www.ted.com - it's the next best thing to attending a university that actually brings in guest speakers
I've been watching Barry Schwartz talk about the miseries that choice can bring: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/93
― milo z, Tuesday, 25 September 2007 04:09 (sixteen years ago) link
yes, it's pretty great! a bit 'southern california will save the world!' but whatever, tons of great talks about all kinds of things! i played one on my radio show a couple weeks ago about growing new body parts - ooh
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 25 September 2007 04:16 (sixteen years ago) link
i don't like the slick advertising though. of course.
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 25 September 2007 04:19 (sixteen years ago) link
e.g., bmw
I can't sit through any of the videos. The speakers are okay, but I hate the self-important tone of the whole thing.
― Dan I., Tuesday, 25 September 2007 05:12 (sixteen years ago) link
^ weird. Some of these talks are fantastic.
"Amazing data visualizations" says I. "With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world."" says TED. Way better than either of those makes it sound:http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
― ledge, Thursday, 27 August 2009 15:35 (fourteen years ago) link
otm. these are basically decent college lectures...being presented as intellectual revelations that are going to change life as we know it.
― iatee, Thursday, 27 August 2009 15:46 (fourteen years ago) link
cynicism is easy
― ledge, Thursday, 27 August 2009 15:58 (fourteen years ago) link
so is self-importance!
― iatee, Thursday, 27 August 2009 16:20 (fourteen years ago) link
i think they are instructed by TED to pitch the talk towards further action ie not "this is what i have found" but "here is what we could do". they are all like that and often it is a little awkward.
― the people vs peer gynt (goole), Thursday, 27 August 2009 16:45 (fourteen years ago) link
The only one I've watched was the Benjamin Zander one on music and passion, really enjoyed that.
― 3 mods 1 banhammer (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:01 (fourteen years ago) link
(xp) Where you see self-importance I see optimism. And "here is what we could do", yeah that sounds optimistic too, what's awkward about that? And what's wrong with "decent college lectures"? I wish that half my college lectures had been this decent, plus I don't even go to college any more so where else canI see this kind of thing?
― ledge, Thursday, 27 August 2009 20:41 (fourteen years ago) link
http://academicearth.org/
― iatee, Thursday, 27 August 2009 20:41 (fourteen years ago) link
And "here is what we could do", yeah that sounds optimistic too, what's awkward about that?
a lot of scientists and writers are more interested in or focused on a particular discovery in itself, so the part where they switch to a "plan of action" is sometimes a bit hasty and tacked-on
― the people vs peer gynt (goole), Thursday, 27 August 2009 20:43 (fourteen years ago) link
TED will save the world through innovations in optics, sociology and software!
― Alex Android (Viceroy), Thursday, 27 August 2009 23:02 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm not enough of a cynic to dislike TED and not enough of a self-serving kool aide drinker to believe that TED is Really Deep, however I have to love the fallout from when TED and Sarah Silverman collide.
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 14 February 2010 23:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Gawker commentary
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 14 February 2010 23:18 (fourteen years ago) link
If TED is the Wired of the lecture circuit, what's the Mondo 2000? Cause that's what I'd go see insTED
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 14 February 2010 23:36 (fourteen years ago) link
What were they expecting?
― Nhex, Monday, 15 February 2010 00:49 (fourteen years ago) link
I think they got exactly what they were expecting. All the whining tweets are meant to continue milking the exposure.
― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 15 February 2010 00:50 (fourteen years ago) link
the Barry Shwartz talk about choice was eye opening for me
― lukevalentine, Monday, 15 February 2010 01:03 (fourteen years ago) link
i guess its old but worth a watch. is book is good too
c'mon, this site is great. any other ones like it?
― sleepingbag, Thursday, 2 September 2010 06:32 (thirteen years ago) link
~ideas~
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 20:25 (twelve years ago) link
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/cache/gravatars/genemarks_136.jpg
if i was a poor black kid this would be my favorite shit
― dave cool, Sunday, 19 February 2012 20:56 (twelve years ago) link
This is a good one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td1PbsV6B80
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 20:59 (twelve years ago) link
(I don't get dave's joke)
i almost envy u for missing this particular internet firestorm http://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2011/12/12/if-i-was-a-poor-black-kid
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:01 (twelve years ago) link
this is inarguably the best ted talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:02 (twelve years ago) link
Oh man, I'm going to stay away from that column/comments.
This is probably my favorite one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FBxfd7DL3E
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:09 (twelve years ago) link
I want to do a TED talk on TED-inflation, how incessant demand for TED was itself the downfall of TED
I would have a graph like this
http://www.forexyard.com/blog/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/USDCHF_Daily1.JPG
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:10 (twelve years ago) link
― sleepingbag
― buzza, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:11 (twelve years ago) link
my conclusion would be that we need to start a TED central bank
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:12 (twelve years ago) link
'what if we had a bank...for ideas"
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:13 (twelve years ago) link
I actually gave one of these talks and talked about how this kind of thing (plus The Moth, etc.) are creating a kind of non-fiction performing arts, and removing the artist as middleman: the idea that it's possible to see a cop tell stories as Sunday-afternoon entertainment, rather than going to see an actor pretend to be a cop.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:20 (twelve years ago) link
what i dont get is ted licences their brand in the form of TEDx conferences which anyone can hold for a fee, bad brand stewardship, someone should TALK to them abt that
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
ha xp
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:22 (twelve years ago) link
They have rules and such for TEDx conferences, so there's some quality control and consistency.
I went to one at the University of Chicago--the speakers included the former president of Boliva as well as my hero Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The event was sold out, with hundreds and hundreds of college kids there.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:25 (twelve years ago) link
they should just rename college 'TED', it will help w/ the dropout problem
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:26 (twelve years ago) link
instead of class, just utube, i believe theres a ted talk abt that as a matter of fact
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:27 (twelve years ago) link
I do think they're indicative of why there may be an education bubble, as far as universities previously being the primary place to get this kind of education.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:28 (twelve years ago) link
oh yeah there def is, I have a thread bout it: rolling online education thread
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:29 (twelve years ago) link
--and (xpost) the social side, as far as meeting other people with the same interests and way of learning, getting inspired, etc.
In another way, it's in the 19th-century American bootstraps tradition of Emerson, Thoreau, etc.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:29 (twelve years ago) link
I got halfway through that Hans Rosling talk, which seems to be the most universally-lauded TED talk ever, when I got pissed off by the same glib bullshit that permeates the rest of TED. Specifically when he's talking about differences between African countries, and he mentions "Sierra Leone humanitarian aid, Uganda development aid, Ghana time to invest, and Mauritius you can go on holiday" as if he had just described the natural lifecycle of African development. Only it's total bullshit, even if those were well-defined stages of development there's no evidence that foreign aid helps countries make those transitions (and some evidence that it does the opposite.)
I know, it's not the point of the talk, it was just a nice way to illustrate a point, blah blah. Don't sweat the details, just absorb the glittering vision, right.
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:55 (twelve years ago) link
TED provides you with the experience-high of learning without the experience-low of having to remember anything you heard 5 minutes later / doing homework...the details aren't very important
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 21:58 (twelve years ago) link
i liked the chimamanda adichie talk about the danger of a single story. iirc there were no graphs, though.
― horseshoe, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:02 (twelve years ago) link
"TED is not simply “engaging” and “entertaining” but a specific type of entertainment that is increasingly out of touch and exclusionary."
http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/against-ted/
(not but what i think that thing i just linked never puts together the really solid critique that i know is possible)
― dove cale (c sharp major), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:03 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i think there's something about the notion in which not learning but rather experiencing an event where exceptionally intelligent people discuss ideas is in itself learning, never mind that any quiz the next day on what was discussed would result in a failing grade.
