8 ms·

The elephants in the room at TED

70 points by bensummers 17y ago

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
- bensummers 17y ago
  I think he was invited. Scoble: "The TED conference has given me a huge responsibility. They’ve handed me one of a small handful of press badges." http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/ http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/
- ThomPete 17y ago
  He was invited. He is reflecting on the elitist claims about TED
3dFlatLander 17y ago
My only wish is that TED would release all the talks on the website. I think the talks are secondary to the networking that happens there, and that gives the conference its value and keeps people coming. The videos they've posted are awesome, but I always wonder on what isn't up there.
- dsplittgerber 17y ago
  Chris Anderson said that it's mostly the second-rate stuff that doesn't get published, even over time. There must have been a handful of talks that were really disappointing and they don't seem to want them making the rounds.
  - WarDekar 17y ago
    Is there a list of ones they plan on posting? I was under the impression they were only posting 1 every weekday, and so far the only 2 up (at least on the official site) are Blaise Aguera y Arcas on Augmented Reality and Jamie Oliver's wish for food for every child. While I found both of those interesting, I'm really looking forward to a few of the others and only 1/day being posted is brutal.
  - maw 17y ago
    Yet they've published Isabel Allende's talk?
  - blasdel 17y ago
    Note that this is a different .com boom magazine publisher than the one of the same name from Wired: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_(TED) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_(TED)
trevelyan 17y ago
summary: celebrity worship.
- dsplittgerber 17y ago
  If by celebrities you mean some of the most insightful and inspiring people from many countries all over the world, then you are quite right. It reads like worshipping the effort these people have put into achieving progress, which sounds great to me. Otherwise, I guess you're just being cynical or snarky.
  - _delirium 17y ago
    Some of the talks are genuinely good, but many have a sort of weird vibe to them that I find offputting, that seems to value flashiness and trends over intellectual content. Sort of like if all of academia were the MIT Media Lab. Some, especially the management/motivation/life-philosophy ones, even border on the new-agey psuedo-psych sort of stuff you find on the corporate speaking circuit.
    - tsally 17y ago
      ...the talks are 18 minutes or less. If any of the talks seemed lacking in intellectual content to you it's most likely because of time constraints. For example Ken Robinson's talk on education was 100% motivation/life-philosophy, simply because he doesn't have time to present the proof he's based his opinions on. The proof does exist though; all the speakers have the credentials to back up their presentations. I'd be interesting in a few of the "many" examples you have of this type of talk you object you. If you wouldn't mind, please link to a few here. I haven't seen a single TED talk that fits the "corporate speaking circuit" test.
      - _delirium 17y ago
        Daniel Pink came to mind when I was writing that part. I agree in an 18-minute talk you can only sort of speak in generalities, but in his case, his books are similarly unscientific.
restruct 17y ago
Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world.
- mmelin 17y ago
  I think this is a fantastic model and would love to see it more widely used. For example, a small portion of the tuition of Stanford and MIT students (among others) finance the creation and publication of free quality education material to the rest of the world. How much faster would our world develop if all education was made available this way, financed by people who have the money to spend to be the first to learn something/have the benefit of real-life interaction with the original professor?
- wheels 17y ago
  I'm actually surprised by the public spat over $6000; I figured it was much more or invite only. I mean, heck, a lot of the web conferences are $2000-3000.
  - dcurtis 17y ago
    It is invite only. You have to be invited, and then you have to be willing to pay $6000 to attend.
  - rdouble 17y ago
    "I don’t have $6,000..." More surprising is that Scoble's been doing whatever it is he does for so long and he doesn't have $6000.
    - jhancock 17y ago
      I believe Mr. Scoble has a family. Anyone here with a family that still works for a living will tell you that you don't have $6000 to spend on yourself.
      - deleted 17y ago
nandemo 17y ago
What makes TED TED? Well, for one, it’s TED because Sarah wasn’t there (and I won’t be there next year because I didn’t pay the $6,000 in time). Its elitism and expense IS part of why TED is magical (...) This sounds really weird to me. I think what makes TED TED are some amazing talks by interesting people. We can watch it on the net. Who cares how rich the audience is? If anything, I suppose the audience is partly the cause of what I dislike in TED: the almost stereotypical Stuff White People Like content and tone of some talks.
