What is ted conference. Collective experience of the absurd

“Any monkey can reach a banana, but only humans can reach the stars. Monkeys live, compete, breed and die in the forests - that's the whole tale. We are penetrating right into the heart of the Big Bang and delving deep into the meaning of pi. And perhaps most remarkable of all, we are peering deep into ourselves, assembling the mosaic of our unique and wondrous brain. And it's crazy. How can a one and a half kilogram gelatinous mass, which can easily fit in the palms, comprehend angels, reflect on the meaning of infinity and even wonder about its place in the universe? It is a special awe that every brain, including yours, is made from atoms that were born in the depths of countless stars scattered all over the place billions of years ago. These particles traveled through space for eons and light years until gravity and chance brought them together here and now. Now these atoms are a conglomerate - your brain, which not only thinks about the very stars that gave it life, but also about its ability to reflect and wonder about its ability to be surprised. With the advent of man, as has been said, the universe suddenly became self-conscious. Undoubtedly, this is the greatest of all mysteries. It is impossible to talk about the brain without rising to the lyric.

Vileyanur Ramachandran

Jill Boult Taylor: "Amazing epiphany blow"

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor talks about the sensations she experienced during a stroke (fading of brain functions, loss of self-awareness), and about the incredible mystical experiences that accompanied this process.

“So who are we? We are the driving force of life in the universe, with sleight of hand and two minds capable of knowing. And every second we can choose who we want to be in this world and how to act. Right here, right now, I can step into my right brain consciousness where we exist. I am the driving force of life in the universe. I am the driving force behind the life of the 50 trillion beautiful, ingeniously designed molecules of which I am made, in harmony with everything that surrounds me. Or I can tap into the consciousness of my left hemisphere, where I will become an independent individual, a whole entity. Separate from the flow, separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Boult Taylor: intellectual, neuroanatomist. These hypostases exist within me. What would you choose? What do you choose?

Oliver Sacks: "What Hallucinations Say About Thinking" ⓘ Unfortunately, this lecture with Russian voice acting was withdrawn from public use, so we have replaced it with a TED lecture with Russian subtitles.

Neurologist, neuropsychologist and writer Oliver Sachs discusses in his speech a little-known, but rather widespread Charles Bonnet syndrome, in which hallucinations appear in patients with visual impairment. The neurologist recalls several cases from practice and talks about the biology of this unusual phenomenon.

“... It is believed that if you see or hear something wrong, then you go crazy. But psychotic hallucinations are something completely different. Psychotic hallucinations, vocal or visual, are directed towards you. They blame you. They seduce you. They humiliate you. They laugh at you. You interact with them. They have nothing to do with the hallucinations of Charles Bonnet. There is a movie. You are watching a movie that has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with how people think."

Vileyanur Ramachandran: "The Neurons That Shaped Civilization"

How did humans develop cognitive abilities and metacognitive skills? How did it happen that we learned to imitate, analyze, became capable of learning, and later of creativity? The irreplaceable Vileyanur Ramachandran talks about mirror neurons and their role in the evolution of our brain, and, therefore, the entire culture of human civilization.

“Today I want to talk about the human brain. We are doing research on this topic at the University of California. Imagine for a moment such a problem. Here is a lump of flesh weighing one and a half kilograms, it can be held in the palm of your hand. But this lump is able to feel the colossalness of interstellar space, is able to give meaning to infinity, to raise questions about the meaning of its own existence, about the nature of God. And this is truly the most amazing thing in the world. This is the biggest mystery that a person has to solve: how does it all happen?

• TED (eng. Technology Entertainment Design; Technology, Entertainment, Design)- famous annual conferences that have been held since 1984 in the USA and other countries. Perhaps they represent the most successful embodiment of the concept of "Edutainment" (education + entertainment), which is learning as a way to have fun and spend time.

TED speakers are famous experts and authors: Steve Jobs (Apple), James Cameron (Avatar), Richard Dawkins (The Selfish Gene), Jim Wales (Wikipedia) and many others. They know how to really surprise; while their theories are easy to understand.

The mission of this international (and recently joined by Russia) movement is IDEAS WORTH SPREADING: spreading unique ideas that are found at the intersection of disciplines and doctrines. Lecture topics are very diverse: science, art, design, politics, culture, business, global issues, technology and entertainment .