― omar little, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:04 (twelve years ago) link
TED talks linked on facebook allow people to let others do the heavy lifting for them. 'hey here is some food for thought, not prepared by me but enjoy nonetheless.'
― omar little, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:05 (twelve years ago) link
i say facebook b/c i feel like every week i see a new one posted.
i see no evidence that ted is trying to replace school or w/e, its a conference, it works in much the same way as the million other conferences in the world
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:06 (twelve years ago) link
what if every professor only talked about AWESOME THINGS but you didn't have to remember anything cause NO TESTS
it's like some freshman's stoner fantasy
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:07 (twelve years ago) link
you;'re sort of conflating academic and trade conferences there, which is exactly what TED does
xp
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:07 (twelve years ago) link
nah it's not trying to replace school and it won't, it doesn't have the brand, but it functions as a 'this is what I wish school had been' for lots of people
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:08 (twelve years ago) link
conflating a conference w/college is like some lazy internet guys criticism fantasy
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:08 (twelve years ago) link
i mean theres def a criticism to be made of ted, just not apparently by the people in this thread, especially not lukas smh
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:10 (twelve years ago) link
eh there's nothing magic about a 'college lecture' that makes it different from a 'conference talk', in some contexts they can be exactly the same speech
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:10 (twelve years ago) link
like im sure hans rosling is unaware of some research that you have in yr possession and was intending lil off handed one liners to actually represent the complexity of african economics etc
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:12 (twelve years ago) link
yeah totally i was talking abt magic things im sure theres no difference in intention, w/e its all stupid cause no homework
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:13 (twelve years ago) link
ok, word's don't matter, got it, i'll watch TED talks with renewed interest
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:14 (twelve years ago) link
*words lol
well you have to understand what the words mean i think is the point
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:15 (twelve years ago) link
i mean did u hear he said 'Mauritius you can go on holiday' therefor his industry leading work is invalid *buffs nails*
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:16 (twelve years ago) link
well either what hans said in that brief passage didn't mean anything, or it was mendacious bullshit, can you clarify
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:17 (twelve years ago) link
thank you for those two choices lukas im sure they are the only possible meanings
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:18 (twelve years ago) link
u should give a ted talk
don't steal my tedflation idea
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:19 (twelve years ago) link
i should have revealed the top action films in a TED talk. would have owned imo.
― omar little, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:20 (twelve years ago) link
feel like the ted people wouldve wanted the matrix to place higher
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:26 (twelve years ago) link
huh? what's the beef with TED? so a bunch of people want to put up a bunch of youtube videos of talks, some of which are entertaining or inspiring... and?
― Nhex, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:35 (twelve years ago) link
theres a triumphalist culture that rubs people the wrong way from what i can tell
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:36 (twelve years ago) link
Let's get a group rate on a nice resort and do TEDLX
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:37 (twelve years ago) link
well the prob w/ ted is that it's not really meant for people who want to really learn concrete things or even build new frames of reference and it's not really presented as 'this lecture is here to get you interested in african economics, here's some ways to learn more.' it's learning as a form of forgettable entertainment, it's like watching tv w/ the idea that you're doing something important.
it's also sorta like reading a list of movie twist-endings for movies you haven't seen. this will not be the downfall of traditional higher ed (other things are) but there is something crass and weird about the idea that the only things worth learning are mind blowing.
― iatee, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:38 (twelve years ago) link
eh the experience is not that far from like reading the new yorker or w/e
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:39 (twelve years ago) link
tbf to the adichie talk i like, i don't think she thinks it's mind blowing. but also i like reading the new yorker.
― horseshoe, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:42 (twelve years ago) link
and watching tv
― horseshoe, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:43 (twelve years ago) link
i would probably like ted talks if i watched more of them
i agree that theres a frivolous aspect to ted, mostly in their marketing abt amazing minds gathering together and for a j/o sesh, but ive def remembered a bunch of the stuff ive watched, i havent used that knowledge to bend the course of history to my will, but i think it can be legit educational, if not anymore so than youd expect from a 10min video, i mean i have never once requested a masters degree after finishing a ted talk, and i think that level of education has value as does watching an ep of nova or w/e
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:44 (twelve years ago) link
I've liked them more as audio podcasts than watching them, but maybe that just has to do with listening to them while walking, or maybe it's not having to look at someone's clothes and appearance.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:45 (twelve years ago) link
there are interesting ideas in TED talks but the tone is so off-putting to me
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:45 (twelve years ago) link
Like, it's nice to walk through some woods with headphones on, listening to Felix Dennis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64-bHvDcgQQ
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:46 (twelve years ago) link
it's not the triumphalism so much as it is the velocity, as if we can just zip through important ideas quickly without being critical of them. like we have enough of that in our culture and i think it's damaging.
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:46 (twelve years ago) link
i would probably not like TED talks if i watched more of them, i think the aspect of them that's 'Inspiring People talk about the Inspiring Things they have done' would get to me somewhat. (i hate biographies, too)
― dove cale (c sharp major), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:47 (twelve years ago) link
many of the talks are not that great, but some are
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:48 (twelve years ago) link
feel like someone on another thread (iatee?) was talking about the more tech-oriented tedtalks being suspect on an anti-union pro-management tip? maybe i made this up? i of course have seen no tech ted talks or technical talks of any kind, so i wouldn't know.
― horseshoe, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:48 (twelve years ago) link
well many of the people are successful and wonderful so it stands to reason
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:49 (twelve years ago) link
yeah the only way you're going to be able to argue against the self-interests of people watching your talk is if you have more than half an hour and you don't have to be inspiring
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:49 (twelve years ago) link
The cousin of this is Pecha Kucha, which gives a tight structure that allows experts to give a focused talk on something they're passionate about. The night I attended one of these, Jon Langford did one, Ken Nordine (age 90) did one, a guy who built a 3-storey Eiffel Tower replica in a department store did one.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:51 (twelve years ago) link
not sure why internet video requires a counter-argument when no other medium does?
― bnw, Sunday, 19 February 2012 22:52 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah thats what I'm now thinking too bnw - why are these guys getting the caning not given to say, a Carl Sagan tv special?
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Sunday, 19 February 2012 23:23 (twelve years ago) link
(I'm not saying TEDs should be at all srs learnin, but I've enjoyed the ones ive watched. I do agree they can skim far too much sometimes tho)
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Sunday, 19 February 2012 23:24 (twelve years ago) link
maybe if they wore turtlenecks and posed in front of pictures of the universe
― lag∞n, Sunday, 19 February 2012 23:24 (twelve years ago) link
summaries can be cool, have fun and enjoy. i just can't get down with the tone so i'll bash on whatever mis-steps i can find.
