Ask HN: What's your favorite TED Talk?

[biggitybones]

I've been going through the thread from about a year and a half ago that has a myriad of great TED talks, watching one or two of them every few nights. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=442022)

I'm starting to run out on that thread, and I'd love to get a good compilation going that includes some from the past 2 conferences.

So, HN - what are you favorite TED talks? I'll get it started with these: Sir Ken's Robinson's talk on nurturing creativity in education (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html) and Inspiring Action through leadership (http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html)

[RevRal]

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world: http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_ca...

This talk is not about hallucinogenic mushrooms. It really opened my eyes to the awesome potential of fungi, and how this potential is largely ignored because of the connotation to "hippy" and "drugs." Fungi is just generally misunderstood. I was absolutely amazed at how thorough these clean-up jobs were, at how well the fungi consumed, not only the waste, but the toxins in the waste.

Stamets recently wrote his fungi take to cleaning oil spills: http://www.fungi.com/mycotech/petroleum_problem.html

[marknutter]

I have to concur in a comment here because this TED talk was so mind blowing for me I feel I need to write down my opinions about it somewhere. The way this guy talks about mushrooms is extremely earnest and its clear he's both incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about his field. It's almost as though he can't get the information out of his mouth and into the crowd fast enough, and what's more is that he speaks like he has discovered and is revealing for the first time the world's most incredible secrets - which in a way he is. It's not over dramatic, just genuine and awesome. Watch this video!

[itistoday]

It's too bad he didn't discuss as well the potentials of hallucinogenic mushrooms, but thank you for this fascinating link! I suppose that would have taken an entire talk of its own though.

[jerf]

Mike Rowe celebrates dirty jobs: http://www.ted.com/talks/mike_rowe_celebrates_dirty_jobs.htm...

A surprisingly powerful ode to people who just do the work. Our jobs may not be dirty but the lessons are still interesting and applicable; connecting to startups isn't that hard.

I like many of the other linked talks too, but as of my writing this one was not posted.

[masterj]

That was fantastic, and I don't think I would have ever come across it otherwise.

Thank you.

[ajtaylor]

That was a fabulous talk! Today there are far too many people (myself sometimes included) who think that some jobs are "beneath" them. Maybe the are, but someone still has to do them.

Hats off to all the folks out there who do dirty jobs!

[malbiniak]

This talk can't be watched enough. I introduced it to a number of my past professors who are still using it in their undergrad and grad classes.

[Anon84]

Hans Rosling with the best stats you've ever seen:

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_y...

[cmelbye]

Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke...

A neuroscientist that suffered from a stroke talked about the experience and the interesting conclusion that came from it.

[barmstrong]

This is one of those talks you either love or hate. I was surprised to see it was one of the highest rated TED talks (on another site) because for some reason I found it rather irritating.

[biggitybones]

I just watched this one a few days ago... probably one of the best TED talks I've seen. It's amazing the way she could remember and understand what she was going through and explain it as she does in this talk.

[plinkplonk]

http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind... ("Vilayanur Ramachandran tells us what brain damage can reveal about the connection between celebral tissue and the mind, using three startling delusions as examples. .. Dr Ramachandran is the author of the author of Phantoms in the Brain (the basis for a Nova special), A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness and The Man with the Phantom Twin: Adventures in the Neuroscience of the Human Brain")

Very hacker like, brilliant, work.

[chroma]

This is also my favorite TED talk. Ramachandran has come up with some clever ways to study and heal the brain. His mirror box therapy is not only simple and effective, but his prerequisite theory was accurate yet initially based on a tiny amount of evidence.

Here's a short talk by Ramachandran on mirror neurons: http://www.ted.com/talks/vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_sh...

[avinashv]

I highly recommend reading his book Phantoms in the Brain. Fascinating and approachable introduction to the kind of neuroscience--some of the talk's examples come from this book--that he talks about.

[jedc]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Ken Robinson's talk yet!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_...

Brilliant (and funny) talk about how schools suck the creativity out of students, but also how this doesn't have to be the case. My favorite TED Talk of all time.

[nrbafna]

Well. The author had mentioned it himself.

[iamdave]

I'll second this, wholeheartedly.

[adriand]

The only TED talk that has ever brought tears to my eyes - Jamie Oliver's: http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

[Radix]

Wow, that's a very good talk. He's a bit of a bleeding heart, but in such a way, that it's clear to me he couldn't be as effective as he is if he wasn't. There is also a lot of implication on what makes a good talk here. Thanks.

