Biologist E.O. Wilson explored the world of ants and other tiny creatures -- and wrote movingly about the way all creatures, great and small, are interdependent.
Why you should listen
One of the world's most distinguished scientists, E.O. Wilson was a professor and honorary curator in entomology at Harvard. In 1975, he published Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, a work that described social behavior, from ants to humans.
Drawing from his deep knowledge of the Earth's "little creatures" and his sense that their contribution to the planet's ecology is underappreciated, he produced what may be his most important book, The Diversity of Life. In it he describes how an intricately interconnected natural system is threatened by man's encroachment, in a crisis he called the "sixth extinction" (the fifth one wiped out the dinosaurs). And in The Creation, he put the differences of science- and faith-based explanations aside "to protect Earth's vanishing natural habitats and species ...; in other words, the Creation, however we believe it came into existence."
What others say
He more than anyone understands the relationship between genes and culture -- and it started with his ants.
E.O. Wilson’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from E.O. Wilson
In Brief
A know-it-all gets another chance, JR quips with Stephen Colbert and a plan to give half the planet back to wildlife
August 29, 2014
Members of the TED community sure were busy this week. Below, some highlights: Legendary biologist E.O. Wilson has come out with a bold idea: that we set aside half of Planet Earth for wildlife. If we don’t, he warns, he sees us hurtling toward a “biological holocaust” that could send us the way of the […]
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New playlist: The world of tiny things
June 9, 2013
There’s a time and a place for the big picture; there’s a time and a place for the tiny one. This week, watch the playlist “The world of tiny things,” all about viewing the unseen and looking at the world on a very small scale. In this playlist, E.O. Wilson makes a plea for insects […]
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Encyclopedia of Life: A primer in primary colors
December 17, 2012
When biologist E.O. Wilson won the TED Prize in 2007, he wished that we all “work together to help create the key tool that we need to inspire preservation of Earth’s biodiversity.” With that, the Encyclopedia of Life began the outrageous task of cataloguing all of the Earth’s known species. Cynthia Parr spoke at TED2012 to give updates on […]
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