Gravity. The stars in day. Thoughts. The human genome. Time. Atoms. So much of what really matters in the world is impossible to see. A lovely animation of John Lloyd’s classic TEDTalk

When a squirrel chewed through a cable and knocked him offline, journalist Andrew Blum started wondering what the Internet was really made of. So he set out to go see it — the underwater cables, secret switches and other physical bits that make up the net.

Could keeping a daily diary be the key to unlocking happiness at work? At the 99U Conference, creativity researcher Teresa Amabile explains the unexpected benefits of tracking daily progress.

Are you more honest than a banker? Under what circumstances would you lie, or cheat, and what effect does your deception have on society at large? Dan Ariely, one of the world’s leading voices on human motivation and behaviour is the latest big thinker to get the RSA Animate treatment. via thehighdefinite

Findings from recent North American research that looked at the online motivations of digital teens. Presentation by Nick Black

Is there a definitive line that divides crazy from sane? With a hair-raising delivery, Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath Test, illuminates the gray areas between the two

Dawn Goldworm is the Scent Director of the Paris and NYC-based olfactory branding company 12.29, operated alongside her identical twin sister, Samantha. The company produces delicate and strategic elixirs of scents and places them in new contexts, manipulating environmental experiences, conjuring memories, and eliciting behavioral associations. You can find more interesting talks from the The Avant/Garde Diaries here and their facebook fan page is packed with interesting behind the scenes material