Los Angeles Is a Great Place to Discover the World of Life

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Los angelesas is a great place of really seeing where the urban and wild land interface come together. There is an ap that the same folks produce called sik and sek. Will you put your phone right over something and it will immediately tell you what it is? You don't have to say, yes, i want to know. Sek is different from a naturalist in that it does not go locate you. So it does not put your exact location in with the data from the photograph. Now, for the scientific reasons, we need to have your location, right? That's the whole thing about science, is exactly where, exactly when, exactly what.

When you think of a scientist, do you think of a person in a lab coat? How about a teenager with a smartphone-- or even, yourself? Mary Ellen Hannibal is a science writer who argues that everyday people collecting data with simple tools like phones can make a big impact in the sciences, their lives, and their communities. She shares great tips on how to get involved with this vital, and hopefully enjoyable, work. Her book, “Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction”, was named one of the best titles of 2016 by the San Francisco Chronicle. Mary Ellen’s previous work has appeared in the New York Times, Science, Anthropocene, Nautilus and many other publications. To learn more about "How to Be a Better Human," host Chris Duffy, or find footnotes and additional resources, please visit: go.ted.com/betterhuman