Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty

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How do we feel beauty?
What is considered beautiful?

TED collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate Denis Dutton's provocative theory on beauty -- that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply "in the eye of the beholder," are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins.



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Baba Brinkman-Learn about human evolution through rap?

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Baba Brinkman is a Canadian actor and rap artist and former tree‑planter who has personally planted more than one million trees. Baba has received international acclaim for his rap comedy theatre shows, which cover topics as diverse as evolutionary psychology, the Canterbury Tales, democracy, and civil disobedience. Last year he won the Scotsman Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for his "Rap Guide to Evolution," which is transferring to New York in 2011. When he is not on tour, Baba resides in his hometown of Vancouver.



"Worst comes to worst" by Dilated People



"Survival of the fittest" by Mobb Deep


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The Science of Happiness

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Most of us have heard of Charles Darwin's "The survival of the fittest". Not many of us have heard of him also saying "Sympathy is our kindest instinct".

Now scientists in UC Berkeley are reporting that compassion and happiness are linked. Compassion strengthens our immune system, makes us more intelligent, helps in our survival as an individual as well as a species.



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Celebrate your skin colours

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This intriguing video explains why dark skinned people originate from equatorial countries such as Africa, India and South East Asia.

Melanin is a pigment molecule that give the dark colour to skin. It evolved by natural selection to cut out harmful UV radiation from the sun. It is a natural sunscreen.

However there has been much migration of light skinned people from low UV places to high UV places and vice versa. UVB light is important to make vitamin D in our skins. However, dark skinned people in the countries nearer to the poles are not getting enough of it and this will lead to serious health consequences such as bone and teeth problems, reduced immune system, mood and mental health problems.

Also dark skinned people who work at desk jobs should be aware of these health risks.

Light skinned people have less melanin and so they run the risk of skin cancer due to excessive UVB damaging their DNA. Lighter skin colour is a product of evolution by natural selection in a latitude that gets very little UVB light.






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