The annual TED conference brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers in Technology, Entertainment, and Design. They are challenged to give the “talk of their lives” (in 18 minutes) and many of these talks are available for free on the web. Sifting through hundreds of videos can be a challenge, so to give you a taste of TED, here are a few of my favorites: William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind To power his family's home in Malawi, 14 year old William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap. Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth A dazzling demo of Photosynth, software that could transform the way we look at digital images. Using still photos culled from the Web, Photosynth builds breathtaking dreamscapes and lets us navigate them. Jill Bolte Taylor's Stoke of Insight Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one.