Wisdom from Strangers | Daniel Everett | TEDxPenn

For eight of the last thirty years, Daniel Everett immersed himself in the Pirahã culture, which has no counting system, no fixed terms for color, no concept of war, and no personal property. He works with the Piraha and other Amazonian people to uncover how language began, how it has evolved, and how it continues to impact our daily lives. A famed linguist, Daniel Everett is a professor of global studies and the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. He has been the subject of a feature story in the New Yorker, a cover story in Harper’s Magazine, a Smithsonian documentary, and one of eight “masters” in Robert Greene’s NYT bestseller “Mastery.” His 2008 bestseller, Don’t Sleep There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, has sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into 12 different languages. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at