We have selected 15 most impressive lectures, enjoy.

You can watch them in this post, or you can - in the cozy atmosphere of the Eight bar, on the big screen -

1. “Keep your plans to yourself” (3m 16s)

Derek Sievers, the music entrepreneur who, according to Esquire magazine, changed the face of today's music industry

2. “Exoskeletons for people” (6m 24s)

Heitor Bender, CEO of Berkeley Bionics, the most promising manufacturer of robotic suits and exoskeletons

Heitor Bender of Berkeley Bionics shows on stage two amazing exoskeletons, HULC and aLEGS - robotic devices that could one day allow a person to effortlessly carry up to 90 kilograms or allow wheelchair-bound people to stand and walk. This is a powerful demonstration with important implications for various human potentialities.

3. “Jaime Lerner sings about the city” (15 m 40s)

Jaime Lerner, architect and urban designer, three times mayor of the Brazilian city of Curitiba, he revolutionized urban governance

Jaime Lerner has redesigned the urban environment in his hometown of Curitiba in Brazil. In parallel, he changed the way urban architects around the world looked at what was possible in urban planning.

4. “Time to think about what's going on in bioengineering” (19m 42s)

Paul Ruth Wolp, Chief Bioethicist at NASA, Consultant for Medical Experiments in Space

A scientist talks about amazing bioengineering experiments, from hybrid pets to mice with human ears on their backs. Isn't it time to establish a set of rules and regulations? Paul asks.

5. "Fundamentals of plant intelligence" (13m 51s)

Stefano Mancuso is recognized by Wired.com as the pioneer of interdisciplinary research in plant neuroscience.

Plants behave surprisingly smart: fighting pests, getting the most out of nutrients... But can we assume that plants actually have their own unique form of intelligence? An Italian botanist, Stefano Mancuso, gives some interesting facts.

6. “Mathematics of War” (7m 22s)

Sean Gourley, physicist and conflict theorist, has discovered a shocking pattern in the nature of modern warfare - and perhaps a model for resolving such conflicts. His discovery was recognized by Nature, the Pentagon and the House of Lords; Gorley has now been appointed adviser to the new Iraqi government

Collecting raw data from news, NGO reports, and newspapers and plotting it on a graph, the scientists analyzed the timing of the attacks, the coordinates, and the extent of the weapons used. And they came to a startling conclusion: war is an equation.

7. “Real-time brain scan” (4m 00s)

Christopher Decharme demonstrates a new way to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to show brain activity - thoughts, emotions, pain - in action. In other words, you can actually see what you feel.

8. “The Myth of Violence” (19m 18s)

Pinker describes the decline in violence from biblical times to the present day, and argues that, even if it may seem illogical and indecent, given the events in Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in the history of our species.

9. “How bacteria communicate” (18m 11s)

Bonnie Bassler, Princeton molecular biologist who won the MacArthur Genius Grant for her discovery of “bacterial Esperanto.”

Bonnie discovered that bacteria "talk" to each other using the language of chemistry, which allows them to coordinate defenses and prepare attacks. The discovery has staggering implications for medicine, industry and our understanding of ourselves.

10. “How architecture contributed to the development of music” (16m 00s)

David Byrne, musician, writer, filmmaker, conservationist, digital music theorist, cyclist, urban designer, artist, humanist

As his career progressed, David Byrne moved from performing his music at the CBGB to performing at Carnegie Hall. He asks himself: can it not be that music is created by the place where it is performed? David Byrne explores traditional African concerts, Wagner operas, and arena rock concerts in an attempt to understand how context has driven music to innovate.

11. “The era of personal robots” (14m 04s)

Cynthia Brizel, founder of the Personal Robotics Department at MIT, creator of the social robots Kismet and Leonardo

As an alumnus, Cynthia Brizel wondered why we use robots on Mars but not at home. She recognized the need to train robots to interact with humans. Now she designs and builds human-centric, super-social robots that teach, learn and play.

12. “Is the Internet what Orwell was afraid of?” (11m 53s)

Yevgeny Morozov, Belarusian writer, influential blogger in the West (Net.Effect), researcher of a not very grateful topic - how the development of new media affects the society of not the most developed countries

The journalist and TED activist slams so-called "iPod liberalism" -- the assumption that technological innovation always advances freedom and democracy -- with sobering examples of how the internet helps despotic regimes stifle dissent.

