Are TED Talks Doing More Harm than Good?
As you well know, I love TED Talks. I appreciate how they introduce me to new ideas and persons, and I value how they inspire me to think differently and to aspire to change…my ideas, my world, myself.
All of this helps explain why I was so intrigued by this searing critique of TED Talks in a, well, TED Talk given by Benjamin Bratton, Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego. The core of his many concerns about TED Talks is their profound over-simplication of complex problems and potential solutions to those problems. He’s not against popularization, per se, but rather creating a false sense of achievement via popularization. TED Talks, he charges, offer placebo political solutions rather than real ones and function like “middlebrow megachurch infotainment.” In other words, they make us feel good and pump up our confidence in technology and design, but don’t actually change anything. And the feel-good illusion of change makes it a lot harder to take on the less interesting and seriously challenging work of actually changing the world for the better.
He begins his Talk with an anecdote from his experience. He attended a presentation given by a friend, an astrophysicist, to a potential donor. But while Prof. Bratton, who admits he knows next to nothing about astrophysics, found the presentation “lucid and compelling,” the donor declined to sponsor the project because it didn’t inspire him. The donor suggested the scientist be more like Malcolm Gladwell. To which Bratton responds:
Think about it: an actual scientist who produces actual knowledge should be more like a journalist who recycles fake insights! This is beyond popularization. This is taking something with value and substance and coring it out so that it can be swallowed without chewing. This is not the solution to our most frightening problems – rather this is one of our most frightening problems.
So does TED lead to the over-simplification of complex ideas? Of that I have no doubt. But I wonder if Bratton has perhaps misunderstood the nature and function of TED. I don’t look to it, quite frankly, for solutions, or even systematic and in-depth overviews of problems. In fact, I enjoy it precisely for the reasons Bratton critiques it: it inspires me, it stokes my curiosity, it gets me thinking. And while I regret that Bratton’s friend didn’t get the funding he’d hoped from this donor, perhaps he will find another donor who does find his work inspiring, or perhaps he will be encouraged to think differently about how he presents his work so that it is indeed more inspiring.
Almost every creative and accomplished person I know will gladly concede that the greatest breakthroughs and achievements are 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration (that is, dogged and determined hard work). But here’s the thing: that 1% of inspiration can be so damned hard to find in a world of pessimistic news cycles, recycled ideas, and tired models of authority and expertise. So when you find a reliable source of the 1% that creates some energy and excitement about slogging through with the 99%, I think it’s worth valuing.
This talk was given just this past December, so as far as I can tell it’s not yet up at the TED site. But I hope they put it up soon and in this way further the conversation about the promise and peril of the popularization of ideas and information. In the meantime, I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Notes: 1) If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
2) Thanks to Open Culture for highlighting this Talk.
I, too, LOVE TED talks and have been promoting them to friends and colleagues. What I find most meaningful is connecting with people and ideas that I can explore more about, that I may not have heard of otherwise.
Point – Brene’ Brown. I’ve watched her two talks multiple times as her research hits very close to home. But it has gone beyond that. I have read many of her books; I follow her blog; I search and listen for podcasts by her; I took an online class of hers. Without TED (and “In the Meantime”), I may have never learned about Brene’ and the great work she is doing. At a recent state professional conference of about 100 people, the speaker mentioned Brown and I was the ONLY person in the room who ever heard of her. In a profession working with youth and families, I find that sad.
Years of work and knowledge that is boiled down to 20 minutes or less can only hit the high points. But, my favorite TED talks (Brown, Bryan Stevenson, Diane Nyad, Ken Robinson – just to name a few), are told in such a manner that you know there is years of work, knowledge, determination, etc. that led up to the moment of this talk. I don’t often find that as colleagues share their scholarly work. Too often stories give do over-simplify. TED speakers are gifted to share nuggets of their journey that at least for me, I want to dig deeper to find out more. I realize that may not be the case with everyone.
PLEASE KEEP POSTING TED TALKS!!!! As I said, “In the Meantime” is how I learned about them and my life is richer because of it.
Amen to what Rene’ said. TED talks are far more than news soundbites. They spark interest in topics I would never have been exposed to.
We have not had a TV in our home for 3 years. TED talks are far more valuable. Plus, many of them are great as conversation starters with young people in our community. Keep ’em coming!
Thank you for posting the video by Rene’ regarding TED talks… His comments seem to say that what is said or done always reflects possibility versus probability. I agree with Susan, however, that TED talks provide people with a forum from which to engage “deeper questions” in than perhaps are unavailable to many of us in our daily lives. I believe David that you captured that idea in your statement , “Almost every creative and accomplished person I know will gladly concede that the greatest breakthroughs and achievements are 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration (that is, dogged and determined hard work). But here’s the thing: that 1% of inspiration can be so damned hard to find in a world of pessimistic [cynical]news cycles, recycled ideas, and tired models of authority and expertise. So when you find a reliable source of the 1% that creates some energy and excitement about slogging through with the 99%, I think it’s worth valuing.”
The cautionary that Rene’ I think raises is that (paraphrased)”If you continue to ask questions but change nothing, you will continue to achieve or arrive the same results.” TED talks provide a point of departure for discerning minds.
I also enjoy TED Talks particularly for the reasons you do, David. In one example, most people would not have flocked to a juried presentation by Professor Brene Brown on shame and vulnerability if offered in a Psychology or Social Work venue. But her setting herself out there on a TED Talk stage and personalizing the conversation drew thousands to view and hopefully think about choices we make in how we view ourselves and that it is possible to change our attitudes and behaviors.
I work with a team who utilized one of Brown’s TED Talks at an ELCA Synod think tank event called Imagine Together with very positive reviews. It prompted good discussion.
I agree with Renee and Susan. TED Talks have opened up pathways through ideas and challenges that my life’s journey would never have taken me to if I hadn’t seen or heard them. I say “heard” them as well as seen them because our local NPR station runs a weekly TED talk radio show that has a theme each week with snippets of TED talks wherein presenters have covered the same or similar topics. I enjoy listening to them on my way home from church on Sunday, and find myself sitting in my garage sometimes, listening to the end of a broadcast! Please continue with the TED Talks!