TED Talks Daily

What happens when the design of everyday things misses the mark? People fill in the blanks. Designer Kate Canales has spent more than 20 years photographing the handmade, improvised signs that appear when the original falls short. From perplexing bathroom directions to our struggles with doors and point-of-sale machines, her photos capture something technology can't replace: our instinct to look out for each other and leave a few instructions behind.

If you've got a photo you've taken of a makeshift sign like the ones Kate discusses in her talk, she'd would love to see it! Please visit www.thereifixedit.design to learn more.
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Andy Weir is the bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary. He’s known for weaving deep, carefully researched science into his novels, building intricate sci-fi worlds that have captivated millions of readers. But here’s a plot twist: Andy doesn’t actually love the act of writing itself – so how does he motivate himself to do it anyway? Adam talks with Andy about the creative process, the skills involved in discarding bad ideas, finding joy in worldbuilding and research, and why you should never be writing with a sequel in mind.

This episode originally aired on ReThinking in 2023.
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A hand-built camera with suction cups captured something no one had ever seen: two sperm whales communicating and swimming together in the deep ocean. Engineer Eric Stackpole shares the story of how a scrappy, DIY tool revealed this intimate glimpse into the lives of these giants — and makes the case that the only limit to what we can discover is what we're curious enough to explore.
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Shonda Rhimes, the titan behind Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, is responsible for some 70 hours of television per season, and she loves to work. "When I am hard at work, when I am deep in it, there is no other feeling," she says. She has a name for this feeling: The hum. The hum is a drug, the hum is music, the hum is God's whisper in her ear. But what happens when it stops? Is she anything besides the hum? In this moving talk, join Rhimes on a journey through her "year of yes" and find out how she got her hum back.
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Everyone experiences loss, but how do you cope with the tough moments that follow? Resilience researcher Lucy Hone shares three hard-won strategies for developing the capacity to brave adversity, overcome struggle and face whatever may come head-on with fortitude and grace.
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