― lukas, Sunday, 19 February 2012 23:46 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.poptech.org has good talks too that aren't quite so TED-y
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:17 (twelve years ago) link
even though my honest opinion is more mixed than i'll let on, the more ted-boosters i meet the more i feel it's important to be a ted-hater. like in my experience they tend to be smug, optimistic about the future in a dismissive "pfft, cynicism? what don't you read the economist?" kind of way, have major boners for technology and often also capitalism. i think the curation of ted-talks pushes a really partic kind of complacency in face of the self-correcting market mechanism + high expectations of the fruits of technology. a lot of ted talks i watched when i was most into it were like stewart brand, bjorn lomborg; these refreshingly positive, counterintuitive approaches to problems that have been generally presented as insurmountable. i realize people respond to this esp in contrast with a lot of bleak shit out there, but theres an obvious imbalance thats kind of harmful imo
best ted talk is aubrey degray fountain of youth
― flopson, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:22 (twelve years ago) link
oh yeah, that one is good
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:26 (twelve years ago) link
agree w trayce and lagoon: i can't see what's wrong with a bunch of short lectures presented for some combination of edification, inspiration and entertainment. sometimes it's nice simply to see/hear experts and innovators talk about their work, to engage with thinking and information from a curious rather than a studious or rigorously critical perspective. yeah, there's a general tone of cheerful, vaguely new age optimism to the TED project as a whole, but i don't think that's necessarily such a bad thing, even it sometimes feels a bit forced. if TED talks were your only source of intellectual nourishment, your brain would starve, but it's not like there aren't countless other options available.
love this one on theo jansen and his "creatures":
http://www.ted.com/talks/theo_jansen_creates_new_creatures.html
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:32 (twelve years ago) link
i think that going into TED with cynicism/criticism is healthy and advisable, especially for talks for the past couple of years, as TED has gotten more and more popular - and the comments, unlike a lot of websites in general, are often pretty good at relating that cynicism/criticism and in some cases actually aide the talk.
in general, I like TED talks because i think the more informal education out there the better, but feel like many of them (but not all) have too much of a veneer over the subject matter that perks it up and dumbs it down more than necessary - this is esp true of some of the tech ones... rah rah technology + money-making! with no socio-cultural insight. ergh...
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:32 (twelve years ago) link
oh yes i remember that one on jansen too - so cool :)
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:33 (twelve years ago) link
lag00n mentioned the nyer upthread and I would say a pretty good reference point is m gladwell. he's not the worst person in the world, he's even written some interesting stuff. would anyone here want him to be the editor of the nyer? the gladwell/freakeconomics/david brooks pop intellectualism approach to the world can be okay for an article but it's bad as a philosophy because we don't live in a world with 'big problems' that can be solved w/ big counterintuitive solutions that nobody thought about, we live in a really complicated place w/ really complicated problems. most of the ted speakers prob know this, but that's not the ted narrative.
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:35 (twelve years ago) link
if TED talks were your only source of intellectual nourishment, your brain would starve, but it's not like there aren't countless other options available.
i think plenty of brains starve on a lot less
― flopson, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:35 (twelve years ago) link
I just have to say I never got this "west coast new age positivity" vibe some ppl are hating on, from TED stuff Ive seen. Perhaps Ive not seen enough or there is some culture surrounding the society that I have missed. On the stand-alone lectures Ive seen, I've enjoyed most of them (not all - some people are great scientists but shocking speakers).
And who says there's nothing to learn? This guy, for example, was a very entertaining watch and I totally learned some new things about propulsion research:
http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_full_on_engineering_and_evolution.html
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:35 (twelve years ago) link
iatee otm
― flopson, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:36 (twelve years ago) link
it's interesting that the videos posted here are all from a few years ago. i think that's the point of the Against TED essay - that TED has changed and isn't as smart/clever/interesting anymore.
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 00:41 (twelve years ago) link
it's called tedflation, I'm preparing a presentation on it
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:41 (twelve years ago) link
or has become more Cult of TED or somethingxp!
i agree to a point but
1) not fair to lob the david brooks shit grenade2) think there is also a danger in barring topics from the casual viewer3) also some elitism in thinking the viewer begins and ends their understanding of the topic with one web site
― bnw, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:42 (twelve years ago) link
/david brooks was the last thing I added to that paragraph, gave it a little extra something
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 00:47 (twelve years ago) link
Ah ok, this is an interesting point.
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Monday, 20 February 2012 01:11 (twelve years ago) link
also some elitism in thinking the viewer begins and ends their understanding of the topic with one web site
And, also this. And in addition, elitism in assuming all scientific/new ideas stuff MUST be rigourous and long winded and thorough. Can we not have populist stuff too, for the average joe who *would not absorb this stuff at all otherwise*?
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Monday, 20 February 2012 01:12 (twelve years ago) link
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Sunday, February 19, 2012 12:51 PM (1 hour ago)
i gave a pecha kucha presentation on my threeframes tumblr. each slide was a different gif and i finished with one from clash of the titans and proclaimed "RELEASE THE KRAKEN" at the very end (it was opening weekend of the new COT)
― ⚓ (gr8080), Monday, 20 February 2012 01:19 (twelve years ago) link
'the world is really complicated' is not elitism, it's just true xp
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 01:23 (twelve years ago) link
flopson/iatee otm
im sure theres tons of good ted talks out there but i tend to associate ted w/ that glib silicon valley 'technocratic' positivism, the same kind of people that give us "charter schools" and "union-busting" as the future of education reform. maybe im wrong though. the crowd i associate w/ ted is less the economist or nyer crowd than the wired magazine crowd.
― max, Monday, 20 February 2012 01:32 (twelve years ago) link
is ted a thing in 2012, I thought it was like 2010 shit
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 20 February 2012 01:45 (twelve years ago) link
Any teachers care to comment on Khan Academy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM95HHI4gLk
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 01:52 (twelve years ago) link
I actually think the khan academy type online learning is gonna be pretty important #noteacher
note that all the lectures there are like 'graphing a line in slope intercept form' and not 'how slopes intercepts can change your life and will change everything we know about modern medicine'
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 01:57 (twelve years ago) link
― iatee, Sunday, February 19, 2012 7:57 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
http://www.mathalicious.com/2012/02/04/khan-academy-its-different-this-time/
Instead, the real issue with Khan Academy is its underlying pedagogy (or lack thereof). Quite simply, it doesn’t work. Not only do we know this anecdotally — how many adults still say “I don’t do math?” — but we also know it experimentally. In fact, we’ve known it for decades!
In general, I find TED to be entertaining and no worse than popular science media & other infotainment, and often inspirational and informative. But this illustrates what I hate about TED. It isn't just bright people sharing innovative ideas. Sometimes it's bright amateurs spreading ignorance in critical areas outside of their expertise.
I think that SK came up with a clever idea that could possibly be leveraged by innovative and experienced educators. Here's what the billionaire (who has no experience as an educator) who's pumping millions of dollars into education (with strings attached) thinks of Khan Academy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuMTSU9DcqQ&feature=relmfu
Khan Academy boosters think this will transform education. They use a lot of language around how it will change the teachers role. They don't have any experience, but they have a lot of money and they run successful businesses, so why won't these failing educators just get out of their way?
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 04:13 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, but that's the difference between attempted online education and vaguely "educational" lectures as a form of online entertainment. neither is intrinsically superior to the other, apples and oranges.
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 04:15 (twelve years ago) link
i tend to associate ted w/ that glib silicon valley 'technocratic' positivism, the same kind of people that give us "charter schools" and "union-busting" as the future of education reform. maybe im wrong though. the crowd i associate w/ ted is less the economist or nyer crowd than the wired magazine crowd.
― max, Sunday, February 19, 2012 5:32 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark
TED = charter schools and union busting?!? come on, that's just the cheapest, lowest form of guilt by association. the crowds we "associate with" things don't have much to do with the actual significance/value/impact of those things when evaluated on their own merits.
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 04:18 (twelve years ago) link
actually I was educated at a right to work TEDcharter school
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 04:21 (twelve years ago) link
...and in addition, elitism in assuming all scientific/new ideas stuff MUST be rigourous and long winded and thorough. Can we not have populist stuff too, for the average joe who *would not absorb this stuff at all otherwise*?
