Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular
TED 50 million views: Announcing the Top 10 TEDTalks
ted.com — With 50 million views since we started posting video two years ago, TEDTalks have become a powerful cultural force. To celebrate this milestone, we're releasing a never-before-seen list: the Top 10 TEDTalks of all time, as of June 2008. With speakers like neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor and global health expert Hans Rosling, the list proves one of
SirPopper- 996 diggs
- digg it
- Navicerts, on 07/03/2008, -0/+19I haven't watched all (or even most) of the TED videos but they seem to consistently be very smart people clarifying a very complex issue, making it seem simple to me. Great stuff.
If you are a fan of graphs and charts check out "Hans Rosling reveals new insights on poverty", it's some of the best usage of graphing that I have ever seen.
Here are some I really enjoyed that didn't make the cut - just in case those 10 didn't satisfy you!
Paul Collier shares 4 ways to help the "bottom billion"
Alisa Miller shares the news about the news
Sherwin Nuland on electroshock therapy
Hans Rosling reveals new insights on poverty- shakin, on 07/04/2008, -0/+6Add Jane Goodall's talk to your list. She's fantastic. There are so many great ones. Ted.com is the most interesting web site on the net.
- sakuraz, on 07/04/2008, -2/+3I've watched them all.
Although few are boring as hell, most are extremely interesting even to someone like me, an accounting major. - rompom7, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Check out Theo Jansen: The art of creating creatures. Pure genius.
- desertDenizen, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I've watched about 30-40 TED videos... I think... it's a little hard to navigate TED, IMO. I wish they had better sorting capabilities (rankings, etc.), and the ability to log in and check off the ones I've seen. Especially when they add new stuff, sometimes by speakers I've already seen.
Update: I just saw Cappez's post below. Perfect, thanks!
- empowermint, on 07/04/2008, -6/+0TED is amazing! It's like YouTube but with all the videos you click through to the end of the playbar to see the end taken out.
- Cappez, on 07/04/2008, -1/+7I love TedTalks, but I always feel that top video lists based on number of views assume we are somewhat retarded. This one is no different.
The most popular videos are those with the most views PER DAY. That way also RECENT videos can make the list. See here for the real top 15 TedTalks videos based on popularity, not views:
http://edutube.org/tedtalks- cabdirazzaq, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1I would say that both methods are inconclusive. Why, you ask? By measuring views your way, a video that has been up for one day and then reached the front page would have around 100 000 views/day and thus make the top of this list (that is to say, if this post was made the day after).
Albeit, it may be slightly better to measure by views/day but it still doesn't tell you much due to sudden fluctuations. - Cappez, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2Well that's true for a website like Digg where popular videos do reach the frontpage, and views per day would be enormous. So views per day should only be used for videos that are older than a month or so. Still I think it is a much better indicator of which videos are most popular. I can't think of anything better that also takes into account fluctuations.
- cabdirazzaq, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1I would say that both methods are inconclusive. Why, you ask? By measuring views your way, a video that has been up for one day and then reached the front page would have around 100 000 views/day and thus make the top of this list (that is to say, if this post was made the day after).
- rightondev, on 07/04/2008, -19/+0Please forgive me.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA - gasoline, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4The Supreme Court reference was epic. : )
- Nicole112, on 07/04/2008, -6/+0Obama is a Oriango user just Ted
- skyz, on 07/04/2008, -0/+32TED is the best content on the net
these people are major smart and so generous with their knowledge an enthusiasm- vat0r, on 07/04/2008, -1/+3I agree, when I first stumbled on TED I spent about a month going through it. Now I check in regularly because they have such great content and ideas.
- desertDenizen, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I agree. If anybody knows of anything comparable, or that comes close, please post!
Here's a promising one: http://www.bigthink.com . The UI is clumsy and the signal-to-noise ratio is lower than TED but I've found a handful "big ideas" there. They're also shorter, which makes browsing through it more economical.
