Margaret Wertheim: The beautiful math of coral (and crochet)

http://www.ted.com Science writer Margaret Wertheim re-creates the creatures of the coral reefs using a technique invented by a mathematician -- simultaneously celebrating the amazements of the reef, and deep-diving into the hyperbolic underpinnings of coral creation.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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  Science & Technology

[KDIZ930]

i really thought i wasn't going to like this talk due to the title. i enjoyed being proven wrong.

[liquidminds]

there is no evidence for or against god. therefor YOU want to believe in god, and he just doesn't care.

There is not more evidence for christian god than there is for the flying spagetti monster.

therefor: may the flying spagettimonster bless you

[samala51]

Wonderful talk

[mozart5474]

she just keeps going on and on and on...surely one of the most boring TED Talks i have seen so far..the thematic might even be interesting but she is weak in her presentation

[pqrd3]

Did you listen to it all? She actually studied as a mathematician, and found this really cool representation of an abstract concept.

[Matt Lily]

sorry lady, crocheting doesn't make you a mathematician any more than it makes me a woman. "domestic feminine art," my ass.

[geneerinen]

Feminism > mathematics.

[SEThatered]

Why did she has to put so much emphasis on the "woman job"?

I mean we all know some drunken studs that go:

"I made a shelf, it's a MAN's job, a MANLY MAN job"

It doesn't sound good, does it?

[Weldon Sirloin]

womyn power

[TravelBeam]

Her talk and logic is brilliant. Of course, the Flat Earth Society SCIENTISTS naturally will sling names at her. They hate to have their bubbles burst.

[Emma Downs]

It is interesting how all arguments always somehow end up in the direction of religion. I don't see why people care one way or another. The universe is a big place. Anything is possible because the universe is a big place. There are planets out there unexplored, dimensions unseen. There are technologies yet to be discovered. Rather than argue about belief people should be having a productive conversation about the universe. Same could be said about all other videos where the argument appears.

[squeevey]

I most certainly enjoy the topic of the discussion. I love seeing when people relate mathematics to our everyday world. What I did not appreciate was her feminist slant of this. I looked past those subtle jabs and appreciated the divisive gap between creatives & analyticals or emotionals & rationals. There will always be those of us who want to know how/why and there will also be those who wish to feel and "be".