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We Are Now at Peak TED

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Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#41

Post by patcon »

melted wrote: post #33

Some of their speakers are just talking out of their ass. There was a woman on TED Radio Hour a few weeks back who was going on and on about how it's so bad that we bury the bodies when people die, and we should instead dress our dead in some mushroom spore infused garbs she's trying to sell. Having a brain of my own, I was like "Lady, do you realize that each of these bodies has produced an enormous mountain of wast…

I was going to respectfully disagree, assuming this speaker was instead referring to larger things about changing the culture of death. But then I actually skimmed the video, and she really is just saying that we shouldn't bury because our bodies house natural toxins. It's pretty silly. I would say that the organizers recognize her getting the stage was a mistake... :)

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#42

Post by bobbygoodlatte »

minikites wrote: post #3

This banned TED talk is all you need to know about TED and where their motivations are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g Peak TED is actually this video on how to use one paper towel when washing your hands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FMBSblpcrc . You mean if you shake your hands and fling water all over the bathroom then you don't need as much paper to absorb the remaining water? How revolutionary.

The talk wasn't 'banned'.

Many of the talks from TED never make it online. They only post one a day, and have a huge back-log of great talks to post.

Nick's original talk just didn't make the cut. I genuinely believe that was an editorial decision, not a political one. To that point, he gave an improved version of the talk a few years later which TED gladly posted online here: http://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocra...

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#43

Post by gsteinb88 »

bananaboy wrote: post #35
gsteinb88 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that Feynman is the best example here. In fact, in my experience, he's actually more of an example of the problem than the solution. While Feynman does a great job of explaining concepts if you never need to use them, I always found his lectures to be of the "captivating until you try to use them" variety. This wasn't just my experience either -- after struggling with this as a physics undergrad for a wh…

There was a post about that exact topic on math-blog recently http://math-blog.com/2016/02/01/was-richard-feynman-a-great-... Summary: he wasn't a great undergraduate teacher.

That was a fantastic post, thank you for sharing. Ironically, while affirming the view I held above, it also makes me think I should -- maybe -- give them another chance now that I'm well along in graduate school as opposed to a struggling undergrad.

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#44

Post by ryanobjc »

alexashka wrote: post #16
FlailFast wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True that, which is sad, because charisma can legitimately lower the difficulty of understanding complex ideas; think of your best teachers/favorite professors. I wish TED was filled with more Richard Feynman (charisma * ideas) and less Tony Robbins (charisma % ideas).

Perhaps I'm nitpicking but charisma gets people to listen, that's it. It is not related to the quality of the content. The problem with Tony Robbins is he's mister positive and only focused on personal improvement. These are enormous constraints that ignore the bigger picture. Feynman is great at explaining physics because it's not wishy washy - it is also really not that interesting past the cute basics, sooner or l…

This is exactly my thoughts on what's wrong with TED.

It's not in the pursuit of the truth. Therefore, it's in the pursuit of status.

You can see this among those who wave around TED talks they have seen as some kind of currency. "Oh have you seen the TED talk about Y? It's so amazing!"

But also, by their nature, the talks cant dive deep. People are there to be amused and kind of learn, but real education is difficult. TED isn't difficult.

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#45

Post by ryanobjc »

Beltiras wrote: post #36
ryanobjc wrote: post #32

TED just seems so neat, thought leaders talking about things no one else did. Except the depth is necessarily shallow. So I listened to a TED talk about how social media needs to change and it exacerbates problems. Except he's light on analysis and ideas. Which is fine I guess, but to me, hearing about how the problem exists without the follow up of ideas on how to fix, just seems incomplete. And yes, I know, I'm giv…

Some problems need to be acknowledged long before you close in on a solution. Sometimes stating a problem in clearer terms will bring new thoughts on a solution. That can have value in and of itself.

Sure, but what happens if that is all you end up with?

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#46

Post by Beltiras »

ryanobjc wrote: post #45
Beltiras wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some problems need to be acknowledged long before you close in on a solution. Sometimes stating a problem in clearer terms will bring new thoughts on a solution. That can have value in and of itself.

Sure, but what happens if that is all you end up with?

Then stakeholders need to redefine the problem until the solution presents itself. You can't solve a hard problem without understanding it.

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#48

Post by Spooky23 »

vidoc wrote: post #10

TED, or the perfect display of what public speaking is today: that is, getting some kind of Tony Robbins on stage, who wont be shy of using the same tricks they learnt at some toaster club, to inspire and wow a crowd that's actually more here to enjoy their charisma rather than their ideas. TED is the absolute evidence that the powerpointization of ideas is in its terminal stage.

Don't forget that any TED speaker must master some inspiration-y hand gesture to look like a visionary in the still photo preview.

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#49

Post by ChuckMcM »

gsteinb88 wrote: post #43
bananaboy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a post about that exact topic on math-blog recently http://math-blog.com/2016/02/01/was-richard-feynman-a-great-... Summary: he wasn't a great undergraduate teacher.

That was a fantastic post, thank you for sharing. Ironically, while affirming the view I held above, it also makes me think I should -- maybe -- give them another chance now that I'm well along in graduate school as opposed to a struggling undergrad.

I think you should. I had a similar experience with Feynman. Who spoke with assuming a certain level of familarity but with an engaging style that let your brain skip right over what it didn't really understand. Re-reading his lectures on physics and the papers on computation, post college, was a much deeper experience than reading him in High School. Even though I enjoyed both times tremendously.

Re: We Are Now at Peak TED

#50

Post by mikesickler »

As a victim of its own success, the quality of presentations has to go down. TED reminds me of Inside the Actors Studio. Stick around long enough and eventually you're talking to Tim Allen about his "process."
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