The internet is littered with videos of science lectures and science talks – witness the recently posted “100 Incredible Lectures from the World’s Top Scientists” for instance.  But it’s not easy to sift through the tedious, the impenetrable and the down right boring, to arrive at a core of science talks that really are worth watching.

One source that consistently comes up trumps thought is TED (standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design) – an incredible organization bringing innovative thinkers together to spark off “ideas worth spreading.” It’s no surprise that many of the BestCollegesOnline.com 100 lectures are, in fact, TED talks.

TED speakers are challenges to “give the talk of their lives”  in 18 minutes or less – and to deliver it in front of a crowd of celebrities, thought-leaders, and others who have little time for waffle and obfuscation.  The result is some truly inspirational talks from some of the world’s leading scientists and science communicators – many of which are freely available online.

But now potential viewers are faced with another problem – where to start amidst such great audiovisual riches?

In an attempt to help out, I’ve just posted a new guest blog over on Mashable that picks out “5 TED Talks on Science That Will Blow Your Mind” – 5 of my favorite talks, that also come together to tell a roughly coherent story.  I had a little help from some great Twitter followers in picking these – more of that at the end of this post.

Rather than re-list the five videos here, it’s easier to pop over to the Mashable blog where they can be viewed directly (although to whet your appetite, they star Margaret Wertheim, Craig Venter, Penelope Boston, Brian Cox and Sir Martin Reese).

What I did want to do though is to include a couple of great TED science talks here that didn’t quite make the cut – a 2020 Science bonus if you like.

The first comes from astronomer Clifford Stoll, and is a study in channeling ADD…  It’s not actually (although you’ll see what I mean when you watch the video) – rather, Clifford gives an incredibly energetic and deeply personal perspective on science and learning.  It’s also highly entertaining:

The second bonus TED talk comes from physicist Stephen Hawking, tackling the origin of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.  The contrast between Hawkins’ and Stoll’s deliveries couldn’t be starker.  Yet Hawkins’ razor-sharp clarity of thought makes this video compelling viewing:

These are just a taster – catch the rest of the recommendations at Mashable.com

Acknowledgements

When I started to put the Mashable blog together, I asked my faithful Twitter followers for their recommendations on great science videos.  I got some great suggestions in return – some appearing here and on Mashable, some stashed away for another day.  My thanks in particular to @WordsAbtNumbers, @LizRobillard, @aBigHairySpider, @thegovier, @physicus, @bookhling, @tswaterman, @classroomtools, @ettagirl, @mactavish, @SteveHeggie, @pondenperson and @ruthseeley – I owe you one!

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