- Tichy 17y ago
  "the almost stereotypical Stuff White People Like content" Maybe, but then where is the "stuff non-white people like" conference that everybody is watching? Everybody is free to organize a conference, so why do only the stereotypical white people seem to bother doing it? To be clear, I don't want to imply that "white people" are better somehow, I just have troubles grasping the "stuff white people like" complaint. Also, maybe there really is a non-white TED out there, which right now has 200 votes on non-white Hacker News. If so, it would be very interesting to hear about it (both the conference and non-white hacker news).
  - nandemo 17y ago
    Please don't take it literally. I meant SWPL as in this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ and thought it would be understood. What I mean is stuff that is too "liberal", too bland, too politically correct for my taste. A bit hypocritical at times. It's just my opinion; perhaps I should have phrased it differently. This is only tangentially related to race, by the way. People all over the world (including me) love classical music etc, but by using a derogatory term I'm implying only the stuff I dislike. ;-)
    - Tichy 17y ago
      I kind of understand, but I would really be interested in the "other stuff". I suppose for TED, ultimately the speakers are still selected by the organizers (don't know TED very well). What would be a more exciting event? I suppose there already are some?
rogermugs 17y ago
The Elitist Dominate TED
moron4hire 17y ago
$6000 a ticket isn't a lot considering the caliber of speakers that they bring in. They're paying the speakers, right?
- dho 17y ago
  "TED has never paid speakers to attend, but we're committed to creating an experience that's tremendously fulfilling and beneficial on all sides. We do, of course, cover travel costs to Long Beach or Palm Springs, and provide excellent hotel accommodation." Source: http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/73 http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/73
  - moron4hire 17y ago
    Well, the travel expenses aren't anywhere near what a speaking fee would be, but at least the speakers aren't having to dip in to their own pockets to make a free talk happen. So where does the $6000/ticket go? It seems like a bit more than what would be necessary to cover those costs.
    - simonk 17y ago
      The TED conference is owned by a charity which they run the TED Prize and the TED Fellows programs.
    - wrs 17y ago
      $4000 is a donation to the non-profit Sapling Foundation. The rest is pretty reasonable considering it's a 5-day conference with very high production values. (Except the food, which is kinda hit or miss.)
- tomjen2 17y ago
  They could never afford to pay the speakers when they only make 6k a person and bring in so many famous speakers. They have to get them to do it for free.
barrkel 17y ago
Personally, I find about 80% of TED talks to be painfully pretentious, saccharine, or so desperately worthy they just make me weary. For example: "how we rescued the dancing bears", "embrace your inner girl", "[someone] teaches kids to take charge", "the uniqueness of humans"; things I could only listen to with gritted teeth.
- fragmede 17y ago
  Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.
  - barrkel 17y ago
    For sure; but e.g. with science fiction, I can delve well into, say, the top 60% without feeling nauseous. The same is not the case with TED.
- Tichy 17y ago
  Solution: only watch the ones that get upvoted on Hacker News. That's what I do, anyway.
- moron4hire 17y ago
  Yeah, the socio-political talks are pretty soft-ball, but I really enjoy the tech and art talks.
- fnid2 17y ago
  I call it "intellectual masturbation." Mutual intellectual masturbation in the case of TED and I participate remotely over the internet in a voyeuristic manner stroking my curiosity as I watch the people on stage.
GHFigs 17y ago
Herein Scoble fulfills the "huge responsibility"[1] of getting a rare TED press pass by reminding us once again of how awesome it is to be Scoble. In a truly shocking turn of events, getting to attend has made him no longer jealous of people who get to attend. Sweet badges, networking with rich folk and stage decor that helps you "weave together a fabric that encourages your mind to explore new ideas" while staring off into space during a boring talk will do that to you, I suppose. If I didn't know that this is just how Scoble writes about everything, I would have come away with a worse opinion of TED than I had going into it. TED is supposedly about "ideas worth spreading", not how awesome it is to be rich and white (or fashionably ethnic). If I wanted to know about things rich people do that I will never do, I'd watch My Super Sweet 16. It's no wonder they don't hand out more press passes. I think the way to address complaints of elitism is to not. If being an exclusive event is how the sausage gets made, great. Reasonable people understand that the hype and pretense surrounding TED does not negate the value of the content that it produces. Reasonable people skip the unbearably pompous intro music and the punctuating two minutes of advertisement for things that rich people care about and simply enjoy the talks. Reasonable people don't care about how awesome it is to get into the exclusive club. [1]:http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/ http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/
