TED 2 – serie

Dr Brian Little challenges what we think we know about how our personality works and is shaped. It's time to think beyond the nature vs. nurture debate. It is our pursuit of our dreams and our personal passions that shape who we are. Previous praise for Dr Brian Little: 'Brian Little is one of the wisest, funniest, kindest, and most erudite people I have ever met' Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet 'With extraordinary wit and wisdom, distinguished psychologist Brian Little offers startling insights' Adam Grant, bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals Who Are You, Really? presents a distinctive view of how personality shapes our lives – and why this matters. Dr Brian Little makes the case for a third nature to the human condition – the pursuit of personal projects, crazy dreams and creative ventures that shape both people’s lives and their personalities. Stable traits of personality (now identified as the 'Big Five': openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism) have important links with well-being, both psychological and physical. But in contrast with these fixed traits of personality there are what Little identifies as 'free traits.' These are traits that run counter to one’s first nature. Why do we engage in free trait behaviour? We do so to advance core personal projects in our lives; we can act out of character because of the demands of professionalism or the imperatives of love.Like learning to walk, forcing ourselves out of balance as we step forward may be temporarily disconcerting. But it is the only way, literally, in which we can move forward. And it is the only way that human flourishing can be enhanced.Who Are You, Really? provides a deeply personal itinerary for exploring our personalities, our lives and the human condition.

Government, war, the economy, human identity, philosophy and the way we work. All of these, among others, are soon to be transformed. As technological advancements usher in a time where each and every human being on the planet will be connected by more than 50 billion manmade devices, our global society is going through a major and rapid change.CEO and editor of the FP Group (who publish Foreign Policy Magazine) David J. Rothkopf is a revered and cutting-edge commentator on global trends; the writer of a weekly column for his magazine, and the author of numerous widely-acclaimed titles.In this newest work, released on the back of his highly successful TED talk, Rothkopf aims to delve beneath these changes, and explore not only the ideas that will help usher in this new era, but also the people behind them. Like Da Vinci and Jefferson, Darwin and Marx, there are thinkers working now who, over time, will be viewed as massively influential in this era of upheaval.But who are they? And what are their stories? What unlikely places do they come from? Rothkopf is determined to uncover those on the cusp of scientific research, giving never-before-heard, world-changing ideas their debut platform.These are the debates that are happening right now, those that are poised to produce incredible breakthroughs in the coming years, but are yet to be publicly revealed. And with a wide-range of areas covered, including education, health and money, there is sure to be something compelling and relevant for everyone.

Dr Carrie Nugent is an asteroid hunter - one of the select group of scientists working diligently to map our cosmic neighbourhood. For the first time ever we are reaching the point where we may be able to prevent a natural disaster resulting from an asteroid collision. Nugent will delve into the impact asteroids have had in the past: the extinction of the dinosaurs, the earth-sized hole Shoemaker-Levy 9 left in Jupiter just a few years ago, how the surprise hit on Chelyabinsk in Russia could have started a war and unlucky Ms Anne Hodges - the only person (that we know of) in modern history to be the victim of a direct hit.Nugent will also reveal the cutting-edge work that she is part of - using NASA's NEOWISE telescope to track down near-Earth asteroids. NEOWISE has seen over 158,000 asteroids and discovered over 30,000. We will also get a rare glimpse into the work of this band of asteroid hunters and their techniques. Asteroid orbits are chaotic which means a small early change has a big impact later on. The successful hunt and mapping of asteroids could mean nothing less than saving life on Earth.

