For those of you who aren’t familiar with TED Talks (Technology Entertainment and Design) you will probably be dieing to give me an e-hug after this one. TED Talks, in short, are described as “ideas worth spreading”, but I like to think of it being much more important than that. If I were in charge, their motto would read, “ideas too crucial to keep contained.” That’s also why I’ll never be a professional motto writer.
TED Talks is an annual conference where intellectual leaders in a variety of fields deliver brief (approximately 20 minute) lectures to an audience of 1,000 people. As of the last few years, these talks are now available for free public viewing online at their website.
Where else can you find some of the top individuals in different walks of life presenting information that 99% of the public is either unaware of, or hasn’t thought critically enough about? Imagine a class where each week you’d watch a new TED Talks lecture and then spend some time researching the topic and engaging in a Socratic Seminar seminar by weeks end. Beats memorizing the all of the battle dates of The Civil War.
I’ll end the rant here and suggest to you a few of my favorite talks, although all of them are excellent. Enjoy…
Malcolm Gladwell (Maybe my favorite writer)
Tony Robbins
Sir Ken Robinson
An Inconvenient Gore
Also, quickly, these talks are available as video podcasts through iTunes. Each weekday, a new talk is released. It may be impossible to get through them all, but I will try. You should too.