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Sunday, February 19, 2012 5:12 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark
OTM, and we don't even have to appeal to some otherwise helpless "average joe" in order to make this point. No one can know about everything that's going on the world today, and therefore anyone might benefit from brief introductions to some of what's out there. Okay, fine, so TED overesells the transformative power of left-field "big ideas", but that hardly seems like the worst intellectual crime being foisted on the world atm. these things are introductions, abstracts, basically back cover blurbs. invitations to do more research, if you're really interested. and fodder for water cooler/facebook conversation if you're lazy. either way, a service to humanity.
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 04:25 (twelve years ago) link
nah I don't think khan etc stuff are gonna replace high school teachers but they're pretty nifty supplements for a hs student having trouble w/ homework
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 04:27 (twelve years ago) link
college otoh
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 04:30 (twelve years ago) link
In a venn diagram of who moved my cheese, waiting for superman, awesomensess fest, and what the bleep do we know, there is some serious TED overlap.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 04:44 (twelve years ago) link
theres definitely zero overlap between the awesomeness fest and the ted conference as far as like actual people involved, prob the rest of them all too, if you want to argue some similar cultural orientation yeah sure but just in a v general sense, feel like some in this thread in wanting to indite ted on charges of being glib are themselves being somewhat glib
i mean theres no need to try and associated the ted conference w/the worst people in the world in order to make a criticism, theyre also not nazis, doesnt mean theres nothing wrong w/them
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 05:03 (twelve years ago) link
it's a pretentious way to present free lectures, but i can't believe people are getting their dander up over them.
― da croupier, Monday, 20 February 2012 05:17 (twelve years ago) link
theres definitely zero overlap between the awesomeness fest and the ted conference as far as like actual people involved
http://www.awesomenessfest.com/meet-the-tribe/http://i.imm.io/gUNA.png
― ⚓ (gr8080), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:30 (twelve years ago) link
― da croupier
tis the season for the flakes that don't melt
― ( -- ( .) - ( .) / (am0n), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:31 (twelve years ago) link
phfft w/e one person
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 05:33 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, when I refer to awesomeness fest, I do mean it in a very general way, and of course I was being glib. I have enjoyed several TED talks online and I value them. But there are threads of magical thinking and shortcuts around serious critical analysis that run through self-help, professional development, technophilia, education reform, economic policy; etc that are on the same continuum, and I see some of these same threads running through some of the TED talks I've viewed, and I'm not surprised.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:41 (twelve years ago) link
FYI this was the second Google search result for "awesomeness fest ted"
http://www.awesomenessfest.com/dr-srikumar-rao/
PS I don't think Dr. Srikumar Rao is the worst of the worst.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:49 (twelve years ago) link
TBH those threads run through the entirety of human society on all levels and sometimes those kinds of shortcuts actually lead to revolutions in technology and improvements in peoples lives. You just want to ~contain~ it, not eliminate it.
― #1 Inspector Spacetime Fanboy (Viceroy), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:54 (twelve years ago) link
www.makelovenotporn.com
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:56 (twelve years ago) link
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/MLNP01.png
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:59 (twelve years ago) link
But there are threads of magical thinking and shortcuts around serious critical analysis that run through self-help, professional development, technophilia, education reform, economic policy; etc that are on the same continuum, and I see some of these same threads running through some of the TED talks I've viewed, and I'm not surprised.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, February 20, 2012 12:41 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
im sympathetic to that view but i think to some extent what youre picking up on is like people like doin actual things, producing work that because it exists is naturally going to lend itself to criticism, what separates the ted situation from what the awesome cheese inc is many of the speakers are genuinely accomplished in their fields, which does i think somewhat excuse them against charges of magical thinking etc, like i just watched Martin Seligman: Why is psychology good? and i felt like a lot of it was sort of a little too pat or shallow or something, but the thing is he has at least research and a coherent system, its kinda the opposite of a shortcut, it demands specific critical engagement not just more 'this smells new agey' or w/e like that awful new inquiry piece posted upthread
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 06:01 (twelve years ago) link
plus if you have substantial objections, i think it makes more sense to critique the TED talks on a specific, case-by-case basis than to paint them as brain candy in a generic sense. afaict, they're not all slapdash, intellectually dishonest utopian unicorn crap, and if you wanna make that case, then it behooves you to bring something concrete to the table. a broad-brush objection to the general "tone" doesn't count for much, imo.
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:13 (twelve years ago) link
many of the speakers are genuinely accomplished in their fields
I totally agree.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:15 (twelve years ago) link
they're not all slapdash, intellectually dishonest utopian unicorn crap
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:19 (twelve years ago) link
ponies!
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:20 (twelve years ago) link
(had to say)
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:21 (twelve years ago) link
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 05:56 (25 minutes ago) Permalink
why did you post this
― ⚓ (gr8080), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:23 (twelve years ago) link
makelovenotporn seems kind of silly but I have met dudes who srsly don't understand the difference between porn and the real world so I guess it has a purpose.
― #1 Inspector Spacetime Fanboy (Viceroy), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:24 (twelve years ago) link
― ⚓ (gr8080), Sunday, February 19, 2012 10:23 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark
was mentioned in that cindy gallop awesomenessfest profile that, uh, you posted
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:34 (twelve years ago) link
oh lol
― ⚓ (gr8080), Monday, 20 February 2012 06:43 (twelve years ago) link
a broad-brush objection to the general "tone" doesn't count for much, imo.
I agree that it's not going to convince anyone who doesn't feel the same way, but I think "tone" is an ok way to make decisions about what you choose to pay attention to. Not that it indicates some deep badness, but it indicates a mismatch between your concerns and that of the speaker. Maybe those concerns aren't material to the subject of the talk itself, but with an infinite amount of stuff to watch, who cares?
― lukas, Monday, 20 February 2012 06:53 (twelve years ago) link
oh sure, entirely up to personal choice
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 07:02 (twelve years ago) link
like in my experience they tend to be smug, optimistic about the future in a dismissive "pfft, cynicism? what don't you read the economist?" kind of way, have major boners for technology and often also capitalism. i think the curation of ted-talks pushes a really partic kind of complacency in face of the self-correcting market mechanism + high expectations of the fruits of technology.
they're a bit like those internet articles where there's been a "scientific breakthrough" re: cancer, or some important technology that will Make Life Better For Everyone. Everyone cheers in the comments section or whatever but you know that you will never read or hear about this theory or breakthrough again.
― Cunga, Monday, 20 February 2012 07:12 (twelve years ago) link
I bet Socrates' lectures were a lot like a TED talk. Trying to get the common man people to think about exciting new ideas and the philosophy behind every day life.
And then the proto-ilxors had him killed because he looked pretentious and said iPads could replace schools.
― Cunga, Monday, 20 February 2012 07:22 (twelve years ago) link
I watched this, then I bought the book.
http://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain.html
so y'know you can springboard from these to some kind of real learnin'.
― ledge, Monday, 20 February 2012 09:58 (twelve years ago) link
there is a problem with your introduction to a scientific or technological field being "this idea out of left-field is come to TRANSFORM the moribund field of [blah]". viz: you aren't left with a strong understanding of The Left-Field Idea because there isn't time, you aren't left with much of an understanding of the field itself because you've only been told about aspects that relate to The Left-Field Idea, and you are, however, left with the sense that the field itself is half-dead and in need of a drastic saviour because that is the peg the whole talk is hung upon.
― dove cale (c sharp major), Monday, 20 February 2012 10:11 (twelve years ago) link
which is the same problem as one gets from those 'scientific breakthrough' articles, it's not unique to TED -- but i don't think, as a format, this sort of thing encourages you to learn more about the field, because you've already been told: the field is flawed in a way that needs breaking through with the Big Idea that this guy has.
― dove cale (c sharp major), Monday, 20 February 2012 10:19 (twelve years ago) link
a combination of cynicism and triumphalism that leaves little space for us.