What can long-dead dinosaurs teach us about our future? Plenty, according to world-renowned paleontologist and recent star of BBC show The Day the Dinosaurs Died Dr Kenneth Lacovara, who has discovered some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus. 'Majestic, awe-inspiring and deeply humbling. Kenneth Lacovara reveals how dinosaurs have changed how we understand time, the world and ourselves' DR ALICE ROBERTS, anatomist and anthropologist, television presenter, author and professor ‘This is a dinosaur book with a difference. In lyrical prose Kenneth Lacovara shows how an understanding of the past helps to understand the present. The dinosaurs played no role in the great extinction that ended their era: we, on the other hand, are playing a major part in the extinction that is taking place today. And unless we change our ways, if we continue destroying the natural world, this will lead inevitably to our own extinction. But unlike the dinosaurs we have the power to turn things around.’ DR JANE GOODALL, DBE, conservationist, founder of the Jane Goodaal Institute and UN Messenger of Peace  ‘Kenneth Lacovara LOVES Dinosaurs, LOVES science and truly LOVES telling you about it. Few non-fiction writers wield words with more poetic and potent affection for their subject. Ken’s deep scholarship and clear enjoyment of his subject always makes ME feel smarter. A man obsessed not just with his subject matter, but with showing us how looking into our deep past can illuminate our future.’ ADAM SAVAGE of THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL  By tapping into the wonder that dinosaurs inspire, Dr Lacovara weaves together the stories of our geological awakening, of humanity’s epic struggle to understand the nature of deep time, the meaning of fossils, and our own place on the vast and bountiful tree of life.  Go on a journey, back to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, to discover how dinosaurs achieved feats unparalleled by any other group of animals. Learn the secrets of how paleontologists find fossils, and explore quirky, but fascinating questions, such as: Is a penguin a dinosaur? How are the tiny arms of T. rex the key to its power and ferocity?  In this revealing book, Dr Lacovara offers the latest ideas about the shocking and calamitous death of the dinosaurs and ties their vulnerabilities to our own.Why Dinosaurs Matter is compelling and engaging - a reminder that our place on this planet is both precarious and potentially fleeting. As we move into an uncertain environmental future, it has never been more important to understand the past.

'HOW TO FIX A BROKEN HEART PROVIDES THE VALIDATION, COMFORT AND HOPE ANYONE WHO IS HEARTBROKEN DESPERATELY NEEDS.'ESTHER PEREL, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE STATE OF AFFAIRS AND MATING IN CAPTIVITY Every one of us has or will have our heart broken at some point in our lives. Heartbreak, whether it comes in the form of romantic love or through loss, is universal, yet we know so little about how to deal with it. Psychologist Dr Guy Winch imagines how different our lives and our society would be if we paid more attention to this unique emotional pain. Heartbreak can last for days, weeks, months and even years. Yet while we wouldn't expect someone to go to work or function well with a broken limb, heartbroken people are expected to function in their lives, despite the emotional pain they feel. How to Fix a Broken Heart argues that if we don't understand how heartbreak works, we won't be able to heal it and we are likely to make it worse, which we do, and regularly. Dr Winch reveals how and why heartbreak impacts our brain and our behaviour in dramatic and unexpected ways, regardless of our age. Emotional pain lowers our ability to reason, to think creatively, to problem solve and to function.Recovering from heartbreak always starts with a decision, a determination to move on when our mind is fighting to keep us stuck. We can take control of our lives and our minds and put ourselves on the path to healing. Dr Winch offers a toolkit on how to handle and cope with a broken heart and how to, eventually, move on. 'A great read for anyone going through heartbreak, anyone trying to help someone go through heartbreak, or anyone who simply wants to understand humans better' Tim Urban, creator of Wait But Why?

Bestselling author and MIT Professor, Alan Lightman, reveals the benefits of wasting time and allowing our minds to freely roam.  We have apps, smart watches and calendars that constantly remind us to be productive and stop wasting time. We have created a frenzied lifestyle in which time is money, with not a minute to be wasted, and the twenty-four hours of each day are carved up, dissected, and reduced down to small units of efficiency.  Professor Alan Lightman documents the rush and heave of the modern world, and examines the many values of ‘wasting time’ – for replenishing the mind, for creative thought, for finding and solidifying the inner self and letting the mind lie fallow without attempting to accomplish anything and without any assigned tasks.Carl Jung did his most creative thinking and writing when he took time off from his frenzied practice in Zurich to go to his country house. Gustav Mahler routinely took three or four-hour walks after lunch, stopping to jot down ideas in his notebook. Albert Einstein described letting his mind ‘roam’ to make connections between concepts that were previously unconnected.In this timely and essential book, Professor Alan Lightman investigates the creativity born from allowing our minds to freely roam. In Praise of Wasting Time teaches us all that sometimes, the best thing to do is to do nothing at all.