It is not unreasonable to assume that many people want to hear what the great thinkers and doers have to say. If the thought of being exposed to some of the best ideas from some of the most noteworthy people in the world peaks your intellectual curiosity, then the TEDTalks may be able to fulfill your desire to think about important ideas.
According to their website, “TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.” The About TED webpage also states, “TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site.” It is this vides site you should know about.
Our first example is from Sam Richards, titled, “A radical experiment in empathy.” The talk webpage says, “Sam Richards is a sociologist and teacher of the largest race relations course in the US. He argues that empathy is the core of sociology.”
Richards says that sociology is, “The study of the way in which human beings are shaped by things that they don’t see.” He says you can be a sociologist if you, “Start with empathy. It all begins with empathy. Take yourself out of your shoes. Put yourself into the shoes of another person.”
The webpage summarizes the talk in this way, “By leading the Americans in his audience … step by step through the thought process, … Richards sets an extraordinary challenge: can they understand — not approve of, but understand — the motivations of an Iraqi insurgent? And by extension, can anyone truly understand and empathize with another?”
Sociology is one of the most captivating of the social sciences, the study of those “invisible forces” that drive societies.
Apple Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Steve Jobs gave his commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, titled by TED, “How to live before you die.”
In his speech Jobs said, “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is gonna fill a large part of your life. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.”
Jobs speaks of the inevitability of death and about when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While speaking about the shortness of our lives he says, “Your time is limited. So don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
These are just two examples of the inspiring ideas that can be found through TEDTalks. Some of the most intelligent, successful and motivational people on Earth are on call. These are truly ideas worth spreading.
