Origami, the ancient art form solving modern problems | Miles Wu

Elise Hu· Host0:00

[upbeat music] You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. For 14-year-old Miles Wu, it all starts with a simple piece of paper.

Miles Wu· Guest0:16

No matter what, I'm always folding. Give me any scrap of paper, and I'll challenge myself to turn it into something. It's this process of turning nothing into something that sparks my imagination and draws me to origami.

Elise Hu· Host0:29

Miles is an origami innovator who's been folding paper into intricate shapes and patterns since he was seven years old. He's gotten into trouble in class for turning his worksheets into ninja stars and has raised more than $4,000 for his community one folded pigeon at a time. But in this talk, he focuses on how that same playful curiosity led him somewhere he didn't expect, into the intersection of origami and science.

Miles Wu· Guest0:58

Origami is fun, but playing with paper has also shown me that origami has the power to stretch my creativity, help others, and even lead to new discoveries. It's amazing that something can be so strong and yet so lightweight at the same time, and it's exciting to think about what potential applications a fold like this could have.

Elise Hu· Host1:17

This is what it looks like when curiosity doesn't wait for permission. And stick around after the talk. We caught up with TED's curator, Chloe Shasha Brooks, who shared a few more thoughts on what it was like to work with Miles and takeaways