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
lol joe did ur dad invent Ted or something
― 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