- flog 17y ago
  I'm tickled to see elitists getting out elited(I'm making up words now, but you get my drift).
- aaronbrethorst 17y ago
  You did a great job of nailing Scoble's M.O.: 'I thought X sucked, but then I got to use/be part of X and now I think X is awesome. Next year, I'll think X sucks again once Dave Winer reminds me that he thinks X sucks.'
mark_l_watson 17y ago
Great article. I also have felt some "TED attendance envy" while really enjoying the online videos. For some people, the value of personal networking far out weighs the travel costs and conference fee. I like to write (i.e., email) people who entertain, inform and/or impress me, and I am pleasantly surprised how often people respond to questions and comments.
pw0ncakes 17y ago
The controversy is over a measly $6000? That's what the fuss is about? Most people on this site have had $100,000+ spent by their parents in order for them to attend an invitation-only institution at which they spent four years networking with the supposed future leaders! Gasp! Honestly, TED seems like a much better investment than an elite college. Four years' time and $100-200k, at an age where it's mostly impossible to predict who will accomplish anything, with those "future leaders" selected by unqualified bureaucrats? Or $6000 for face-time with sure bets? Just sayin'. There are a lot of problems with our society and with parasitic elites, so don't get me wrong: I'm all about busting and beating on those who try to hoard power. I'd love to see a car bomb hit Skull and Bones, and I'd gladly contribute to an Internet hit pool on anyone who attended the Bilderberg conference. But we have to pick our targets carefully, and TED does not seem to deserve our indignation, at least not based on what I've read. My understanding is that it's relatively easy to get in if you have the $6000 (again, cheaper than college) and sign up early; it seems like it's difficult to enter because there's so much demand that the spots fill up early. Well? That's life.
- Maro 17y ago
  Most people on this site? Really?
- ramchip 17y ago
  I'd like to know where you went to pay 100-200k in tuition fees and get nothing but networking out of it. Where I live, a bachelor's degree is about 15k (total), and is about learning engineering, physics or whatever you want to do. Going to TED twice won't give you quite the same skills...
  - pw0ncakes 17y ago
    That was perhaps a bit inflammatory... I probably shouldn't have posted it, at least not in that tone and manner. Certainly college doesn't provide "nothing but networking", nor does going to TED. You learn a lot in the process, sure. The reason American tuition is so high, however, especially at elite schools, is because a lot of Americans believe that attending the right college is a golden ticket of sorts. I guess my point is that there's no sense in being indignant about $6000 to attend TED when Americans are willing to spend an additional $250k over the cost of attending a first-rate state university (including the prep high schools required for most people to have a decent chance at the most prestigious college) for the supposed networking advantages.
heed 17y ago
I don't like TED, but I like information. Don't get me wrong, there is spectacular information being distributed by TED, but I almost feel tricked into obtaining it. The conference is so heavily designed around status, and ego that it seems like more of a marketing tool for the intellectual elite to boost their personal brand than a platform to share ideas. It's inefficient, and deceptive. What I'd like to see instead of 5-20min presentations is one html webpage with bits of text and perhaps a few high quality images, or at least the option to access the information in this format. To me, everything else is fluff. I just want the information, not the ego, not the voice, not the brands, not the emotion, not the cheering. Just the information. I know I might be coming across as snarky, or counter-elitist, but it really isn't my intention. I love quality information, and TED confuses me. I often want to idolize and praise these wonderful people that give wonderful speeches more than their ideas, and I'm saddened. Would the information be any less profound written on a bathroom wall? I'm definitely torn, but I'm beginning to think it doesn't matter...
- dnsworks 17y ago
  I can think of more than a few TED talks that just wouldn't have translated without the oral and verbal clues. The joy in Erin Mckean's voice when saying synecdochically or erinanceous would be completely lost in text.

