What’s the best TED Talk ever? That’s the little debate taking place on Reddit.com, and the answer is not obvious, seeing that TED now has over 500 talks available in its archive. (You can find a constantly updated list of every TED Talk in a Google spreadsheet here.)
Now, what are some of the Reddit favorites? Here are five talks that get frequent mentions.
- Sir Ken Robinson on “Do Schools Kill Creativity” (See my mea culpa in the comments.)
- Dan Gilbert on “Why are We Happy”
- Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) on Nurturing Creativity (Not one of my personal favorites.)
- Richard Dawkins on our “Queer” Universe
- Dan Ariely asks “Are We in Control of our Own Decisions?”
Meanwhile, it’s worth mentioning that TED keeps its own running list of its 10 most popular talks. Some good ones here. And now your turn. Tell us your favorites in the comments below, and don’t be shy.
Richard St. John’s 8 secrets of success
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html
The one you finde overrated is my favorite TED talks ever,the one that’s not your personal fave is my 2nd favorite, and Karen Armstrong’s recent one on compassion is my 3rd favorite.
I’m a fan of Ken Robinson’s talk on creativity; I go back to it every few months, actually.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Hands-down, Jill Bolte Taylor’s ‘Stroke of Insight’ talk:
http://tinyurl.com/3l9h9y
I agree ken robinsons on creativity is great as is Dan Gilbert on happiness actually did a project on happiness on my website, also sagmeisters talk is great but i have to say i was most intrigued by joshua klein and his crows http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html
sorry Ted is a brilliant source of inspiration from inspiring people
this is my correct link to my web page could some one change it in my earlier post
One of my favorites is “Why do crack dealers still live with their mothers”.
I think this Jonathan Lee Wii hacks one is pretty dang impressive!
My favorites change all the time, but at the moment it is definitely Itay Talgam, for managers, teachers and so on:
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/663
Dave Eggers, o
Once Upon a School — Come on a pirate store, how cool is that
I’m a total sucker for Ken Robinson.
I’m not an education expert which, perhaps, is why I’m willing to let certain generalizations pass.
In terms of both inspiration and humor it can’t be matched. It’s like inspiring stand-up comedy with lots of interesting ideas.
Overrated?
I’m not sure what to make of your commentary on Ken Robinson’s enthralling talk other than to point to the nerve that it continues to strike amongst a wide variety of people who can identify with it’s positive approach to a difficult subject.
Overrated?
Tell that to the legions of curious, creative youngsters who’ll be unknowingly fed into the soulless morass that passes for K-12 in the U.S. only to come out newly minted members of the walking-wounded unable to grasp why they’re so ill-prepared for a rapidly changing world.
the trees speak: http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html
and the related one about the ritual that keeps young priests sequestered for 18 years: http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_the_worldwide_web_of_belief_and_ritual.html
and bacteria communication: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html
just a few that came to mind
I can’t pick one favorite, but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Thomas Barnett’s talk on changing the Department of Defense to make it more capable at keeping a hard-fought peace. Funny and very smart. http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_barnett_draws_a_new_map_for_peace.html
My personal favorite is “Do Schools Kill Creativity”. It appeared only a few days after a colleague and myself were discussing this very topic.
Ditto ARJ: “Stroke of Insight” moves me deeply, seems to open again and again a doorway into an altered state that is both sublime and dangerous. But her subjective experience is informed by science, so you get both the head & the heart.
The TED Talk that got a standing ovation @ TEDx Maastricht: “Doing the Impossible, Swallowing the Sword, Cutting Thru Fear” http://youtu.be/Ve4rtLZPZ90
My favorite TED talk is
“Doing the Impossible, Cutting through Fear” at TEDxMaastricht:
http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Cutting-through-Fear-Dan-Meyer-a
http://youtu.be/v7tqyim1qhw