Wednesday Wisdom Series Features TED Talks

Tomorrow is the second of our Wednesday Wisdom programs where we will be showing some "jaw-dropping" TED Talks.

TED, which stands for "Technology, Entertainment and Design," is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. The annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).

On TED.com, they make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. Each month, the library selects three or four of these talks that total about an hour. We try to offer one talk from each of the TED themes - technology, entertainment and design - or talks that we think would be of interest to our Wednesday Wisdom audience.

Tomorrow the four talks are:

Julian Treasure: 5 Ways to Listen Better - In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, "We are losing our listening." In this short, fascinating talk, Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening -- to other people and the world around you. (TEDGlobal2011 – July 2011 – 7:50)

Thandie Newton: Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself - Actor Thandie Newton tells the story of finding her "otherness" -- first, as a child growing up in two distinct cultures, and then as an actor playing with many different selves. A warm, wise talk, fresh from stage at TEDGlobal 2011. (TEDGlobal2011 – July 2011 – 13:56)

Anna Deavere Smith: Four American Characters - Writer and actor Anna Deavere Smith gives life to author Studs Terkel, convict Paulette Jenkins, a Korean shopkeeper and a bull rider, excerpts from her solo show "On the Road: A Search for American Character." (TED2005 – Feb 2005 - 23:08)

Robert Hammond: Building a Park in the Sky - New York was planning to tear down the High Line, an abandoned elevated railroad in Manhattan, when Robert Hammond and a few friends suggested: Why not make it a park? He shares how it happened in this tale of local cultural activism. (TED2011 – March 2011 – 5:41)

Please join us to view these fascinating discussions and presentations on the large screen in the library.