- 5erKlepec, on 07/04/2008, -6/+1And I thought it was FRED from youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMXiIQlcIo4 - desertDenizen, on 07/04/2008, -1/+23When the news gets me down, I go to TED and come away feeling like there's hope for humanity. We've got some ***** smart people on this planet who really get it, and really care.
- clip9, on 07/04/2008, -10/+6Some great talks.. But The Al Gore one is just laughable. "Climate Change expert"? Hahaha good one.
- bigsteve3OOO, on 07/04/2008, -6/+1Al Gore invented the internets that allowed TED.
- skyz, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2get over it
al gore got the gov to fund what became the internet that we use every day
he was in a position to do so (were you?)
he had the vision to do so (did you?)
and he got it done which in government is close to miraculous (what have you accomplished that even slightly compares?)
- skyz, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2get over it
- xceptionaly, on 07/04/2008, -1/+15TED is pure genius.
- Spankov, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1The Emperor is wearing no clothes.
- laibixi, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0watch it! you won't regret it!
- laconix, on 07/04/2008, -9/+2Did anyone watch '1. Jill Bolte Taylor: "My stroke of insight"' and think, "Wow, she's lost her mind pretty good.." and close the video half way through?
- aadsfasdf, on 07/04/2008, -1/+6No because it's really interesting all the way through.
- megarobotguy, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4I loved every minute of it. You can tell she really put so much emotion into her talk. It was very beautiful.
Here is the link if anyone is interested.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_tayl ...
- megarobotguy, on 07/04/2008, -1/+4I loved every minute of it. You can tell she really put so much emotion into her talk. It was very beautiful.
- flashback99, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1no, but, I understood why a person would.
- aadsfasdf, on 07/04/2008, -1/+6No because it's really interesting all the way through.
- mrzack, on 07/04/2008, -8/+1Nine Eleven was an INSIDE JOB!!!
- kinerry, on 07/04/2008, -0/+8Those are just the most digestible videos, they aren't even near the best talks
- Jabertsohn, on 07/04/2008, -2/+13No Richard Dawkins?
- MOJIRA, on 07/04/2008, -4/+5His stuff isn't really revolutionary, it's just common sense.
- desertDenizen, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2The Selfish Gene hypothesis was revolutionary by definition.
- MOJIRA, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2I was talking about his TED talk.
- MOJIRA, on 07/04/2008, -4/+5His stuff isn't really revolutionary, it's just common sense.
- duck99, on 07/04/2008, -8/+3Don't know what these folks are all about but they seem like a bunch of know it all douchebags.
- desertDenizen, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3If knowing a lot makes someone a douchebag, then you, sir, are not a douchebag.
- Whatsthetimecod, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1I love the fact that people can come together and talk about the idea of making new ideas, and not the idea of making money.
- Spankov, on 07/04/2008, -7/+1***** TED.
"Aren't we clever? Let's all slap each other on the back!"
"look at this crow vending machine! Look out, schools kill creativity! Oh look Tony Robbins!"
***** off with your 'ideas'. People are dying in Iraq,Iran is next. Britain's youth is slaughtering itself in the streets, mass murder in Zimbabwe and you want me to listen to you 'remarkable people'?
Smug, arrogant *****.- superspud, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2Bad things in the world are happening, that goes without saying. People in Iraq and Iran are dying or are about to.
The people on TED offer an insight to the other side of the spectrum. They discuss and give talks about solving the problems in the world. From how to actually understand what is wrong (Hans Rosling) to how we can fix it (Nicholas Negroponte, Paul Collier, and Ernest Madu). I am so sick to death of people like you stating the obvious and turning it into a hyperbole; 'Britain's youth is slaughtering itself' oh give me a break and stop reading the Daily Mail you uneducated oaf.- abenko, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Well, Spankov does have a point, even if he is not delivering it in a respectful manner.
Tony Robbins teachings take away the natural need for sadness. And Al Gore, ... well, he could do much more for the environment when was a VP..., just to name two.
I think that a generic criticizm that could be made about TED is that it takes "academic" or convenient topics, rather than highly controversial daily issues. Another criticizm is that there is usually just one person delivering the message, with no-one to argue the other side. This is rather "messiah-speak" rather than balanced education.
