The power and danger of the kiss: Marcel Danesi at TEDxUofT

Marcel Danesi is professor of anthropology and director of the Program in Semiotics at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in recognition of his work in the field of semiotics and communications. He has published extensively on various topics, including the meanings of puzzles in human life. His books have been translated into many languages including Farsi, Russian, Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and others. He is currently editor of "Semiotica" the leading journal in the field. He also writes a blog for "Psychology Today" on the relation between puzzles and the brain. In addition to his academic interests, he founded a band with students at the University of Toronto seven years ago at Victoria College, called the Semiotones, which is still playing for charity. All the proceeds from gigs and record sales go to the Hospital for Sick Children. He has composed and written the lyrics for two CDs that are on iTunes. A third CD, titled In My Dreams will be on iTunes shortly.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)