[bdickason]

I love Jamie Oliver and highly recommend his show Food Revolution. It's 100x more moving than his talk.

(just tried to find it on Hulu and it's not there, wish I could provide a DL)

[mgrouchy]

My Favorite Ted Talk is Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation. http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

[jbellis]

It's a good talk, but if you go read the research he's citing, he took a great deal of liberties. :-|

[samdk]

I don't know if they're my favorite, but Rory Sutherland's two are excellent, and I think well worth watching especially if you ever think you might be trying to sell something to someone.

Life lessons from an ad man: (http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_a...)

Sweat the small stuff: (http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_stu...)

[RyanMcGreal]

It seems to me that the word for the fourth quadrant in his latter talk is: "hacking".

[mikeleeorg]

Great question. It's tough for me to single out just one favorite, though this one has had a large impact on me. It's from Dan Buettner on his study of Blue Zones and why inhabitants regularly live long lives:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100....

This talk from Robert Full also had an impact, because it reminded me to look at unrelated fields for inspiration & solutions, like as the field of biology:

http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_full_learning_from_the_gecko...

On a side note, an exercise I've had fun doing with friends lately is to ask them who among our own social circles we would like to see speak, if we held our own TED talk. And what topics we would like to speak about ourselves. It has spurned a lot of interesting discussions amongst ourselves.

[irons]

I enjoyed Daniel Kahneman on "The riddle of experience vs memory", which is about the ways people structure their lives for experiences they think they will enjoy remembering, rather than things they'd necessarily enjoy doing at the time. There's also a good anecdote about how making a colonoscopy slightly more unpleasant cam leave the patient with a more favorable recollection.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_exper...

[brianwillis]

Liz Gilbert's talk on Creative Genius (http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html) is really underrated. Not only does it cover a fascinating subject, it's also a beautifully done speech. Gilbert skims across the surface of many subjects, and in the final few minutes ties it all together into one cohesive whole. Poignant, thoughtful, and entertaining - as all speeches should aspire to be.

[bmac]

The intelligence of crows has always been my favorite. Joshua Klein talks about a cleaver way to create a mutually beneficial relationship with a species usually considered to be a pest.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intel...

[tessro]

Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity:

http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strang...

[Sukotto]

I liked (in the order they show up in my del.icio.us stream):

* Dan Buettner How to live to be 100 http://blog.ted.com/2010/01/how_to_live_to.php

* Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

* Kamal Meattle on how to grow fresh air http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_g...

* Ian Dunbar on dog-friendly dog training http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ian_dunbar_on_dog_friendl...

* Mark Bittman on what's wrong with what we eat http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wr...

* Hans Rosling shows the best stats you've ever seen http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_be...

* Sugata Mitra shows how kids teach themselves http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_ki...

* Alan Russell on regenerating our bodies http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/alan_russell_on_regenerat...

* Robert Lang folds way-new origami http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new...

* John Maeda: Simplicity patterns http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/172/

Somehow I never bookmarked

* Dan Gilbert's talks http://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_gilbert.html

* Dan Ariely's talks http://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_ariely.html

Which I've now remedied

There was also one about regenerating local ecosystems that I somehow can't seem to find right now.

[OoTheNigerian]

My best is The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Adichie.

She was able to articulate the feeling that stereotyped people have. Unfortunately, we are all guilty in some way knowingly or unknowingly. It is a must watch.

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_...

[defdac]

Sheila Patek on the fastest animal on Earth. One thing a particularily like about this talk is that it seems she doesn't realize how captivating she is: http://www.ted.com/talks/sheila_patek_clocks_the_fastest_ani...

[dave_lo]

Always liked Thomas Barnett's talk on the Pentagon's new map for peace. Interesting ideas. Delivers with some humor.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/thomas_barnett_draws_a_new...

[dimarco]

That was great, thanks.

Asides from being very funny, I have never heard of a force like the two-sided, Leviathian / SysAdmin one that he describes.

Attributing some of the failure in Iraq, namely the persistent Leviathian force and the non-existant SysAdmin force is very compelling, to say the least.

[linhir]

I really like Sherwin Nuland's talk on electroshock therapy: http://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_ther...

I've never seen anyone write about this talk, but it is intensely personal story of his depression and recovery through electroshock therapy.

[nrbafna]

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology.Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/pranav_mistry_the_thrillin...

[RevRal]

SixthSense is the most promising system of augmenting reality I have seen.