TED Talks
(Wed Feb 06, 2008) [/Misc] #
I hope one day to attend a TED conference. It's highly unlikely given that attendance is by invitation only, but a guy can dream. In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoy watching the TED talk videos.
What I like most about watching the videos is that they aren't all focused on software or technology. For that matter, they aren't all focused on any one thing. TED brings together the world's greatest thinkers and doers to give inspiring talks on various themes: art, biology, climatology, design, economics, invention, poverty, religion, technology, and so on.
Here's the interesting thing: It's a single-track conference. Everyone sees the same talk at the same time. This seems inefficient because we're used to conferences with sharp focus—the software geeks go one way, the climate change experts go another, and consequently the folks trying to solve global poverty issues don't immediately benefit from the advances made in software and climatology.
But TED is in the idea-spreading business. And to efficiently spread ideas on a grand scale, you need a wide-angle view. All this stuff is changing and, more to the point, at some level it's all interconnected. So if you're looking for inspiration, I highly recommend a steady intake of TED talks. Here are a few of my favorites:
- JJ Abrams' mystery box
- Deborah Gordon digs ants
- David Gallo shows underwater astonishments
- Larry Lessig says the law is strangling creativity
- Erin McKean redefines the dictionary
- Seth Godin on sliced bread
- Malcolm Gladwell on spaghetti sauce
- Steven Levitt analyzes crack economics
- Carolyn Porco: Fly me to the moons of Saturn
(You can also subscribe to the videos via iTunes.)
Enjoy!
