TEDTalks | Soaring through the ocean, walking the Earth

Here's another edition of TEDTalks newsletter. Enjoy!

Recently on TED.com: Graham Hawkes flies through the ocean, John Francis walks the Earth, and Tim Brown shoots a few playful ideas around. James Surowiecki talks about social media and the news, and biologist Luca Turin explains how we smell what we smell.    Graham Hawkes: Fly the seas on a submarine with wings Graham Hawkes takes us aboard his graceful, winged submarines to the depths of planet Ocean (a.k.a. "Earth"). It's a deep blue world we landlubbers rarely see in 3D. Watch this talk >>     John Francis: I walk the Earth For almost three decades, John Francis has been a planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of environmental respect and responsibility (for 17 of those years without speaking). A funny, thoughtful talk with occasional banjo. Watch this talk >>   Tim Brown: The powerful link between creativity and play At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't). Watch this talk >>     James Surowiecki: The moment when social media became the news James Surowiecki pinpoints the moment when social media became an equal player in the world of news-gathering: the 2005 tsunami, when YouTube video, blogs, IMs and txts carried the news -- and preserved moving personal stories from the tragedy. Watch this talk >>   Luca Turin: The science of scent What's the science behind a sublime perfume? With charm and precision, biophysicist Luca Turin explains the molecular makeup -- and the art -- of a scent. Watch this talk >>       COMING UP THIS WEEK Samantha Power tells the story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello -- a UN diplomat who walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world's worst dictators and abusers of power. It's a powerful, tragic story, told with a fiery passion. And Charles Elachi from NASA's JPL talks about the Mars Explorer, in a talk from Serious Play 2008. Plus much more!   JOIN THE CONVERSATION Become a free member of TED.com to join the discussion on our hundreds of Talks and Themes. We're discussing Tim Brown's talk on the link between creative thinking and play: Tj Green says: Life is more about war than play. DNA copying errors and survival strategies are extremely creative, if you do not mind the collateral damage. We are far more creative when we are interacting with each other, and our environment, so play makes a lot of sense. Patrick Andrews adds: Playfulness seems like a recipe for mental health, as well as a technique for creativity. I'm starting to think that some kind of bifurcation is occurring between the people who can sustain playful behaviour all their lives (at least some of the time) and those in whom it gets stifled early. And in this post-US-election week, we're passionately discussing Jonathan Haidt's talk on the difference between liberals and conservatives: Donovan Chandler writes: It sounds like a lot of conservative-leaning people have felt insulted by this video. Please note, before feeling slighted, that Jonathan is asking a predominantly liberal audience to consider the validity and necessity of conservative values. As Jonathan is saying, we really do need to find some way to "step outside of the matrix" and rise above the bickering that's so easy to fall into. Thomas Fisher suggests: I believe the Libertarian would rate high in the Harm/Safe, Fairness, AND Purity moral elements. But not so much the In-Group or Authoritarian. "Purity" of the individual as expressed in personal virtue and sound judgment. That's also why Libertarianism doesn't work. People aren't individually pure and wise when they're alone; they're sneaky and often greedy. Join these conversations and more than 300 others by joining TED.com -- it's free!   TEDTalks are brought to you with the support of: and   You're receiving this weekly newsletter from TED because you subscribed to it from our website, TED.com. To unsubscribe, follow the link below. For all other comments, email us at contact@ted.com.