From Curiosity To Discovery

Why do some people spend years trying to answer a single question, or even risk their lives to discover something new? In this hour, TED speakers explore how curiosity leads to unexpected places.

Director James Cameron's blockbuster films create unreal worlds. He reveals his childhood fascinations and how they fueled the passion behind his movies. Designer Thomas Thwaites explains what compelled him to build a toaster, literally from the ground up. Geneticist Wendy Chung describes what it's like to chip away at the mysteries of autism, and the excitement of uncovering tiny but critical clues. Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage talks about three people who inspired him to be curious: his dad, a former Earth-science teacher, and physicist Richard Feynman. Biologist Nathan Wolfe says the unseeable world of microbes is fertile ground for new discoveries. As a kid, director James Cameron was fascinated with exploring the world around him — everything from pond water to bugs. Those childhood obsessions led him some of the deepest places underwater.

Learn more or listen again to this week's episode.

Banner Image courtesy of TED.