TED talks: Technology, Entertainment, Design
Gather the world's leading thinkers and doers, offer them four days of rapid-fire stimulation, and the result? Unexpected connections. Extraordinary insights. Powerful inspiration.
Each year, the world's leading thinkers and doers gather in for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. Attendees have called it "The ultimate brain spa," "Davos for optimists" and "A four-day journey into the future, in the company of those creating it." This event is called TED, and it's truly a conference like no other.
"It was incredible." Malcolm Gladwell
"A mind-opening experience." Amy Tan
"One of the highlights of my entire life." Billy Graham
"I've never experienced anything remotely like it." Jeffrey Katzenberg
"The combined IQ of the attendees is incredible." Bill Gates
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. The format is fast paced: 50+ talks over the course of four days (to say nothing of the morning and evening events). This immersive environment allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places. This is the magic of TED.
Some of my favorite TED talks below (but I have so many favs.....it would be impossible to list them all so go and see for yourself): www.ted.com/
Janine Benyus - Biomimcry (I especially love her talk at the 2009 Bioneers Conference but it's been taken offline--probably being included in a purchased DVD soon. She's also featured in a documentary called 11th Hour Action 11thhouraction.com/seethefilm)
www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html
Evelyn Glennie - Scottish percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie lost nearly all of her hearing by age 12. Rather than isolating her, it has given her a unique connection to her music. www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen.html
Pilobolus - This collaborative dance company is acclaimed for its mix of humor, invention, and drama. Drawing inspiration from biology (how many dance troupes would name themselves after a fungus that thrives in cow dung?), Pilobolus has created a dance vocabulary all its own. www.ted.com/talks/pilobolus_perform_symbiosis.html
And of course Jill Bolte Taylor - Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story. www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html