― dove cale (c sharp major), Monday, 20 February 2012 10:21 (twelve years ago) link
lol joe did ur dad invent Ted or something
― max, Monday, 20 February 2012 13:00 (twelve years ago) link
i love that Iain Mcgilchrist talk
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 13:18 (twelve years ago) link
feel like most of the 99% is not really interested in TED-style "breakthroughs" but some sustained elbow grease on the problems that are already very well known
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 20 February 2012 13:39 (twelve years ago) link
i.e. sometimes i think TED acolytes need a stern talking to from chekhov
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 20 February 2012 13:45 (twelve years ago) link
totally - my favourite talks are usually the really-real ones about shifted ways of looking at and facing and solving old problems without devaluing history and cultural context. my other favourite talks are about outer space.
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 20 February 2012 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
I feel like TED is an offender, but not a bad one, of the "hey, if we listen to some guy talk about his ideas, we will get ideas of our own" convention circuit.
Still not as bad as the "I'm going to have a start-up company/website, I just have no idea what it will be yet, let's all talk over drinks after listening to someone actually successful speak" offenders of the world.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 14:24 (twelve years ago) link
Glib, generalized accusations of glibness = projection!
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Monday, 20 February 2012 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
But then agin, we only have limit space to write on here versus, say, publishing an essay about it.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Monday, 20 February 2012 15:26 (twelve years ago) link
I've prepared a glibflation chart for my tedflation presentation
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 15:27 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work.html
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Monday, 20 February 2012 15:31 (twelve years ago) link
Something else that can make a false impression of glibness is that the speakers aren't given introductions--so you have to do your own homework to know that Martin Seligman was president of the American Psychological Association, or that Moot is the guy you want giving a talk about anonymity and the internet.
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Monday, 20 February 2012 15:40 (twelve years ago) link
every minute wasted on context is a minute that could be better spent on david brooks style union busting
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 15:48 (twelve years ago) link
I like what Jason Fried and company have produced, but their idea salesmanship is obnoxious as hell
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 15:53 (twelve years ago) link
― max, Monday, February 20, 2012 8:00 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
lol i know its ridiculous ive become the defender of TED in this thread since prob on this v message bord ive cast similar shade upon its holy endeavors, i guess i feel like some of the criticism itt would be better presented as a straight diss like 'lol 1% j/o sesh w/e' than the kind of generalized intellectualisms that weve seen, cause i do think once youve taken that step it becomes kinda self parody to not engage w/the really quite rigorous work many of these people have done
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:07 (twelve years ago) link
TED chucklebutt
― ( -- ( .) - ( .) / (am0n), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
i have to admit that for me "ideas worth spreading" has the effect of provoking the unfortunate mental image of a shovel stuck into a large pile of manure
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:09 (twelve years ago) link
or at least acknowledge that some of the speakers have done serious work and deep thinking
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:10 (twelve years ago) link
just to be clear i dont really mean to talk shit on the speakers themselves just on 'ted culture' and the kind of people i notice sharing ted talks
― max, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:11 (twelve years ago) link
full disclosure i shared a ted talk the other month
― max, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
imagineering http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-sexy-smileys-947.gif
― ( -- ( .) - ( .) / (am0n), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
i guess its somewhat difficult to successfully generalize abt this thing that has hundreds of speakers who are each different people
xp SEE
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
Like I said, it's like a cargo cult among some people where there's a belief that having smart people talk about their ideas will give you ideas.
btw I am going to go watch a few TED talks today for "inspiration"
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:13 (twelve years ago) link
i do think theres something v now abt ted, like if i were writing a novel id want to hit upon the sort of information idealism that flows through ted and freakanomics and w/e, theres a level of irony because for mostly its just stuff to talk abt at parties
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:15 (twelve years ago) link
this all sounds horrible
― ( -- ( .) - ( .) / (am0n), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:18 (twelve years ago) link
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, February 20, 2012 11:13 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
eh this is just base cynicism, cause the vast majority of people who watch ted arent doing it cause they want to have omg awesome idea, theyre just curious, and also engaging w/smart peoples ideas will often give you ideas! all of this is just like perfectly natural being a person things
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:19 (twelve years ago) link
I'm sad I lost max in this battle for ilx hearts and minds but imo once you have become a ted speaker it has ruined you as a human being forever, even cool people like nate silver or david byrne. everytime I learn something new I make sure the thing I'm learning about wasn't shared on ted, if it was I try to figure out a way for the opposite to be true.
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:19 (twelve years ago) link
when i learn something new i try to not share it at all because people can get a lil weird sometimes
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:20 (twelve years ago) link
Eazy, I enjoyed your talk. I'm really interested in relational aesthetics and socially driven art experiences, both as a participant and as an artist. I agree that the talkback and the post-show discussion are often a little awkward, and with the exception of a theatrical workshop open to the public, sometimes of limited use. I feel like a lot of arts organizations are experimenting with experiences incorporating or built around organic social interaction. A lot of this is being driven by independent artists in our local arts scene.
On a related subject, have you had the opportunity to participate in a Gob Squad, Blast Thoery, or Rimini Protokoll performance? Some great stuff.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:20 (twelve years ago) link
I'm sympathetic within my own lol disciplines about the accusations of learning-lite but at the same time it seems so weirdly grad-school to get mad about something like this stuff. if people spend an hour hearing a lite version of important shit that glosses over stuff that'd cause them to tune out if it came up, that's still better than nothing, which is the default. it's like: ideally, your kids don't watch any TV at all, it's not really good for 'em. guess what, they're gonna watch tv. might as well have some ok TV. is it going to be Really Good TV? of course not, you can't really do much with an hourlong program, but what the hell, it beats sniffing glue
relatedly, I turned down a TEDx talk earlier this year because I'm too busy to put together a talk & the objections people have to this are exactly why I wouldn't presume to squash the issues that're important to me into a brief talk from a dude (me) who doesn't really know that much anyway
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:29 (twelve years ago) link
I am looking at the list of TED fellows and everyone on it is alive except for MLK
http://www.ted.com/speakers?orderedby=TALKPOSTED&page=45
it's like when mormons baptize you posthumously except w/ conference speaking as a religion
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:31 (twelve years ago) link
always kinda felt that way about: http://www.egs.edu/
look at the faculty bar on the right
― Mordy, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:33 (twelve years ago) link
if mlk were alive today he would def have a laser pointer and a headset and the freakeconomics guys would help him figure out new smartphone apps w/ which we can defeat racism
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:34 (twelve years ago) link
btw outside of my claimed cynicism, I am mainly annoyed when TED doesn't go into detail! I kind of wish there was a built-in curriculum of long-form articles and the worst is when someone is very energetic but doesn't pull deeper content. You can give a quick talk that the layperson will get while still hinting at the depth of expertise.
I would watch the hell out of aero's talk, should it happen, because his ilx posting style betrays an ability to draw on a depth of experience to insert deep zings into content.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:36 (twelve years ago) link
A friend and I used to joke about going to that EGS thingy that Mordy linked because, wow, what a list. Recently it's really seemed that it is a front for people to extract money from being known intellectuals.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:37 (twelve years ago) link
yeah EGS always seemed like such a scam
i mean, dj spooky! get real everyone
― max, Monday, 20 February 2012 16:38 (twelve years ago) link
Plus also fuck a freakanomics.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:41 (twelve years ago) link
I saw one of the founders of this thing speak: http://alldaybuffet.org/
The Feast convenes the most remarkable entrepreneurs, radicals, doers and thinkers who are revolutionizing the way things work for the betterment of humanity.
