I started my journey away from Utah with a cup of hot chocolate from City Cakes and Cafe. My barista, Emily, decided to write me a message to send me on my way. There might be a grammar error on the cup, but the sentiment is what matters in this instance.
Do TED talks empower people or Enable them to do nothing?
In a brilliant lampoon of TED Talks, Will Stephen delivers a talk about nothing in such a convincing manner that it seems like the audience has learned something. Perhaps those who have thought about his comedic styles where he uses tone and body language to deliver his points that are totally made up and not researched might find some connection between his talk and that of TEDx speaker Benjamin Bratton.
Where Stephen hides his possible message behind comedy and nothing, Bratton calls TED Talks dangerously cynical. While Bratton has nothing against an expert creating a message that laypeople can understand, he says that TED Talks are more insidious.
“This is not popularization. This is taking something of substance and coring it out, so that it can be swallowed without chewing,” says Bratton. “This is not how we will confront our frightening problems. This is one of our most frightening problems.”
Bratton says that TED Talks:
While many speakers at TED Talks may, like Stephen, sound like they are delivering some great epiphany that we can all learn from, it may be just the opposite. They are pandering to the idea that, as Megan Hustad put it in here NY Times article, “simply showing up to listen makes you part of the solution.”
TED’s website says that it is there for the spreading of ideas, but as we know from our creativity classes, having ideas isn’t enough. In order for innovation and change to happen, those ideas must be implemented. While TED Talks may be a good way to get a taste of different subjects while reveling in the mostly optimistic endings, they may not go far enough in creating real change or real education.
Links against TED Talks
https://youtu.be/8S0FDjFBj8o How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk by Will Stephen
http://gawker.com/tedx-speaker-talks-about-how-ted-talks-are-bullshit-1496985980 Ted Talks are B.S. by Benjamin Bratton
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/the-church-of-ted.html?_r=1 How TED Talks mimic the very organizations they look to disrupt by Megan Hustad
Links for TED Talks
http://www.ted.com/about/our-organization Ted Talks About Us page
Neutral links
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/ted-age-anxiety/ Amid dire visions of the future, glimmers of hope
Where Stephen hides his possible message behind comedy and nothing, Bratton calls TED Talks dangerously cynical. While Bratton has nothing against an expert creating a message that laypeople can understand, he says that TED Talks are more insidious.
“This is not popularization. This is taking something of substance and coring it out, so that it can be swallowed without chewing,” says Bratton. “This is not how we will confront our frightening problems. This is one of our most frightening problems.”
Bratton says that TED Talks:
- Oversimplify
- Assume that talking about a world changing idea will change the world
- Put too much faith in technology without commitment to it
- Ignores the systemic issues of capitalism
- Believe that design is some magic answer
While many speakers at TED Talks may, like Stephen, sound like they are delivering some great epiphany that we can all learn from, it may be just the opposite. They are pandering to the idea that, as Megan Hustad put it in here NY Times article, “simply showing up to listen makes you part of the solution.”
TED’s website says that it is there for the spreading of ideas, but as we know from our creativity classes, having ideas isn’t enough. In order for innovation and change to happen, those ideas must be implemented. While TED Talks may be a good way to get a taste of different subjects while reveling in the mostly optimistic endings, they may not go far enough in creating real change or real education.
Links against TED Talks
https://youtu.be/8S0FDjFBj8o How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk by Will Stephen
http://gawker.com/tedx-speaker-talks-about-how-ted-talks-are-bullshit-1496985980 Ted Talks are B.S. by Benjamin Bratton
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/opinion/sunday/the-church-of-ted.html?_r=1 How TED Talks mimic the very organizations they look to disrupt by Megan Hustad
Links for TED Talks
http://www.ted.com/about/our-organization Ted Talks About Us page
Neutral links
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/ted-age-anxiety/ Amid dire visions of the future, glimmers of hope