6 ms·
Let's get Salman Khan (khanacademy.org) on the TED stage
- mhb 16y agoI think he's a good candidate for a MacArthur fellowship, too.
- gord 16y agoGive him the Nobel Peace Prize
- gord 16y agoI genuinely meant this. Better wording might be "I think his work is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize", to avoid the impression of sarcasm ?
- henrikschroder 16y agoIn what possible way could his work fit the guidelines for awarding the prize, as described in the will of Alfred Nobel?
- arvinjoar 16y agoThis is exactly it. I have been trying to tell people that the Nobel Peace Prize is not the "Awesome Person" prize. Nobel was very clear on what a person had to have been working on before receiving the prize.
- zumda 16y agoIn the words of Alfred Nobel: "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". [1] Apparently, for some strange reason, someone nominated Adolf Hitler, too. Now I learned at least something today. [1] http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/shortfacts.html http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/shortfacts.html
- rincewind 16y agoThe right livelihood award is such a prize, though.
- Untitled 16y agoThe majority of people who received the Nobel Peace Prize did fuck-all for world peace (e.g. Yassar Arrafat - a terrorist, Henry Kissinger, Barrack Obama - fighting two wars and starting a new one in Pakistan, Al Gore - he made a movie, etc...). Al Gore and Barrack Obama received their prizes for "not being George Bush". That is about it. The Nobel Peace Prize is useless bullshit (as is the Nobel Prize in Literature).
- henrikschroder 16y agoThe majority of laureates did quite a lot for peace. You're picking the controversial outliers and passing them off as the general case.
- noverloop 16y agoI would like to fill in the form to nominate him but I can't find his email address
- kumarshantanu 16y agohttp://khanacademy.org/people.jsp http://khanacademy.org/people.jsp
- rhythmAddict 16y agoThe font on that blog makes me want to gauge my eyes out.
- swombat 16y agoGauge your eyes out? I think you mean gouge.
- rhythmAddict 16y agoI do indeed, sorry - my fingers have a mind of their own.
- Groxx 16y ago>The font on that blog makes me want to gauge my eyes out. Looks like they're somewhere between a 6 and a B gauge. Or up to 4, if you're European. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(bore_diameter)#Conversion_guide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(bore_diameter)#Conversio...
- vkdelta 16y agoPlease use "ctrl and +" in windows or "command and +" in mac. or a better option is to try readability.
- kn0thing 16y agoEnough people already chided you for 'gauge' :) but I'll change it to Helvetica if you promise to email TED & request Salman Khan.
- sahillavingia 16y agoThis seems like a noble effort, but Khan seems like the type of guy who likes to be left alone, contributing to the world as best he can. Spending time at TED would just slow him down.
- ramidarigaz 16y agoIf he wants to decline the offer, we should give him the opportunity to do so, not do it for him. Edit: sorry if that sounded crabby. I haven't eaten lunch yet.
- revorad 16y agoHe is a fantastic speaker - http://vimeo.com/11731351 http://vimeo.com/11731351 and interviewee - http://mixergy.com/salman-khan-academy-interview/ http://mixergy.com/salman-khan-academy-interview/
- hebejebelus 16y agoThank you for the links, they're brilliant. Especially the first one, really gives you an insight into the man who's getting me (and thousands more around the world) through college. :)
- barmstrong 16y agoI tend to agree. If he was invited I'm guessing he would reluctantly agree (hard to say no to the exposure), but would feel a little hesitant stepping into that crowd. TED started off great but seems like it has gotten a little weird over the last few years. Not sure how to explain it - maybe it's because most of the talks feel like mental masturbation at this point - they make people feel good, but don't result in action. Or it could be the liberal slant (the subtext of some of the talks seems to be "this is why we deserve more government funding"). From listening to a few of Sal's videos on finance, he seems to be more of a free market capitalist guy which may not mesh well with that crowd. A lot of this is speculation though, so I could be wrong.
- eru 16y ago
- johnohara 16y agoHis contribution is impressive, but it has a long way to go. Good online instruction presents very different challenges not found with traditional classroom teaching or "professor-as-focus" videos. It's an instructional medium unique to itself, and still finding its legs. I completely disagree with course content that's been created using poor-quality audio and "visuals" (not video). "Good enough" is not only disrespectful to the student but completely unnecessary given the quality and cost of great content production tools available the past four years. Higher-quality means more post production work, however, but it's worth it because "when it's done right, it will always be done right." Four rules have emerged so far in this new medium: 1) The material must take center stage, not the presenter, 2) students prefer granularity of subject matter in short vignettes, 3) done well is always done well, promoting repeatable instructional excellence, 4) high-quality audio/visual production tools are a must. A lot of us, not just Sal, employ these principals in our work. But overall, it needs to bake a little more before being presented at TED or before the MacArthur Foundation. The educational paradigm is shifting, and indeed being disrupted, but not in the way most people think.
- dctoedt 16y ago> "Good enough" is not only disrespectful to the student but completely unnecessary given the quality and cost of great content production tools available the past four years. Evidently a LOT of people disagree with you. Mr. Khan seems to have an MVP (minimum viable product). Just possibly this is one of those cases where if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
- johnohara 16y agoMVP -- maybe, if that's what he wants. But I don't care if everybody disagrees with me. It's pedagogically broken. This is a new instructional medium, with new rules and huge opportunities. My point: We can do a lot better. I'm gonna stand over here and wait for some of the fanboy nonsense to die down. Sal's been around for a while and a LOT of people are new to him. Let him do what he does best, and leave TED out of it.
- 16y ago
- Gormo 16y agoI could have sworn he already did a TED Talk - I remember first learning of Khan Academy from TED - but now there seems to be no trace of him on the TED site. Am I crazy, or did he do a talk that was subsequently removed?
- barmstrong 16y agoYou may be thinking about GEL? http://www.khanacademy.org/video/salman-khan-speaks-at-gel--good-experience-live--conference?playlist=Khan%20Academy-Related%20Talks%20and%20Interviews http://www.khanacademy.org/video/salman-khan-speaks-at-gel--...
- Gormo 16y agoThanks - that is the video I saw. The format is so similar to TED, though, that I wonder if he'd have anything substantially different to say in a TED talk.
- JaretManuel 16y agoSalman is a premier TED candidate as he is "doing it" and it will be interesting to hear what he is dreaming about for this space. Stupendous choice Alexis.