Probably a good time, but $$ and I am not sure about conferences that bill themselves as "salons"
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:43 (twelve years ago) link
tbh I have enjoyed some local salons that are v entertaining and deliver. Not really TED style, but not wholly unrelated.
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:50 (twelve years ago) link
I guess it really depends on who shows and what kind of community it is. I'd enjoy a salon with ilxors.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 16:54 (twelve years ago) link
TED basically makes me feel like Dr Morbius
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 20 February 2012 17:02 (twelve years ago) link
http://gastronongrata.blogspot.com/
http://www.salonsaloon.info/
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, 20 February 2012 17:15 (twelve years ago) link
― Unleash the Chang (he did what!) (Austerity Ponies), Monday, February 20, 2012 11:41 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
freakanomics is in fact actual bullshit
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 17:52 (twelve years ago) link
lag∞n needs a whole boxful of OTMs here
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Monday, 20 February 2012 19:38 (twelve years ago) link
think I just officially 'won' the debate
― iatee, Monday, 20 February 2012 19:39 (twelve years ago) link
the objections people have to this are exactly why I wouldn't presume to squash the issues that're important to me into a brief talk from a dude (me) who doesn't really know that much anyway
this is pretty much exactly why we need an underrated aerosmith to give one of these things!
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
u should hold yr own tedx at yr house, just u n areo tedxing
― lag∞n, Monday, 20 February 2012 19:42 (twelve years ago) link
btw I watched the bjarke ingels ted talk this morning and there was a moment for the "is it racist?" thread! dude totally had a comedic gong noise as a punchline after talking about a project in china
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link
Anyone feel like listing off some of these TED videos that are worth it? I have a few I want to watch and might as well make a week of this shit.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 19:44 (twelve years ago) link
"Why You Should Definitely Not Expect Me To Say Anything Worthwhile During the Next Hour-Plus," a talk by Underrated Aerosmith Bootlegs I Have Owned
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 20 February 2012 22:24 (twelve years ago) link
That's pretty good. It takes some people only about 20 minutes to say nothing worthwhile!
― valleys of your mind (mh), Monday, 20 February 2012 22:28 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjVgF5JDq8
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 02:45 (twelve years ago) link
the tone of TED can also be "What If Everything We Know About _____ Is Wrong?" pop iconoclasm, lets turn conventional wisdom upside down stuff. I think that's what it has in common with freaknomics and is what irks people.
― Cunga, Tuesday, 21 February 2012 03:59 (twelve years ago) link
everytime I learn something new I make sure the thing I'm learning about wasn't shared on ted
I do exactly this, but with QI. I think that show is related to this discussion somehow.
― get ready for the banter (NotEnough), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 08:17 (twelve years ago) link
Like, something to do with people being smart by proxy? You know the kind, who have a world of facts at their fingertips, but take them away from an internet connection or ask them to develop a thought or bring ideas together for themselves and they fall to pieces.
― get ready for the banter (NotEnough), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 08:18 (twelve years ago) link
Gah some of u guyz can be so damn cynical sometimes :(
― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 08:38 (twelve years ago) link
hey, I feel that way about myself when I go through a lurking phase on ILX, where all I do is read smart people making smart points and feel as if I'm learning something when actually I'm not learning very much at all. It's easier to listen to a TED talk then give one.
― get ready for the banter (NotEnough), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 08:43 (twelve years ago) link
ILX is excellent in that it's participatory, though. I'm much more of a consumer than a participator and could get sucked into the world of TED. Here, I can learn things and then type the well-earned "otm" into the text box.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 14:53 (twelve years ago) link
otm
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 15:06 (twelve years ago) link
lol
― get ready for the banter (NotEnough), Tuesday, 21 February 2012 15:08 (twelve years ago) link
This piece is a good reminder that Davos is pretty much the model for TED, without offering up the talks and panels:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/03/05/120305fa_fact_paumgarten?currentPage=all
― Fonz Hour (Eazy), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 02:02 (twelve years ago) link
how to tie your shoes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFcV7zuUDA
― ಠ﹏ಠ (diamonddave85), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 03:50 (twelve years ago) link
http://nymag.com/news/features/ted-conferences-2012-3/
― flopson, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 06:17 (twelve years ago) link
starts off weak/cheesy, picks up
― flopson, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 06:48 (twelve years ago) link
yeah that's a good read
― iatee, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 06:59 (twelve years ago) link
"Summit Series is the anti-Aspen, targeting twentysomething entrepreneurs, 1,000 of whom last year paid $3,500 to spend four days on a cruise to the Bahamas. The event featured glow sticks, condoms, Russell Simmons–led yoga, a shark-tagging excursion with Timothy Ferriss, and talks on philanthrocapitalism by people like Richard Branson and Peter Thiel."
I'm not saying you could have made the world a better place with one well-aimed torpedo... I'm just saying.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 07:22 (twelve years ago) link
Sounds like a pretty crazy time and I bet Richard Branson knows how to party. I'd also like to listen to Peter Thiel on "philanthrocapitalism" and how that relates to his libertarian island nation. Possibly not for too long, though.
― valleys of your mind (mh), Tuesday, 28 February 2012 13:52 (twelve years ago) link
http://i43.tinypic.com/22mj5e.png
― Mordy, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 15:27 (twelve years ago) link
hah! beat me to it.
― s.clover, Tuesday, 28 February 2012 17:18 (twelve years ago) link
Ridley Scott likes TED:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7YK2uKxil8
― Pauper Management Improved (Sanpaku), Friday, 2 March 2012 01:22 (twelve years ago) link
what is that scary red green-eyed creature?!?
― the late great, Friday, 2 March 2012 01:23 (twelve years ago) link
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/ted_a_publishing_platform.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-AWAREN-_-GANS_POST-_-030512
― Clancy Fans and Fancy Clans (Eazy), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 06:01 (twelve years ago) link
i defy anyone not to loathe everything about this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_6SfMZxoLc
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 12 March 2012 12:04 (twelve years ago) link
it's like it was engineered by robots to cause maximum hatred
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 12 March 2012 12:05 (twelve years ago) link
Has anyone here ever been to the Summit Series?
― dandydonweiner, Tuesday, 13 March 2012 00:59 (twelve years ago) link
https://twitter.com/#!/RandomTEDTalks
― s.clover, Sunday, 22 April 2012 21:42 (eleven years ago) link
Starts a bit glib, but actually a nice talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IERy6VR0tM
― s.clover, Thursday, 26 April 2012 18:57 (eleven years ago) link
Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality
There’s one idea, though, that TED’s organizers recently decided was too controversial to spread: the notion that widening income inequality is a bad thing for America, and that as a result, the rich should pay more in taxes.TED organizers invited a multimillionaire Seattle venture capitalist named Nick Hanauer – the first nonfamily investor in Amazon.com – to give a speech on March 1 at their TED University conference. Inequality was the topic – specifically, Hanauer’s contention that the middle class, and not wealthy innovators like himself, are America’s true “job creators.”“We’ve had it backward for the last 30 years,” he said. “Rich businesspeople like me don’t create jobs. Rather they are a consequence of an ecosystemic feedback loop animated by middle-class consumers, and when they thrive, businesses grow and hire, and owners profit. That’s why taxing the rich to pay for investments that benefit all is a great deal for both the middle class and the rich.”You can’t find that speech online. TED officials told Hanauer initially they were eager to distribute it. “I want to put this talk out into the world!” one of them wrote him in an e-mail in late April. But early this month they changed course, telling Hanauer that his remarks were too “political” and too controversial for posting.Other TED talks posted online veer sharply into controversial and political territory, including NASA scientist James Hansen comparing climate change to an asteroid barreling toward Earth, and philanthropist Melinda Gates pushing for more access to contraception in the developing world.
