TED: Alexander Tsiaras, "It was hard not to attribute divinity to it"

Some of you aren't familiar with TED talks so the recent criticism doesn't make sense (e.g. The Trouble with TED). Here's an example of one of the problems with TED talks. This is a "gosh, gee whiz" kind of talk that's almost completely devoid of information.¹

The talk has pretty pictures of the developing human embryo/fetus accompanied by the kind of music that evokes mystery and awe. The author of the video talks of the mystery and why it makes him think of divinity.

The first divinity-inspiring observation concerns collagen. Most collagen molecules form fibers (see Collagen) but those in the eye form sheets in the basal lamina. This is because the eye collagen is a different type of collagen. Here's what Wikipedia says [Collagen IV] ...

Type-IV collagen is a type of collagen found primarily in the basal lamina. The type IV collagen C4 domain at the C-terminus is not removed in post-translational processing, and the fibers link head-to-head, rather than in parallel. Also, type-IV lacks the regular glycine in every third residue necessary for the tight, collagen helix. This makes the overall arrangement more sloppy with kinks. These two features cause the collagen to form in a sheet, the form of the basal lamina.

Does that make you think of god(s)?

Would you pay several thousand dollars to hear this TED talk?

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1. Recall that the theme of TED is "Ideas worth spreading." Which ideas in this talk are worth spreading?