Another boon of the internet is the access we have gained - to people, places, and most of all, to ideas.
"Ideas worth spreading" is the tagline of TED, which I think is one of the greatest things available on the internet today. Superlative, uplifting, inspiring, thought-provoking talks by amazing people on all kinds of topics - it broadens your mind and expands your horizons.
I'm sure you've all watched some TED talk or the other, but if you haven't, (or even if you have), this is a good place to start. You can even google for "Top 10 TED talks" or "Most-watched TED-talks" and then one will lead you to another, and before you know it, you'll be hooked.
These talks aren't too long - less than 10 minutes, some around 20 minutes - you can watch them instead of watching TV, for instance. When do I watch them? When I'm having lunch, when I'm folding a heap of laundry - and most often, when I am engaged in that very boring but necessary task of cleaning and processing green vegetables. Sometimes, if I need a break from work, or cooking, or if I just need to sit down, I watch a TED talk.
It is so heartening to see the kind of things going on in the world, to come to know about the latest ideas and research and technological developments that is happening out there.
You can listen to renowned scientists and writers and engineers and artists and performers. You can listen to some great talks on education. Or you can be quietly, but equally inspired by unknown, lay people from remote corners of the world who are silently making a difference in the world. Like the Afghan girl who speaks about secretly educating Afghan girls, or a 13-year old Masai boy who created a solar-powered device to scare lions away.
Every time the news in the papers sickens me, every time the cheapness, perversion and corruption of humans starts to get to me, I turn to TED talks. They offer me solace, inspiration, and restore my faith in humanity.
"Ideas worth spreading" is the tagline of TED, which I think is one of the greatest things available on the internet today. Superlative, uplifting, inspiring, thought-provoking talks by amazing people on all kinds of topics - it broadens your mind and expands your horizons.
I'm sure you've all watched some TED talk or the other, but if you haven't, (or even if you have), this is a good place to start. You can even google for "Top 10 TED talks" or "Most-watched TED-talks" and then one will lead you to another, and before you know it, you'll be hooked.
These talks aren't too long - less than 10 minutes, some around 20 minutes - you can watch them instead of watching TV, for instance. When do I watch them? When I'm having lunch, when I'm folding a heap of laundry - and most often, when I am engaged in that very boring but necessary task of cleaning and processing green vegetables. Sometimes, if I need a break from work, or cooking, or if I just need to sit down, I watch a TED talk.
It is so heartening to see the kind of things going on in the world, to come to know about the latest ideas and research and technological developments that is happening out there.
You can listen to renowned scientists and writers and engineers and artists and performers. You can listen to some great talks on education. Or you can be quietly, but equally inspired by unknown, lay people from remote corners of the world who are silently making a difference in the world. Like the Afghan girl who speaks about secretly educating Afghan girls, or a 13-year old Masai boy who created a solar-powered device to scare lions away.
Every time the news in the papers sickens me, every time the cheapness, perversion and corruption of humans starts to get to me, I turn to TED talks. They offer me solace, inspiration, and restore my faith in humanity.
2 comments:
Shruthi, your posts are opening up a new world for me! I'd heard about TED but hardly watched any. Will start watching them now :-)
Radhika, I'm sure you'll enjoy them!
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