TED organizers invited a multimillionaire Seattle venture capitalist named Nick Hanauer – the first nonfamily investor in Amazon.com – to give a speech on March 1 at their TED University conference. Inequality was the topic – specifically, Hanauer’s contention that the middle class, and not wealthy innovators like himself, are America’s true “job creators.”
“We’ve had it backward for the last 30 years,” he said. “Rich businesspeople like me don’t create jobs. Rather they are a consequence of an ecosystemic feedback loop animated by middle-class consumers, and when they thrive, businesses grow and hire, and owners profit. That’s why taxing the rich to pay for investments that benefit all is a great deal for both the middle class and the rich.”
You can’t find that speech online. TED officials told Hanauer initially they were eager to distribute it. “I want to put this talk out into the world!” one of them wrote him in an e-mail in late April. But early this month they changed course, telling Hanauer that his remarks were too “political” and too controversial for posting.
Other TED talks posted online veer sharply into controversial and political territory, including NASA scientist James Hansen comparing climate change to an asteroid barreling toward Earth, and philanthropist Melinda Gates pushing for more access to contraception in the developing world.
― Vini Reilly Invasion (Elvis Telecom), Wednesday, 16 May 2012 21:48 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/05/17/the_10_ted_talks_they_should_have_censored
― Mordy, Friday, 18 May 2012 21:02 (eleven years ago) link
TED is there to make you feel great about working within the status quo! Actually going to the thing is relatively exclusive, so why the fuck would they want to spread the idea that exclusive groups are not what's really influential?
― mh, Friday, 18 May 2012 21:23 (eleven years ago) link
xp watched one of those talks (Jane McGonigal), it was not the hilariously appalling embarrassingment they made it out to be.
― the fey monster (ledge), Friday, 18 May 2012 21:58 (eleven years ago) link
They didn't ban his speech because it was about income inequality, they banned it because it sucked.
The subject isn't "too hot for ted" - http://blog.ted.com/2012/05/17/playlist-the-roots-and-effects-of-income-equality/
― StanM, Friday, 18 May 2012 22:23 (eleven years ago) link
http://tedchris.posterous.com/131417405 <- read this
― StanM, Friday, 18 May 2012 22:25 (eleven years ago) link
Well, except . . . http://roundtable.nationaljournal.com/2012/05/more-on-ted-entrepreneurs-woul.php
I agree with your language about ecosystems, and your dismissal of some of the mechanistic economy orthodoxy, yet many of your own statements seem to go further than those arguments justifyBut even if the talk was rated a home run, we couldn't release it, because it would be unquestionably regarded as out and out political. We're in the middle of an election year in the US. Your argument comes down firmly on the side of one party. And you even reference that at the start of the talk. TED is nonpartisan and is fighting a constant battle with TEDx organizers to respect that principle. (This aspect wasn't helped by the news that David was planning to mobilize Move On to distribute the talk. If it wasn't political before, it certainly would have been then.)
But even if the talk was rated a home run, we couldn't release it, because it would be unquestionably regarded as out and out political. We're in the middle of an election year in the US. Your argument comes down firmly on the side of one party. And you even reference that at the start of the talk. TED is nonpartisan and is fighting a constant battle with TEDx organizers to respect that principle. (This aspect wasn't helped by the news that David was planning to mobilize Move On to distribute the talk. If it wasn't political before, it certainly would have been then.)
― i love the large auns pictures! (Phil D.), Friday, 18 May 2012 22:29 (eleven years ago) link
idk, unless you are purposefully politically naive, you're going to have an opinion about the whys and hows of income inequality, and will probably reference ways to fix it, and all of the thoughts I'm aware of have inherently partisan viewpoints.
I haven't heard a good conservative-perspective "this is why income inequality is at this level, and this is why (or this is why it's ok)" speech that doesn't completely piss me off! I welcome anyone who can point me to one.
― mh, Saturday, 19 May 2012 15:50 (eleven years ago) link
http://scientopia.org/blogs/goodmath/2012/06/03/numeric-pareidolia-and-vortex-math/
whoops.
― s.clover, Monday, 4 June 2012 21:50 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annetrubek/oh-god-ted-makes-a-book
lol.
― funny-skrillex-bee_132455836669.gif (s1ocki), Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:54 (eleven years ago) link
http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/terminal05/2012/6/28/11/enhanced-buzz-11596-1340898404-22.jpg
― am0n, Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:01 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwjlDBjNzXk
― am0n, Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:02 (eleven years ago) link
ohgod the excerpts from that book
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:03 (eleven years ago) link
this book sounds retarded
― carly rae (flopson), Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:07 (eleven years ago) link
also don't neglect to read the one s. clover posted
― carly rae (flopson), Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:09 (eleven years ago) link
I felt kind of bad that I was mocking TED at my friend who was asked to write a blog post for a local TEDx site. But I can see where he'd appreciate some of it because he's got an architecture background, and holy shit does that TED book sound like some of the crap that architects write.
― mh, Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:45 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDHET3aCI2U
― s.clover, Saturday, 11 August 2012 18:12 (eleven years ago) link
nope
― ○ (gr8080), Saturday, 11 August 2012 18:15 (eleven years ago) link
the tools and the passion, at the same damn timeimagine the future and the past, at the same damn timewonder insight ideas, at the same damn timewill you dream with me, will you build with me, at the same damn timeat the same damn time, at the same damn timeat the same damn time, at the same damn timeat the same damn time, at the same damn timeted time
― sleepingbag, Sunday, 12 August 2012 07:25 (eleven years ago) link
Via Whiney. Brooklyn's cycle is now complete:
http://www.brooklynbowl.com/event/189045?utm_source=MEL&utm_medium=20281
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 November 2012 21:14 (eleven years ago) link
"What if I told you that everything you *thought* you knew about TED Talks -- namely that they were of some intellectual substance -- was wrong??"
― Cunga, Monday, 26 November 2012 00:55 (eleven years ago) link
Do you guys not see that we are moving beyond SmartPhones and SmartComputers, into a technological and -- dare I say it? -- moral breakthrough that will bring us all SmartLives? That information is a friend and ignorance is on the retreat in all four corners of the world. But before we talk about how society, our society, is smarter than ever: let me tell you about the stabbing I witnessed at a Black Friday sale this weekend, and a quick review of Ke$ha's new album.
― Cunga, Monday, 26 November 2012 01:00 (eleven years ago) link
is the signature sound of TED uptalk.
― s.clover, Friday, 8 March 2013 20:48 (eleven years ago) link
TEDx talks are the user-generated someecards of the lecture circuit
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Friday, 8 March 2013 20:51 (eleven years ago) link
This article has it right:
TED is no longer a responsible curator of ideas “worth spreading.” Instead it has become something ludicrous, and a little sinister.Today TED is an insatiable kingpin of international meme laundering—a place where ideas, regardless of their quality, go to seek celebrity, to live in the form of videos, tweets, and now e-books. In the world of TED—or, to use their argot, in the TED “ecosystem”—books become talks, talks become memes, memes become projects, projects become talks, talks become books—and so it goes ad infinitum in the sizzling Stakhanovite cycle of memetics, until any shade of depth or nuance disappears into the virtual void. Richard Dawkins, the father of memetics, should be very proud. Perhaps he can explain how “ideas worth spreading” become “ideas no footnotes can support.”
