagree with. Many disputes today play out in public online. Huge audiences can become glued to online feuds. What if we could bring a satisfying resolution to more of these conflicts?Its hard to reach out to our critics. This is a particularly challenging form of the generosity mindset. You are sacrificing your personal comfort for the greater good of bringing people together. But if youre successful, theres a powerful knock-on benefit: You are helping change the tone of public discussion today. Thats a gift to all of us.The single greatest gift we can give is knowledge knowledge that solves a problem, fills a need or opens a pathway forward.3. Share knowledgeIn countless circumstances, the single greatest gift we can give is knowledge knowledge that solves a problem, fills a need or opens a pathway forward.Our single biggest piece of advice to someone coming to speak on the TED stage is to think of their talk not as an opportunity to pitch something (like a business or a cause) but rather as a gift. It is a chance to freely share valuable ideas with the audience. And those ideas have the potential to impact a listeners life for years to come.If you possess knowledge that others may benefit from, consider how you could share it to create ripple effects. What may take you a few hours to prepare and act on could light up someones life and that could just be the beginning.4. Enable connectionsIn our connected age, the networks we have access to matter more than ever. Therefore, one of the most important forms of viral generosity is to help people connect with others. The simplest way to do this is to make an introduction.As psychologist and TED speaker Adam Grant has argued, an introduction can be fairly easy to give and unbelievably valuable to receive. Ask many people how they met their partner, got their dream job or found the perfect collaborator for their creative project, and the answer will often be the same: someone a friend, a neighbor, a colleague introduced them to the right person. What youre effectively doing is giving someone else access to your network of resources. And those introductions can have exponential consequences.5. Extend hospitalityIn his remarkable book Human Universals, anthropologist Donald Brown documented how hospitality is one of hundreds of human behaviors that have been observed in every single culture ever studied. But if hospitality is so ubiquitous (and so pleasant), is it really a form of generosity? Well, yes. Quite apart from any costs involved, it takes effort to invite someone over, whether friends or possible future friends. Its easier just to watch the next episode of the TV series youre into. So how can hospitality contribute to infectious generosity? Hospitality taps into our deepest instincts for connection to one another. And each experience of it evokes a desire to reciprocate.People need money, food, shelter and healthcare, to be sure. But we also yearn for beauty, wonder, laughter, transcendence all elements of enchantment. 6. Create enchantmentPioneering artist Lily Yeh was approached by the dancer and choreographer Arthur L. Hall to undertake a community art project in a derelict, abandoned plot in her home city of Philadelphia. I was interested but totally scared, Yeh recalled. I had little resources and no experience in working outdoors in a community setting. I wanted to run away, but I did not want to see a coward in the mirror. So I stepped into the project.The community project became the Village of Arts and Humanities, an art park full of trees, sculptures and mosaics created by local adults and children in collaboration with Yeh. Yehs work led her to a profound realization: that creating beauty in public spaces is profoundly healing and transformative for communities.People need money, food, shelter and healthcare, to be sure. But we also yearn for beauty, wonder, laughter, transcendence all elements of enchantment. Those who can enchant can offer a gift of immense value.Excerpted from Infectious Generosity by Chris Anderson, in agreement with The Crown Publishing Group. Copyright 2024 by Chris Anderson. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.