Introducing Ethics in Your Instruction Using a TED Talks Playlist

Abstract

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design, http://www.ted.com/) can be considered one of the most popular online producers of scientific and technical videos (5). The main goal of TED organization is spreading ideas worldwide, with more than 60% of talks dealing with science and technology (6). Four major reasons lead us to suggest the TED talk platform as a lateral resource to introduce ethics in scientific research and, more generally, topics in scientific education: i) the presence of scientists as members of the scientific community; ii) the quality of selected ideas and topics; iii) the broad audience-oriented communication, and iv) the number of additional languages (subtitles). TED talks are engaging, as manifest by the large number of views on the TED website and YouTube (6). Every talk has subtitles in English and in a number of additional languages. In addition, TED is a think tank that stimulates facets of instruction among the JMBE instructional community, such as critical thinking (2), entrepreneurism (3), transdisciplinarity (1), and creativity (4). Beyond those TED talks focused on ethics in science, your class can see videos of selected ‘ideas holders’ in biology, such as James Watson (‘How we discovered DNA’), Craig Venter (‘On the verge of creating synthetic life’), Paul Ewald (‘Can we domesticate germs?’), and David Bolinsky (‘Visualizing the wonder of a living cell’). Here is our proposed playlist of talks for your instructional activities on ethics in scientific research, including a range of scientific disciplines: Optional introduction: The playlist ‘The 7 talks to make you love science’ (http://www.ted.com/playlists/163/7_talks_to_make_you_love_scien) Optional introduction: Naomi Oreskes: Why we should trust scientists (http://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_oreskes_why_we_should_believe_in_science) Ben Goldacre: Battling bad science (http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science) Lee Smolin: Science and democracy (http://www.ted.com/talks/lee_smolin_on_science_and_democracy) Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions (http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right) Ellen Jorgensen: Biohacking—you can do it, too (http://www.ted.com/talks/ellen_jorgensen_biohacking_you_can_do_it_too) These TED talks touch on crucial points such as science and society, the science community, science and human values, and participation in science. All are relevant to introduce the importance of ethics in scientific research. The proposed playlist is appropriate for graduate students, although it is also recommended for a wide range of scholars, from the undergraduate level up to doctoral students. Turn off the lights, turn up the volume, and it will be like having a special introductory workshop for your students!