13. "Year of biblical life" (17m 36s)

AJ Jacobs is best known for Esquire's articles at the intersection of philosophy, gonzo journalism and performance art.

Writer, philosopher, humorist, and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about a year he spent biblically—following the laws of the Bible as literally as possible.

14. "Mystery Box" (18m 05s)

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Abrams' first feature film, Mission: Impossible 3, was the most expensive directorial debut in history. Abrams' biggest project, Star Trek, hit theaters in May 2009.

He is world-famous for his super-successful ABC Entertainment television series Alias ​​and LOST, which offer extraordinary concepts for an exciting script and use the potential of the television film form to the fullest.

5. Bobby McFerrin shows the full power of the pentatonic scale (03m 04s)

Robert "Bobby" McFerrin Jr. - American jazz singer and conductor, ten-time Grammy Award winner, author of the acapella hit "Don" t worry, Be Happy "

As part of the TED conference, Bobby McFerrin shows what the "pentatonic scale" is.
The pentatonic scale will turn out if you play one black key in a row on the piano, starting from C-sharp. All Eastern music is based on it. yka.

TED talks are the next step in our education. This is the kind of learning that is interesting, useful and practical. A 15-minute video can provide a wealth of useful information. And, of course, there will be no great sense from the fact that you just listen to this video and do nothing. It is necessary to apply the knowledge gained in life. I've watched dozens of TED videos and decided to make a list of the ones I remember the most.

Sir Ken Robinson on why schools are killing creativity

I think this was the first video I saw at TED. Ken Robinson is a born speaker. He did a wonderful job of covering his topic, proving that schools in their current sense are killing creativity in children. I think that . By the way, this is the most popular and viewed video in the history of TED.

Susan Cain on the power of introverts

Find out if you are an introvert or not. It is more important to understand that being an introvert is not bad at all. We tend to think that extroverts are the ones who rule the world. People who know how to negotiate with other people communicate a lot and know how to make connections. But introverts also have their advantages, which Susan Cain will talk about in this video.

Michael Stevens on why we ask questions

Michael Stevens - YouTube channel creator Vsauce. On his channel, he answers unusual and interesting questions, the answers to which we would hardly be able to find on our own. For example, what would happen if everyone on Earth jumped at the same time? Or what is it like to travel in a black hole? I highly recommend subscribing to his channel. In his presentation, Stephen talked about the importance of being curious and why we should never stop asking questions.

Tony Robbins on why we do what we do

The incredibly charismatic Tony Robbins talks about why it's so important to do what we love and how to build our lives on it.

Amy Cuddy on the power of body language

Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist. In the presentation, she gave a lot of interesting and useful facts about body language. For example, a confident posture increases the release of testosterone and cortisol and makes us more confident, even if you were embarrassed before. According to Cuddy, body language is what we first of all pay attention to when communicating with a person, without even noticing it.

Steve Jobs on how to live your life so as not to regret in old age

Steve Jobs' speech to Stanford graduates was disassembled into dozens of quotes. Jobs talked about the importance of living, not just existing. He backed this up with three stories from his life that prove that you need to follow your dreams and seize opportunities.

Elon Musk on how Tesla, Space X and SolarCity were created

Elon Musk can be considered one of the greatest innovators of our time. He popularized electric vehicles, created a power plant that runs on solar energy, and SpaceX, which produces shuttles that conquer the expanses of space. We have material about, but I advise you to watch his presentation, where he himself talks about his achievements.

Dan Gilbert on Happiness Through Science

We tend to think that happiness is something that cannot be felt or explained. But we are wrong. Happiness can be explained in terms of science, and Gilbert will do so in his talk. It's an exciting journey through the causes of what actually makes us happy.

Bran Brown on the power of vulnerability

Bran Brown has studied human relationships for a long time. Our ability to empathize, to love and the need of every person to be loved. In her short and funny presentation, she will talk about why we are afraid to appear vulnerable and what to do about it.

Chris Lonsdale on how to learn any language in six months

Learning a new language from scratch is a very long and difficult task. Or not? Chris Lonsdale has developed a method by which anyone can learn any language in just six months. In his presentation, he talks in detail about what will be required of you in the process.

TED is watched by millions of people around the world, and the 10 presentations above are just part of a larger whole. Tell us about your favorite presentations and why you remember them!

