Anyone else heard of this convention? Apparently, many of the world's best and brightest intellectuals from just about every imaginable field are invited to give a 20 minute presentation to talk about pretty much anything they want to. Attending the convention requires a $3,000 membership, but luckily, their website,
www.ted.com, has videos of many past presentations. Over the past week I've gotten hooked. From the more broadly known (Jimbo Wales, Richard Branson, and JJ Abrams) to less popular but equally brilliant specialists, everyone brings huge thoughts and ideas to the table. So...check it out.
A couple of my favorite talks so far:
Emily Oster: "What do we really know about the spread of AIDS?" (Economic principles applied to one of the world's biggest epidemiological problems)
Joshua Prince-Ramus: "Designing the Seattle Central Library" (Finally, an architect who understands that buildings have to be functional. But his designs are still really cool looking.)
Jimmy Wales: "How a ragtag band created Wikipedia" (Why the Wiki works)
William McDonough: "The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle" (How do we make a green city from scratch? Start by moving the farmland it would replace on top of the buildings you put up)
