30 TEDx Themes

Clemens Wan
Life in Lists of 30
3 min readMar 6, 2020

Random Observation/Comment #511: I have TEDactive withdrawal. I need more extroverted introverts that love organizing events in my life.

Why This List?

A theme brings it all together. It guides the talks and inspires the audience to think abstractly about the bigger cause. There’s no right answer for the theme — it’s just an abstract idea that can be interpreted in any number of ways. I do think the creative ones are always fun to hear. It always makes me think, “Ah… I see what you did there…”

  1. Truth and dare — I like how the entirety of TED really overturned stones and revealed hard truths about all our world issues, and dared us all to get more involved.
  2. Chain reaction — It’s how ideas spread from individuals to groups to movements to revolutions
  3. 2020 vision — I like how this could be the year 2020 target as well as the 20/20 vision of the right world ahead of us
  4. Breaking barriers — There will always be barriers of entry for learning new skills or getting involved in new ideas, but I like how this theme inspires people to make these ideas more accessible and transparent how to get involved.
  5. The creative spark — Ideas are my creative spark
  6. Dare to bend — People are rooted in beliefs and they should consider bending these views
  7. Life stories — This was one of my favorite sub themes within TED 2015 only because I believe that life is about experiencing triumph moments and telling awesome stories.
  8. Finding a new point of view — These new ideas show a new perspective
  9. Radical reframe — People often become stubborn about their old ways by comparing new ideas to what they know. It’s important to reframe that view and approach it with a clear mind.
  10. Keep the conversation going — It’s not just the talk, it’s the conversations that happen afterwards
  11. Shaping the future — The future is taking shape with or without our influence…
  12. Pale blue dot — we are just a speck in the stars and a pale blue dot to other observers
  13. Not Business As Usual — This challenges the status quo and gets people thinking outside of their normal working BAU mindset
  14. Take a Moment and Think — We spend a lot of time stuck doing too much and not stepping back and unfocusing our eyes to see the bigger picture
  15. Press Play — I like this because I immediately have the guitar rift following this for “Just push play.” At a higher level, we control the remote.
  16. Beyond the Conversation — Change happens beyond just that first step
  17. Changing Currents — We are often pushed a certain direction by the masses, and I think it’s important to consider the validity of the direction and alter it where needed
  18. Pioneering — I personally love this word. It’s exploration to the roots of the old days in engineering and suspenders
  19. Sea of Voices — This theme was from a maritime TEDx about ocean exploration, so I thought it was pretty clever
  20. EDGE: Explore, Discover, Grow, Engage — The edge is usually that furthest point before the unknown. I love watching our edge cut through any level of fabric.
  21. Ctrl + Alt + Delete — Reset the way you think. This also used to bring up a task manager seeing your running processes.
  22. Uncharted Territory — This always reminds me of “Space… the Final Frontier”
  23. Inside Out — I think we need to go further than skin deep and pull everything inside out
  24. Why Not? — We ask ourselves “Why?” all the time, but what of “Why Not?”
  25. Worlds Imagined — Whether it’s ours or Mars, we are looking at a lifestyle and colony
  26. Crossing Paths — Intersecting ideas from all subject spaces is how you find innovation
  27. Collisions — Sometimes it’s more than just meeting, but also colliding to mold a more cohesive entity that can approach these problems
  28. Hide and Seek — I think we’re always observing the world and getting surprised. We seek to find those hidden answers in this continuous game of curiosity.
  29. Solve for y — I love everything about this geeky equation. There’s a lot of meaning in Figuring out Why
  30. Ripples — It starts with a drop…

~See Lemons Themed

Originally published at https://seelemons.com.

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Clemens Wan
Life in Lists of 30

Solution Architect @consensys and "guy that likes to write lists of 30"