“You live in your actions, not in your body. You are your actions and there is no other you."

This phrase belongs to the Little Prince, who lived sincerely and constantly tried to understand why people become coarse and become almost artificial with age. But it’s true, our feelings tend to get lost against the background of general running around and growing up. Admit it to yourself: are you sincerely demonstrating your feelings? How often are you silent so as not to seem strange, instead of still asking a question of interest? The world of adults was surrounded by a continuous internal censor. Although this does not mean at all that we are in a vicious circle. You can change everything if you wish. Even today. Right now. And an important condition for this is the presence of ideas, dreams and ... actions. Remember - "you are your actions"? If you feel that in order to take action, you lack a decisive push, we suggest attending an event where you will be provided with the missing magic pendal push.

TEDx is the place to go for every dreamer, adult child, and just looking for new positive experiences. We wrote about this event recently. At that time, TEDx Kharkiv was targeted. This time we decided to develop the theme of Ted X and talk about the history of the conference, the most striking speeches in this format and the ideas discovered during the conference.

Anyone who:

There are several formats for a TED conference. But the most common is TEDx.


TEDx is much more than a traditional conference. Yes, there are speakers here too, yes, they carefully prepare for the speech and create presentations that are as understandable as possible. But TEDx speakers face tasks that are much more important than those solved by speakers at specialized conferences. TEDx aims to infect interested listeners with the desire to change their lives for the better. At the same time, it should be understood: the TED audience is unique. It consists of thinking people, of those who are not alien to creative, and most importantly, bold thinking. Prepared listeners already know what they came here for and what they want to get from the conference. Due to this, it is easier for speakers to share their thoughts with those who are positively inclined, who are close to the ideas coming from the stage.

By the way, for those who are interested, here are the basic rules of TEDx:

The scope of TED's interests was initially reduced to three areas: design, entertainment and technology (hence the name - Technology Entertainment Design). However, over time, this list has expanded significantly. Today, representatives of almost all fields of activity can speak at the TED conference. At the same time, all TED speakers are equal to each other, there are no main and secondary ideas, thoughts sounding from the stage are equally valuable and important for the audience. Among the speakers are both ordinary talented specialists and world-famous figures in science, culture, economics, etc. The latter include Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, former US President Bill Clinton, film director James Cameron and many other famous personalities who managed to speak to the demanding audience of the TED conference.

But it is believed that someone else's experience is almost the best catalyst for action. When illustrative examples of how you can implement almost any idea sound from the stage, you involuntarily have a desire to get up and run to do something with your life. TED speaker talks are non-stop inspiring speeches. Yes, speakers are different in their occupation. One will talk about his experience as a pediatrician, the other - about pedagogy, the third - about flying on an airplane. Despite the variety of topics and speakers from the stage, there is one link that unites all these speeches - experience. It can be experience in school, experience in construction, experience in baking bread or leading a country - it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that each speech demonstrates the meaning of the speaker's life, his values ​​and priorities. Pleasant here is the fact that the experience of the speaker can and should be tried on. To do this allows the universality of thoughts and life discoveries. Actually, to remind you of this, TED meets every time.

It must be admitted that in each country TED format events are held differently, which is due to the mentality of a particular people. So, for example, in China it is not customary to communicate at the end of the main program of the conference. All actions of the organizers and participants are coordinated, the Chinese have everything under strict control, which means that it will not be possible to exchange a couple of words over a cup of coffee / tea. We have another matter. Communication between conference participants takes place before, during and after the conference. And the best part is that there is always something to discuss, discuss and joke about. Despite the differences in mentality, TED is going with a bang all over the world. You could even say that TED is pushing the horizons. If you want, it makes you leave your comfort zone and look at your life from a different angle.

Since the solid foundation of all TED events is the idea in its general sense, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with interesting statements by famous people regarding ideas:

“The idea came to his head and now the brain is stubbornly searching”(Zhvanetsky M.)

"Great ideas are ruthless"(Monterlan A.)

"The history of mankind is basically the history of ideas"(Wells G.)

“Lack of money is not an obstacle. The lack of ideas is the obstacle.”(Hakuta K.)

“Today I see a lot of people trying their best, working hard just because they are clinging to old ideas. They want everything to be the same as before, they resist change. I know people who have lost their jobs or their homes and they curse technology, the economy, or their boss. It's sad to talk about it, but these people never realized that the problem is all in themselves. Old ideas drag them to the bottom. Old ideas are their biggest liability. Passive because these old ideas are yesterday.(Kiyosaki R.)

