Fists & Angles, Christs & Angels: TED Talks

Friday, September 9, 2011

TED Talks

The TED Talks are some of the most fascinating and informative things I've ever found on the internet. I could spend hours watching these. And though often out of my league intellectually, there are a ton of these talks by some of the most normal people that will flip your lid if you take the time to check them out. Ranging from exploratory sciences to philosophy, creativity to social media, each talk, regardless of the depth or scope will captivate you. Guaranteed.

From the wiki page (TED Talks Wikipedia):

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading."

TED was founded in 1984^[1] as a one-off event and the conference was held annually from 1990 in Monterey, California.^[3] TED's early emphasis was largely technology and design, consistent with a Silicon Valley center of gravity. The events are now held in Long Beach and Palm Springs in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the talks. They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, educator Salman Khan, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.^[4] TED's current curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson.

From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded annually to help its winners realize a chosen wish to change the world. From 2010, in a changed selection process, a single winner is chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish. Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference.

Since June 2006,^[1]the talks have been offered for free viewing online, under a Creative Commons license, through TED.com. As of August 2011, over 900 talks are available free online. By January 2009 they had been viewed 50 million times. In June 2011, the viewing figure stood at more than 500 million,^[5] reflecting a still growing global audience.^[6]