"let me tell you what you need to think on this topic"...
Don't get me wrong, I think TED.com is the smartest :) site - Spankov, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1Stop reading the Daily Mail? I happen to believe the Daily Mail is part of the problem.
And British youth is slaughtering itself in a way that has never been seen before in that country. There is a breakdown in the most fundamental way that children are being brought up.
- abenko, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Well, Spankov does have a point, even if he is not delivering it in a respectful manner.
- superspud, on 07/04/2008, -1/+2Bad things in the world are happening, that goes without saying. People in Iraq and Iran are dying or are about to.
- rationalist, on 07/04/2008, -1/+9TED is a celebration of intellect in a profoundly (see Spankov) anti-intellectual world. Everything good that has happened in the world has been a product of the ideas of original thinkers who refuse to accept the world as it is, instead envisioning a world that can be.
Or, you can just stagnate in ignorance and pray for salvation.- Spankov, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Pathetic! I'm not anti-intellectual. I just think compassion, humility and action are more important than a 'celebration' of ideas. The world that TED represents is not the the real world. It's the utopian (which by definition is unattainable...gee perhaps I'm not so anti-intellectual after all) ideal that academics dream of and discuss and despite their best 'efforts' we are moving further and further away from. TED is the sound of the middle-class wringing its hands in feigned anguish.
Pray for salvation? Oh I see what you did there! You're hinting that I'm perhaps some god-botherer...very clever perhaps you should do a talk at the next TED.- jawmaster, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1What, you think these people aren't working their absolute hardest to bring about change? The first step in mass change is informing people of new and bold ideas. Plus, the words "compassion, humility and action" are cop-outs, and frequently abused by people who haven't considered all angles of an issue. Case in point: foreign aid to African nations. Said aid is frequently motivated by these exact same words, but conditions in Africa continue to worsen because aid money inevitably falls into the wrong hands.
- Spankov, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Pathetic! I'm not anti-intellectual. I just think compassion, humility and action are more important than a 'celebration' of ideas. The world that TED represents is not the the real world. It's the utopian (which by definition is unattainable...gee perhaps I'm not so anti-intellectual after all) ideal that academics dream of and discuss and despite their best 'efforts' we are moving further and further away from. TED is the sound of the middle-class wringing its hands in feigned anguish.
- zwhitley, on 07/04/2008, -2/+2Pop science
- reddevil3, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1The underwater one was awesome. Especially that octopus blending in with the coral...frickin amazing!
- heartsblood, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2was I the only one surprised to see the Wii head tracking guy on TED?
- h0ser, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2there are sooooooooooo many more talks that havn't been recorded and submitted to the TED site. I just wish they had them all. They are so interesting to watch and I always finish way more informed then when i started.
- RSS14, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4ted.com is one of the greatest websites I have ever visited. So much information, presented so intelligently. I love it.
- metallicker, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1love ted talks.
lame top ten. - Justise, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1FYI, TED was developed by Method.
http://method.com/#/work/all/detail/CaseStudy/12/
Some interesting stuff on their website stuff about the site. - alexbu, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1This is great news!
- DulcetTone, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I hope they post some earlier talks (from the 90s).
- Darkyuubi, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1FYI, you can subscribe to basically all TEDtalks on iTunes as a podcast. A nice way to keep'em organized if you plan on saving them to re-watch/share
- jbelkin, on 07/04/2008, -3/+1TED - patronizing asses - a bunch of old white guys telling us how we should live our lives and living off our tax dollars as professors and grant researchers - then turning around and charging us thousands to hear themselves talk. What a bunch of windbags. Seriously, after 20 years, they should realize they are just wasting everyone's time by just talking about how smart they are and how we need to listen to them OVER and OVER again ... what a bunch of crap.
- Trav3133, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1ted is so dumb. get over yourselfs. this is where everyone in the audience thinks they are bono. go green and stfu already.
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2008 —
Content posted by