There is a vast amount of visual information and entertainment available on the Internet, but some have real value, and some are the ubiquitous “rabbit holes” that simply distract our time and attention. For example, I have posted before on the Kahn Academy, a site rich in educational material that is totally free and has a goal to “educate the world”. The number of subjects available for home education is truly amazing. I have endorsed this site from the beginning.
And then there are the video sharing sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, and many other alternatives. These sites are a little more difficult to navigate because of the difficulty in separating the treasure from the trash. And, it seems that the trash is far greater than the treasure. And, that brings me to TED.
TED is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1984 with two conferences a year focused on Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It has since broadened its scope to include the entire world of ideas. Their mission statement includes the following:
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. So we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched in April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it”.
The site itself includes several components but this post will cover the TED talks. There are currently 1500 video presentations ranging in time from 10 to 18 minutes. They really do cover the world of ideas and the subject matter is extremely extensive. I just finished viewing one on the lost texts of Archimedes found in a prayer book! The texts were overwritten and not visible until various wavelengths of light were used to show the hidden words. But, if Archimedes is not in your interest, there are many more subjects of interest.
There is a link to the main site here. Among the trash, Youtube also has some of these videos. Simply search TED talks. Happy digging!
And then there are the video sharing sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, and many other alternatives. These sites are a little more difficult to navigate because of the difficulty in separating the treasure from the trash. And, it seems that the trash is far greater than the treasure. And, that brings me to TED.
TED is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1984 with two conferences a year focused on Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It has since broadened its scope to include the entire world of ideas. Their mission statement includes the following:
“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. So we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched in April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you're an important part of it”.
The site itself includes several components but this post will cover the TED talks. There are currently 1500 video presentations ranging in time from 10 to 18 minutes. They really do cover the world of ideas and the subject matter is extremely extensive. I just finished viewing one on the lost texts of Archimedes found in a prayer book! The texts were overwritten and not visible until various wavelengths of light were used to show the hidden words. But, if Archimedes is not in your interest, there are many more subjects of interest.
There is a link to the main site here. Among the trash, Youtube also has some of these videos. Simply search TED talks. Happy digging!
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