“If a person had as many ideas during the day as during insomnia, he would make a fortune”(Niblak G.)

“I can't understand why people are afraid of new ideas. I'm afraid of the old(Cage D.)

"You see boredom where there are no good ideas"(Nightingale E.)

“Without a firm idea of ​​oneself and of a purpose in life, a person cannot live, and would rather destroy himself than remain on earth”(Dostoevsky F.)

"Great ideas come when the world needs them"(Phelps O.)

VideoTED's Talking about TED without supporting your words with facts is like a crime. We are in a hurry to correct ourselves and offer for your consideration several videos from TEDx conferences abroad (with Russian translation).

About gift:
“The next time you come across something unexpected, unwanted and controversial, remember that it can be a gift.”

Wunderkind about his achievements:
"Today, students usually know a little more than teachers ... about technology."

Plane crash as a reason to change your life:
“I learned that everything changes in a split second. Here we have a list of what we want to do in life, and I thought about those with whom I wanted to talk, but did not talk, about those with whom I did not have time to make peace, about what I did not have time to try. .

“I decided to get rid of the negativity in my life. She's not perfect, but she's gotten a lot better. I didn't argue with my wife for two years. And that's great. I no longer strive to be right. I want to be happy".

"My only goal in life is to be a good father."

“What would you do with something you keep putting off because you think you have a lot of time?”

"Why is X the unknown?"
"It's an unknown because there is no [w] in Spanish."

Keep your mouth shut:
“When you tell someone about your goal and it is accepted, it becomes a social reality, as psychologists call it. The mind succumbs to the trick, believing that the goal has been achieved. And then, since you have already experienced a sense of satisfaction, the incentive to actually do all the necessary work is reduced.

What do we do at work:
"I was at work. I was sitting at my table. I used my expensive computer. I used the software I was told to use. I went to the meeting I was supposed to go to. I made phone calls. I did all these things, but I didn't really do anything. I was just doing tasks."

And here is another selection of interesting videos from TEDx.

Toward the end of the article, it is customary to sum up what has been said. We will do it too. TED conferences have an educational mission, setting the minds of humanity on fire with hot ideas and calls to action. For some, the format of this event may seem strange - a variety of people come on stage and start talking about ideas and dreams come true. However, the regular holding of such conferences leaves no doubt about their relevance. We wish you to visit TEDx and be inspired for new achievements.

I remember everything so clearly, like it happened yesterday. Adrenaline euphoria, and then immediately unspeakable shame. Two years ago I was asked to speak at a TED conference. And then… the invitation was cancelled. Now I will tell you everything in order, it will be like the confession of a rejected lover who still reads the posts of his ex on Facebook.

First there was a letter: a student from Oxford wrote to me, the son of a friend of a friend whom I had not seen since my university years. This intricate chain alone was enough to immediately play in my head the music from Brideshead Revisited - there was such a series in the eighties. This student asked me if I would be willing to speak at TEDx Talks at the Sheldon Theatre, on any topic of my choice. However, I later found out that TED with an additional "x" is not exactly the same as just TED. TEDx is like a franchise. But these speeches are still posted on Youtube under the TED logo.

After reading the letter, I jumped up from my desk. I radiated the purest passionate self-adoration. Speaking at TED is like receiving an order of honor, only better. This conference is a rock and roll gallery of fame for nerds. In an instant, a picture appeared before my eyes: I would be standing on stage, like most TED speakers, in a strict dark suit and a light-colored shirt without a tie. They will put a tiny microphone on my head on a thin plastic shackle, stretching along my cheek right to my mouth. Even if the microphone is not needed, I will put on an unconnected one.

I'll be pacing the stage, juggling statistics and cool facts about film, culture and the internet like journalist Malcolm Gladwell or sociologist and forecasting genius Nate Silver. On the count of times, I'll make the audience shake with laughter. On the count of two, they will go silent, their eyes bulging, because I will completely blow their brains out with the casually mentioned piece of my secret knowledge. I even prepared a couple of jokes "for my own". I came up with the name of the lecture: "The Selfish Meme" - hello to Richard Dawkins with his "Selfish Gene". Isn't it brilliant?

