TED is evil!
It makes me want to watch lots of super awesome random scientific lectures and become smarter! I should be doing work, but this is what I'm doing instead :dies: I am such a nerd!
If you have 45 minutes to "waste", I would recommend you to watch these two videos and let you brain munch on the thought-invoking information presented. I really admire scientists that can present potentially difficult topics in such a clear and concise manner, so that everyone can understand and appreciate what they're proposing. *.*
The first video is on Sex, Drugs, and HIV. Of course. :D But the presenter is hilarious and really down to earth! She makes a really good point, without presenting any new, ground breaking information. I liked it a lot also because it made me realize that all throughout public health (and other fields, I'm sure now), knowledge does not solve all problems. It's a start, but you have to go further. In what direction is the problem: people obviously have different ideas and often, they have very rational reasons (something she addresses in the lecture) to have them. How to reconciliate these? That's the perpetual barrier, it seems.
The second video is about science and morality. It's amazing. I'm not sure how I feel about it all, but I think he makes absolute sense. And that kind of feeling is relevant to the talk. Just watch!