70 points by bensummers 17y ago

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

bensummers 17y ago
I think he was invited. Scoble: "The TED conference has given me a huge responsibility. They’ve handed me one of a small handful of press badges." http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/ http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/
ThomPete 17y ago
He was invited. He is reflecting on the elitist claims about TED

3dFlatLander 17y ago

My only wish is that TED would release all the talks on the website. I think the talks are secondary to the networking that happens there, and that gives the conference its value and keeps people coming. The videos they've posted are awesome, but I always wonder on what isn't up there.

dsplittgerber 17y ago
Chris Anderson said that it's mostly the second-rate stuff that doesn't get published, even over time. There must have been a handful of talks that were really disappointing and they don't seem to want them making the rounds.
- WarDekar 17y ago
  Is there a list of ones they plan on posting? I was under the impression they were only posting 1 every weekday, and so far the only 2 up (at least on the official site) are Blaise Aguera y Arcas on Augmented Reality and Jamie Oliver's wish for food for every child. While I found both of those interesting, I'm really looking forward to a few of the others and only 1/day being posted is brutal.
- maw 17y ago
  Yet they've published Isabel Allende's talk?
- blasdel 17y ago
  Note that this is a different .com boom magazine publisher than the one of the same name from Wired: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_(TED) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_(TED)

trevelyan 17y ago

summary: celebrity worship.

dsplittgerber 17y ago
If by celebrities you mean some of the most insightful and inspiring people from many countries all over the world, then you are quite right. It reads like worshipping the effort these people have put into achieving progress, which sounds great to me. Otherwise, I guess you're just being cynical or snarky.
- _delirium 17y ago
  Some of the talks are genuinely good, but many have a sort of weird vibe to them that I find offputting, that seems to value flashiness and trends over intellectual content. Sort of like if all of academia were the MIT Media Lab. Some, especially the management/motivation/life-philosophy ones, even border on the new-agey psuedo-psych sort of stuff you find on the corporate speaking circuit.
  - tsally 17y ago
    ...the talks are 18 minutes or less. If any of the talks seemed lacking in intellectual content to you it's most likely because of time constraints. For example Ken Robinson's talk on education was 100% motivation/life-philosophy, simply because he doesn't have time to present the proof he's based his opinions on. The proof does exist though; all the speakers have the credentials to back up their presentations. I'd be interesting in a few of the "many" examples you have of this type of talk you object you. If you wouldn't mind, please link to a few here. I haven't seen a single TED talk that fits the "corporate speaking circuit" test.
    - _delirium 17y ago
      Daniel Pink came to mind when I was writing that part. I agree in an 18-minute talk you can only sort of speak in generalities, but in his case, his books are similarly unscientific.

restruct 17y ago

Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world.

mmelin 17y ago
I think this is a fantastic model and would love to see it more widely used. For example, a small portion of the tuition of Stanford and MIT students (among others) finance the creation and publication of free quality education material to the rest of the world. How much faster would our world develop if all education was made available this way, financed by people who have the money to spend to be the first to learn something/have the benefit of real-life interaction with the original professor?
wheels 17y ago
I'm actually surprised by the public spat over $6000; I figured it was much more or invite only. I mean, heck, a lot of the web conferences are $2000-3000.
- dcurtis 17y ago
  It is invite only. You have to be invited, and then you have to be willing to pay $6000 to attend.
- rdouble 17y ago
  "I don’t have $6,000..." More surprising is that Scoble's been doing whatever it is he does for so long and he doesn't have $6000.
  - jhancock 17y ago
    I believe Mr. Scoble has a family. Anyone here with a family that still works for a living will tell you that you don't have $6000 to spend on yourself.
    - deleted 17y ago

nandemo 17y ago

What makes TED TED? Well, for one, it’s TED because Sarah wasn’t there (and I won’t be there next year because I didn’t pay the $6,000 in time). Its elitism and expense IS part of why TED is magical (...) This sounds really weird to me. I think what makes TED TED are some amazing talks by interesting people. We can watch it on the net. Who cares how rich the audience is? If anything, I suppose the audience is partly the cause of what I dislike in TED: the almost stereotypical Stuff White People Like content and tone of some talks.

