This brief introduction to linguistics asks simple questions about language and languages, then follows the various branches of linguistics that have arisen in attempt to answer those questions. Take this presentation as a rapid tour through modern linguistics or as a thoughtful inquiry into what l
From the "Sapir-Whorf hypothesis" to modern psychology, get a quick feel for this ongoing debate. Is language about grammatical universals like nouns and verbs? What's the relationship between language and culture? Text version of this lesson with links to further resources: http://www.nativlang.co
So what's this thing we call language? And what are individual languages? And, of all the many things we do, is it the one thing that makes us human? Kids in Kenya and China don't grow up to speak each others' languages, but they both have the ability to use language. Let's take a moment to think a
Is language just for humans? Do other animals speak? Take a few minutes to explore animal communication with me. Aristotle may snip humans off from rest of the Animal Kingdom, but animals do communicate with each other. Ants leave pheromone trails, bees perform information-rich waggle dances, birds
Dealing with a hypocrite or a liar could take a toll on our mental health. Hypocrites tend to tell us one thing but do another, leading us to question whether they are someone we can truly spend time with. Being able to spot a hypocrite will help you weed out the toxic people you should not be wasti
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-language-of-lying-noah-zandan We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day. And although we’ve spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies by tracking physiological changes in their tellers, these methods have proved unreliable. I
How do you go from a concrete object like a basketball to an abstract idea like a circle? Why do you see the one and think about the other? What makes this kind of thing useful? Abstract thinking allows us to identify patterns and see common features. Once we abstract away the differences, we can g
So how do you tell if someone is lying? Liars can use many tactics like changing up their tone of speaking, manipulating their facial expressions, being overly nice to you, etc. But how exactly do you know when you're being lied to? In this video, we have you covered. If you find yourself identifyin
Are you wondering how to spot a liar? Do you suspect that your friend is lying to you? It can be frustrating when our friends aren’t completely honest or upfront with us, especially about the things that matter, so sometimes we have to figure out for ourselves whether or not they’re telling the trut
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-computers-translate-human-language-ioannis-papachimonas Is a universal translator possible in real life? We already have many programs that claim to be able to take a word, sentence, or entire book in one language and translate it into almost any othe
In 1983, Howard Gardener, an American developmental psychologist, came up with 9 types of intelligence that people may have. Each category is an area you may excel in, and you may be intelligent in more categories than one! What type(s) are you? Did you relate to this video? #intelligence #psych2
Ha two O! This is the spoken formula of water. What does this mean and how can it be applied to other molecules? This screencast is about the formula notation of molecules. It is not a question of why the molecules in question are built the way they are. Original: "Wolfgang Dukorn" Original: Germa
