I posted this awhile back and its been bugging me ever since. What bothers me is that the speaker seems to be saying — in both content and delivery style — that how you say something is unimportant. That we should, as a species, weigh ideas based only on their content and smart people should focus on being smart, not on packaging, context or selling ideas. This is lovely except that it completely ignores vast amounts of data on the inherent irrationality of the human mind. Or, as Dan Ariely reportedly put it: If you speak like a scientist only scientists will understand you. The marketing of valuable ideas is essential. We should be encouraging scientists and scholars to learn from folks like Gladwell who do it well rather than ridiculing him. The speaker does make one point I find compelling—that we could use more forums for asking complex questions and leaning into uncertain space together. This doesnt discount the value of TED however it just points to the need for other forums. And the most interesting TED talks Ive heard are by people doing research, business, or art in other forums. Mostly I find the attitude expressed below frustrating with its seductive appearance of intelligence that seems to be covering a rather cynical self-righteoussness.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 05:29:38 +0000
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