Tichy 17y ago
"the almost stereotypical Stuff White People Like content" Maybe, but then where is the "stuff non-white people like" conference that everybody is watching? Everybody is free to organize a conference, so why do only the stereotypical white people seem to bother doing it? To be clear, I don't want to imply that "white people" are better somehow, I just have troubles grasping the "stuff white people like" complaint. Also, maybe there really is a non-white TED out there, which right now has 200 votes on non-white Hacker News. If so, it would be very interesting to hear about it (both the conference and non-white hacker news).
- nandemo 17y ago
  Please don't take it literally. I meant SWPL as in this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ and thought it would be understood. What I mean is stuff that is too "liberal", too bland, too politically correct for my taste. A bit hypocritical at times. It's just my opinion; perhaps I should have phrased it differently. This is only tangentially related to race, by the way. People all over the world (including me) love classical music etc, but by using a derogatory term I'm implying only the stuff I dislike. ;-)
  - Tichy 17y ago
    I kind of understand, but I would really be interested in the "other stuff". I suppose for TED, ultimately the speakers are still selected by the organizers (don't know TED very well). What would be a more exciting event? I suppose there already are some?

rogermugs 17y ago

The Elitist Dominate TED

moron4hire 17y ago

$6000 a ticket isn't a lot considering the caliber of speakers that they bring in. They're paying the speakers, right?

dho 17y ago
"TED has never paid speakers to attend, but we're committed to creating an experience that's tremendously fulfilling and beneficial on all sides. We do, of course, cover travel costs to Long Beach or Palm Springs, and provide excellent hotel accommodation." Source: http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/73 http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/73
- moron4hire 17y ago
  Well, the travel expenses aren't anywhere near what a speaking fee would be, but at least the speakers aren't having to dip in to their own pockets to make a free talk happen. So where does the $6000/ticket go? It seems like a bit more than what would be necessary to cover those costs.
  - simonk 17y ago
    The TED conference is owned by a charity which they run the TED Prize and the TED Fellows programs.
  - wrs 17y ago
    $4000 is a donation to the non-profit Sapling Foundation. The rest is pretty reasonable considering it's a 5-day conference with very high production values. (Except the food, which is kinda hit or miss.)
tomjen2 17y ago
They could never afford to pay the speakers when they only make 6k a person and bring in so many famous speakers. They have to get them to do it for free.

barrkel 17y ago

Personally, I find about 80% of TED talks to be painfully pretentious, saccharine, or so desperately worthy they just make me weary. For example: "how we rescued the dancing bears", "embrace your inner girl", "[someone] teaches kids to take charge", "the uniqueness of humans"; things I could only listen to with gritted teeth.

fragmede 17y ago
Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.
- barrkel 17y ago
  For sure; but e.g. with science fiction, I can delve well into, say, the top 60% without feeling nauseous. The same is not the case with TED.
Tichy 17y ago
Solution: only watch the ones that get upvoted on Hacker News. That's what I do, anyway.
moron4hire 17y ago
Yeah, the socio-political talks are pretty soft-ball, but I really enjoy the tech and art talks.
fnid2 17y ago
I call it "intellectual masturbation." Mutual intellectual masturbation in the case of TED and I participate remotely over the internet in a voyeuristic manner stroking my curiosity as I watch the people on stage.

GHFigs 17y ago

Herein Scoble fulfills the "huge responsibility"[1] of getting a rare TED press pass by reminding us once again of how awesome it is to be Scoble. In a truly shocking turn of events, getting to attend has made him no longer jealous of people who get to attend. Sweet badges, networking with rich folk and stage decor that helps you "weave together a fabric that encourages your mind to explore new ideas" while staring off into space during a boring talk will do that to you, I suppose. If I didn't know that this is just how Scoble writes about everything, I would have come away with a worse opinion of TED than I had going into it. TED is supposedly about "ideas worth spreading", not how awesome it is to be rich and white (or fashionably ethnic). If I wanted to know about things rich people do that I will never do, I'd watch My Super Sweet 16. It's no wonder they don't hand out more press passes. I think the way to address complaints of elitism is to not. If being an exclusive event is how the sausage gets made, great. Reasonable people understand that the hype and pretense surrounding TED does not negate the value of the content that it produces. Reasonable people skip the unbearably pompous intro music and the punctuating two minutes of advertisement for things that rich people care about and simply enjoy the talks. Reasonable people don't care about how awesome it is to get into the exclusive club. [1]:http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/ http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/08/a-ted-responsibility/