Today TED is an insatiable kingpin of international meme laundering—a place where ideas, regardless of their quality, go to seek celebrity, to live in the form of videos, tweets, and now e-books. In the world of TED—or, to use their argot, in the TED “ecosystem”—books become talks, talks become memes, memes become projects, projects become talks, talks become books—and so it goes ad infinitum in the sizzling Stakhanovite cycle of memetics, until any shade of depth or nuance disappears into the virtual void. Richard Dawkins, the father of memetics, should be very proud. Perhaps he can explain how “ideas worth spreading” become “ideas no footnotes can support.”
from: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/105703/the-naked-and-the-ted-khanna
― Poliopolice, Friday, 8 March 2013 21:31 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.theonion.com/articles/ayman-alzawahiri-delivers-tedtalk-on-changing-face,31869/
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Sunday, 31 March 2013 21:27 (eleven years ago) link
The manliness thread introduced me to this guy's page:http://vimeo.com/jasonsilva
his bio is like napalm
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 21:51 (ten years ago) link
Many have called Silva an "Idea DJ" and a poet, describing him as "a re-vitalizer and remixer of optimism, and above all, a curator: of ideas, of inspiration, and of awe... like a trumpet player or modern-day digital Mingus, he jams, riffs and rhapsodizes through a tumbling thicket of ideas with such a sharp and vital alacrity that it can take the breath away."
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 21:54 (ten years ago) link
I guess he really could go in the awesomeness fest bucket, too, but I think he's got different aspirations
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 21:55 (ten years ago) link
He left the network to become, according to The Atlantic, "a part-time filmmaker and full-time walking, talking TEDTalk."
a lot of statehouses have been debating laws against this kind of thing lately
― j., Tuesday, 17 September 2013 21:57 (ten years ago) link
MANY have called him an idea dj??
― socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 22:38 (ten years ago) link
Actually, according to that quote, many have described him as "a re-vitalizer and remixer of optimism, and above all, a curator: of ideas, of inspiration, and of awe... like a trumpet player or modern-day digital Mingus, he jams, riffs and rhapsodizes through a tumbling thicket of ideas with such a sharp and vital alacrity that it can take the breath away." There's really an incredible degree of consensus on this guy.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 18 September 2013 01:04 (ten years ago) link
But I mean based on this guy's bio he is actually reasonably well-known it sounds like?
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 18 September 2013 01:06 (ten years ago) link
I know, you would think he wouldn't sound so desperate if he's actually done reasonable work, but apparently he's ramped it up to be a motivational speaker
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Wednesday, 18 September 2013 01:21 (ten years ago) link
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, September 17, 2013 9:06 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
never trust bios. especially bios of ppl whose job seems to be self-promoter
― socki (s1ocki), Wednesday, 18 September 2013 20:38 (ten years ago) link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Lovethesetrees
It's cool, just a wikipedia user that only ever edited a single page, nothing suspicious here
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Wednesday, 18 September 2013 21:15 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/p9uEHzA.jpg
― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Thursday, 19 September 2013 15:58 (ten years ago) link
pictures of people who have figured out how to swindle
― HOOS it because...of steen???? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:09 (ten years ago) link
He has some innovative strategies to help you become sexually available.
― fake penthouse letters mcgee, Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:11 (ten years ago) link
"From YOUR point of view I'm oriented northwest to southeast.... but from MY point of view it's northeast to southwest! MAKES U THINK"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:20 (ten years ago) link
can alacrity really be sharp
― j., Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:24 (ten years ago) link
thing about him is, he still thinks inside the box.
― fake penthouse letters mcgee, Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:25 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/nowjzaq.jpg
― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:32 (ten years ago) link
My departmental yearly meeting kicked off with someone playing a TED talk and I was dying inside
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:43 (ten years ago) link
WONDER
― Spectrum, Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:44 (ten years ago) link
only happens in that intersection of science and art
― beautifully, unapologetically plastic (mh), Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:46 (ten years ago) link
i don't know if anyone noticed but there's a little subliminal thing in the above image of him saying hi.
― fake penthouse letters mcgee, Thursday, 19 September 2013 16:48 (ten years ago) link
The NPR/TED radio hour is some amazing synergy, guys.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 19 September 2013 18:49 (ten years ago) link
synergism
― HOOS it because...of steen???? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 19 September 2013 19:26 (ten years ago) link
It would be so awesome if he then lifted up his other hand and on the palm was written "YOU DIPSHIT"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 20 September 2013 00:36 (ten years ago) link
http://i39.tinypic.com/wt7hhs.jpg
― fake penthouse letters mcgee, Friday, 20 September 2013 00:57 (ten years ago) link
this man is a hero:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yFhR1fKWG0
― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Friday, 11 October 2013 13:24 (ten years ago) link
i don't lol often but i have been rolling.
― lorde willin' (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 11 October 2013 21:37 (ten years ago) link
WE'RE GONNA KILL 'EM ALL!!!
― ᶓ͠סּᴥ͠סּᶔ ᶓͼ᷆ₓͼ᷇ᶔ (gr8080), Friday, 11 October 2013 21:50 (ten years ago) link
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/13/ted_talks_are_lying_to_you/
― Saul Goodberg (by Musket and Pup Tent) (s.clover), Sunday, 13 October 2013 16:25 (ten years ago) link
Look on the other speakers' faces during the q&a is priceless
― goth drama is universal (latebloomer), Sunday, 13 October 2013 22:37 (ten years ago) link
:D
― imago, Sunday, 13 October 2013 22:57 (ten years ago) link
clover that thing has sharp knives watch out
― HOOS it because...of steen???? (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Sunday, 13 October 2013 23:31 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ptUVhs1UU
― imago, Sunday, 13 October 2013 23:32 (ten years ago) link
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted
Let me tell you a story. I was at a presentation that a friend, an astrophysicist, gave to a potential donor. I thought the presentation was lucid and compelling (and I'm a professor of visual arts here at UC San Diego so at the end of the day, I know really nothing about astrophysics). After the talk the sponsor said to him, "you know what, I'm gonna pass because I just don't feel inspired ...you should be more like Malcolm Gladwell."
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 3 January 2014 06:13 (ten years ago) link
https://chronicle.com/article/The-New-Academic-Celebrity/145845/
― j., Tuesday, 15 April 2014 16:34 (ten years ago) link
:-/
― ryan, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 16:40 (ten years ago) link
isn;t the whole point of this dumb shit to post the links on the internet?
i need to see a Spike Lee Ted Talk to research a piece i'm writing and its nowhere on the internet
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 16:18 (nine years ago) link
oh, that's TEDx, or cargo cult fake TED
― a strange man (mh), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 16:19 (nine years ago) link
Quiz: North Korean Slogan or TED Talk Sound Bite?
only got 7 out of 14 : /
― mookieproof, Thursday, 19 February 2015 18:20 (nine years ago) link
that's hilarious
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 19 February 2015 19:55 (nine years ago) link
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 19 February 2015 20:08 (nine years ago) link
http://secondlanguage.blogspot.com/2014/08/academic-virtues.html
Perhaps the greatest academic virtue, that is, is patience. Too many academics today think of themselves as public intellectuals whose job it is to "spread ideas" through the most efficient media available to them. Such academics are, literally, ideologues; they think universities produce and distribute ideas. What universities really "produce", friends, is more articulate and knowledgeable students. People who are less likely to be immediately impressed by a TED talk, in fact, because they have a higher standard of belief.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 19 February 2015 20:09 (nine years ago) link
Want to talk about this:
http://www.theawl.com/2014/01/what-if-these-seven-famous-ted-talks-are-just-totally-wrong
― cardamon, Saturday, 21 February 2015 21:29 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZBKX-6Gz6A
― De La Soul is no Major Lazer (ulysses), Friday, 10 June 2016 18:18 (seven years ago) link