And then something terrible happened. About a month later - I still hadn't written my speech, but had already sketched out some ideas - I answered the organizers. I wrote that I was ready and asked what dates my performance was scheduled for. The answer was immediate: since I had not responded earlier, they decided that I was not interested in their offer, and invited someone else. At least that's how I understood them. Maybe there really is a brilliant, award-winning statistician somewhere at MIT, an emotional intelligence expert named Peter Bradshaw, and they've only just realized that I'm not him. I deflated like a punctured balloon.

The reason to remember this embarrassment now, in 2017, is the 60th anniversary of the writer and entrepreneur Chris Anderson, who invented the TED conference as we know and love it. Now his brainchild has grown to enormous proportions: more than two and a half thousand speeches have been posted online with a total number of views of about four billion, and TEDx has hosted 15 thousand speeches.

Initially, the TED conference, whose abbreviation stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design", was conceived as a one-time event - in 1984 it was moderated by the architect and designer Richard Saul Wurman in Monterey, California. In 1990, the conference was decided to be held on a regular basis, and soon it became incredibly popular. In 2001, the non-profit Chris Anderson Sapling Foundation began to manage the project. In 2005, with the advent of YouTube, the history of TED had a real breakthrough. A year later, Anderson made the decision to release the TED Talks for free. Speeches by Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and other famous TED speakers immediately became Internet hits.

Why has the TED format become so popular? It should be understood that the manner of presentation adopted at TED is largely inherited from specific speeches, the so-called afternoon speeches. When I was a boy, the ability to deliver such speeches beautifully—to bring up a rather serious topic and dissect it with unobtrusive humor—helped some clever people jump over a couple of career steps. In addition, the books of so-called motivational writers like Dale Carnegie became the foundation for TED. But the TED project borrowed most of all from the BBC Christmas Science Lectures for Schoolchildren, which have been published since 1963 - the lecturers tried to speak loftily, but in a popular and emphasized informal way, like today's conference speakers. Another important part of the TED secret is apoliticality. "Technology, entertainment, design" - there is nothing to quarrel about here. The themes strive for an all-encompassing globality in the spirit of “we are the world” or, on the contrary, for the extremely mundane details of our life, in which great wisdom sometimes looms.

The TED Talks project is meant to be a kind of chest of ideas, an inexhaustible source of motivation. But some of his releases on YouTube can bring the viewer to the handle. Before writing this article, I watched a lot of different speeches, one after another. After that, I was like delirious. I overdosed on TED, and I began to see a sign or a puzzle in every piece of nonsense. For example, sitting in a half-empty subway car, I looked around and thought: “Wow! People are seated so as to be away from each other. The first - to one end of the car, the second - to the opposite, the third - to the middle and so on. Just like the lineup in the Wimbledon tournament bracket!”

But the worst thing about TED Talks is the eruptions of platitudes from conceited, narcissistic celebrities. Perhaps the worst speaker was Bono. In 2013, he delivered the Good News About Poverty speech. It was unbearable to watch. Like many super-rich people, he is terribly concerned about the poverty of people in developing countries and in the states of Africa: firstly, it is always relevant, and secondly, it is completely safe, since discussing poverty in his native country can lead the public to inquire about the tax return of a prosperist.

Bono said that the availability of antiretroviral drugs in third world countries is very important for the fight against HIV and AIDS. Okay, that's a healthy idea. But at the same time, it did not occur to him to refer to the words of at least one inhabitant of those countries about whose well-being he was so worried. In addition, Bono selected facts and pictures for his speech with the same pretentiousness with which Madonna selected orphans for her orphanage in Malawi. At some point, he began to convince the audience that he was here not at all as Bono - a rock star, but as a transmitter of knowledge. As proof of this, he took off his famous glasses and put them upside down for a couple of seconds, portraying, as it seems to him, a beautiful botanist in his absent-mindedness. He cracked a joke: "Let's look at the Brazilian development model... Who doesn't love Brazilian models?" — and paused. But no one laughed. Then, with unbearably ostentatious self-deprecation, he said that if all the problems he named were solved, no one else would have to "listen to a little, boring self-proclaimed Christ" like him. He spread his arms, imitating the crucifixion, and at the same time made a movement with his fingers, as if begging, "come on, applaud!" Few applauded.