flog 17y ago
I'm tickled to see elitists getting out elited(I'm making up words now, but you get my drift).
aaronbrethorst 17y ago
You did a great job of nailing Scoble's M.O.: 'I thought X sucked, but then I got to use/be part of X and now I think X is awesome. Next year, I'll think X sucks again once Dave Winer reminds me that he thinks X sucks.'

mark_l_watson 17y ago

Great article. I also have felt some "TED attendance envy" while really enjoying the online videos. For some people, the value of personal networking far out weighs the travel costs and conference fee. I like to write (i.e., email) people who entertain, inform and/or impress me, and I am pleasantly surprised how often people respond to questions and comments.

pw0ncakes 17y ago

The controversy is over a measly $6000? That's what the fuss is about? Most people on this site have had $100,000+ spent by their parents in order for them to attend an invitation-only institution at which they spent four years networking with the supposed future leaders! Gasp! Honestly, TED seems like a much better investment than an elite college. Four years' time and $100-200k, at an age where it's mostly impossible to predict who will accomplish anything, with those "future leaders" selected by unqualified bureaucrats? Or $6000 for face-time with sure bets? Just sayin'. There are a lot of problems with our society and with parasitic elites, so don't get me wrong: I'm all about busting and beating on those who try to hoard power. I'd love to see a car bomb hit Skull and Bones, and I'd gladly contribute to an Internet hit pool on anyone who attended the Bilderberg conference. But we have to pick our targets carefully, and TED does not seem to deserve our indignation, at least not based on what I've read. My understanding is that it's relatively easy to get in if you have the $6000 (again, cheaper than college) and sign up early; it seems like it's difficult to enter because there's so much demand that the spots fill up early. Well? That's life.

Maro 17y ago
Most people on this site? Really?
ramchip 17y ago
I'd like to know where you went to pay 100-200k in tuition fees and get nothing but networking out of it. Where I live, a bachelor's degree is about 15k (total), and is about learning engineering, physics or whatever you want to do. Going to TED twice won't give you quite the same skills...
- pw0ncakes 17y ago
  That was perhaps a bit inflammatory... I probably shouldn't have posted it, at least not in that tone and manner. Certainly college doesn't provide "nothing but networking", nor does going to TED. You learn a lot in the process, sure. The reason American tuition is so high, however, especially at elite schools, is because a lot of Americans believe that attending the right college is a golden ticket of sorts. I guess my point is that there's no sense in being indignant about $6000 to attend TED when Americans are willing to spend an additional $250k over the cost of attending a first-rate state university (including the prep high schools required for most people to have a decent chance at the most prestigious college) for the supposed networking advantages.

heed 17y ago

I don't like TED, but I like information. Don't get me wrong, there is spectacular information being distributed by TED, but I almost feel tricked into obtaining it. The conference is so heavily designed around status, and ego that it seems like more of a marketing tool for the intellectual elite to boost their personal brand than a platform to share ideas. It's inefficient, and deceptive. What I'd like to see instead of 5-20min presentations is one html webpage with bits of text and perhaps a few high quality images, or at least the option to access the information in this format. To me, everything else is fluff. I just want the information, not the ego, not the voice, not the brands, not the emotion, not the cheering. Just the information. I know I might be coming across as snarky, or counter-elitist, but it really isn't my intention. I love quality information, and TED confuses me. I often want to idolize and praise these wonderful people that give wonderful speeches more than their ideas, and I'm saddened. Would the information be any less profound written on a bathroom wall? I'm definitely torn, but I'm beginning to think it doesn't matter...

dnsworks 17y ago
I can think of more than a few TED talks that just wouldn't have translated without the oral and verbal clues. The joy in Erin Mckean's voice when saying synecdochically or erinanceous would be completely lost in text.