Why Should We Look At The Clouds More Often?

By NPR/TED Staff

Published November 21, 2014 at 9:21 AM EST

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Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode Quiet

About Gavin Pretor-Pinney's TED Talk

You don't need to plan an exotic trip to find beauty and perspective. Just look up, says Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. Pretor-Pinney calls for us all to stop for a moment every day and admire the beauty in the sky above and in our everyday lives.

I find that sometimes by paying attention to something outside of yourself, it's just enough for you to find yourself centered again.

About Gavin Pretor-Pinney

As co-founder of The Idler magazine, Gavin Pretor-Pinney is a longtime advocate of the joys of time ill-spent. In The Cloudspotter's Guide and The Cloud Collector's Handbook, he tackles the idlest pursuit of all: cloud-watching.

Pretor-Pinney's blend of tranquil appreciation and hard science have floated his cloud books to the top of best-seller lists. For Pretor-Pinney, clouds illustrate how mundane phenomena reveal the natural wonders around us.

Pretor-Pinney is also the author of The Wavewatcher's Companion.