The silver medal in the Most Disgusting TED Talk Competition is given to Elizabeth Gilbert, the writer who gave the 2009 "Your Elusive Creative Genius" talk. She, as they say in Scotland, takes on too much. For example, Gilbert said that her super hit "Eat, Pray, Love" unexpectedly became an international bestseller. That writers should perceive inspiration as something given from above, and not as an everyday routine. What is terribly nervous, preparing to embark on "a frighteningly anticipated sequel to his own hit." In a word, the writer has achieved outstanding success in the ability to show off modestly.

Bronze will go, in my opinion, to David Cameron. Before squandering Britain's EU membership and then moving from politics to entrepreneurship, Cameron delivered a smugly unctuous lecture on "A New Age of Public Administration." He talked about how monolithic forms of centralized government would give way to regional activists, volunteer groups, ideological loners, and enlightened corporations thanks to the Internet. Pure, ringing emptiness. His performance was so arrogant, so mindlessly pompous, that he could probably take half the gold from Bono.

I don't mean to say that all TED Talks are bad. In 2017, there was a great informative talk by Rudyard Williams titled “Why Racism is Bad for Health” about how racial inequality subtly affects the standard of living and health of the whole society. Considered by many to be the best in TED history, Sir Ken Robinson, an education expert, gave the talk in 2016 on How Schools Suppress Creativity. If this topic were raised by another speaker, then, most likely, his speech would be unbearable. But Robinson is a born comedian, witty yet calm. He doesn't have the typical TED talker habit of running around the stage with a pointer while slogans and ugly graphics pop up behind him or on the screen. Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor gives a gripping account of how she suffered a stroke. For her, as a neuroscientist, this terrible event turned out to be the most educational experience in her life.

My favorite is Monica Lewinsky's "The Cost of Shame" lecture. Unlike other speakers, she managed to avoid complacency and self-promotion. She talked about how someone's sense of shame becomes a reason for general hysteria, how shame turns into a product and is monetized. Lewinsky showed her own take on online bullying. This is especially important now that Melania Trump has turned this topic into the sphere of her own charitable interests - despite the fact that online bullying remains her husband's only tool for communicating with the world.

All in all, there are definitely good things in the TED universe. However, to see them, you may first have to wade through posturing, platitudes, and pompous self-presentation. But if you draw a balance, then below the line it turns out that TED is still on the bright side. The only pity is that the conference will continue to live on without my revolutionary contribution to its history - without the "Selfish Meme".

10 examples of how not to speak at TED:

10. Simon Sinek - How Leaders Inspire Action (2009)

Superficial chatter about what makes Apple a market leader and why it was Martin Luther King who led the civil rights movement.

9. Keith Hartman - The Art of Wearable Communication (2011)

A crazy artist and writer shows off silly hats with special tubes that allow you to talk to your own brain. If this is a joke, then it's not funny.

8. Jason Seiken - "If PBS Can Do It, So Can You!" (2012)

A PBS Digital Communications Chief's story of how he made boring public television trendy in the new digital age.

7. Brené Brown - The Power of Vulnerability (2010)

A smug, self-help speech about not being afraid to be vulnerable. At the same time, Brown would rather die than show himself "in all his vulnerability."

6. Bill Clinton - "My desire is to restore Rwanda!" (2007)

Clinton was the most bullied by other TED speakers. And his unbearably boring and conceited chatter about Rwanda and the restoration of its healthcare system - gundezh, gundezh, gundezh ...

5. Bill Gates - Upgrade to Zero (2010)

Did I just say that Bill Clinton is boring? Well, one Bill is worth another. This Bill on climate change and energy is a story about important things, reduced to monotonous, colorless ranting.

4. Malcolm Gladwell - Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce (2004)

Gladwell is a TED star, but this talk was terrible. He shamelessly advertised his book Illumination.

3. David Cameron - "A New Era of Public Administration" (2010)

With his feigned regret at how unpopular politicians have become these days, Cameron looked like an Eton student in a debate.

2. Elizabeth Gilbert - Your Elusive Creative Genius (2009)

1. Bono - "Good News of Poverty" (2013)

In this speech, Bono brilliantly demonstrated his most important feature - the absolute inability not to think about himself. He is on the TED stage, he is the most important and intriguing thing that is happening here. Fighting poverty is his passion. Was it worth devoting an entire lecture to self-praise alone?