TED 2014
“Like a Kid in a (3-D printed) Candy Store” or
“Canadian Adventure Travel for the Brain”
Below are highlights of my 2nd annual trip to the TED conference — I hope you enjoy the peek into the idea factory that is TED and this year’s outstanding and inspiring new video talks.
First, a brief reminder: TED’s mission is “Ideas Worth Spreading” and while its initials stand for “Technology, Entertainment, Design”, the 1,700+ talks online span a broad range of topics across the arts, sciences, humanities, psychology, medicine, business, philosophy and geopolitics. TED talks are meant to educate, inspire, challenge, entertain and whet/quench the curiosity appetite in 5–18 minute bite-sized chunks. At their best, TED talks make complex topics seem accessible, tell compelling stories and are, quite simply, world-class public speaking. As the Economist recently observed, “TED has done more to advance the art of lecturing in a decade than Oxford University has done in a thousand years.”
The numbers are staggering: From a modest start in 1984, and internet launch in 2006, TED is now a juggernaut: >2,000 online talks have been viewed nearly 2 billion times (2 million views/day) and translated into 104 languages, over 9,000 TEDx events have been held in 157 countries and 400 animated TED-ED lessons have been created for kids. Astoundingly, all of this valuable content is 100% free! Despite (or perhaps because of) its popularity, TED is still controversial, defending itself against accusations of elitism and over-simplification of important topics.
On to the conference!
TED 2014: 5 days, 150 speakers, 7 musicians, 1 illusionist, 1 impersonator, 1 movie-scoring DJ and 1,200 exceptional attendees. (Click here for a cool “5 days at-a-glance” pictorial summary and here for my photos)
TED turned 30 years old this year and to commemorate the occasion, 3 big changes were made: 1) the conference was moved from Long Beach, CA to a new location, looking out on gorgeous Vancouver Harbor, ringed by snow-capped peaks and traversed by a steady stream of seaplanes and cruise ships. A custom new “pop-up” theatre was built, intended to make the conference more intimate, with a theatre-in-the-round format and short sight lines from any seat in the house, 2) attendance was decreased to 1,200 people (from 1,400 last year) and 3) TED brought back 50+ of the most popular speakers from the last 3 decades (the “TED All-Stars”) to give updates on their talks and talk about how TED changed their life and life’s work.
What has not changed is the atmosphere: West Coast relaxed and collegial, yet under the surface is an intense marketplace of ideas. Conversations contain very little small talk; they go deep and impactful quickly. TED attendees self-select into a conference that contains almost zero direct connection to their day jobs but which allows them to think broadly about the world for 1 week each year. It is an unusual paradox: attendees represent some of the most successful and accomplished Type A people on the planet, yet they seek out a “brain-spa” like atmosphere where creativity and passion define the hierarchy, not money or fame. For 5 brief days, the 1% (celebrities, CEO’s, billionaires, politicians) bow at the feet of academics, physicists, police officers, starving artists, astronauts, scientists, designers, teachers, troubadours, social workers and activists, all of whom are filled with contagious passion. Incredibly refreshing! In the 2013 notes I described the cross-section of attendees (the “A’s-F’s”) (reproduced below).
The attendees include concentric circles of: A’s (true celebrities, political, philanthropic, stage, song, art, screen and film –Bill, Bono, Al, Ben Affleck, Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan, Goldie Hawn, Geena Davis, Paul Simon, John Legend, Phillipe Starck), B’s (as in billionaires: founder/CEOs of the world’s largest technology companies, hedge funds, venture capitalists and private equity firms– Bezos, Larry/Sergey, Marisa Mayer, Steve Case, Peter Thiel, Vinod Khosla, John Doerr, Bill Joy, Ray Dalio ), C’s (founders and investors of companies on the cusp or recently public/sold and “volunteer” senior execs at the world’s largest tech firms — think Twitter, LinkedIn, Zynga, Square, and employees #3–400 at Google/Amazon/Facebook/Apple/eBay/PayPal, working cuz it’s fun and for no other reason), D’s (retired CEOs, diplomats, military leaders and inventors of really important technology like, say, the Internet, vaccines and gene-splicing), E’s (former/current TED speakers from all walks of life) and F’s (the rest of us: entrepreneurs, consultants, corporate execs, charitable foundation leaders, educators, product designers, artists, authors and scientists…the respectably accomplished, the merely talented, the intensely curious and/or the aspirational and ambitious. The main difference between the E’s and F’s, as far as I can tell, is courage. It’s a wide gulf. Don’t ask me how the hell you get into the D’s and above.
It was the same extraordinary crowd, among whom I was, by far, the least interesting person roaming the halls. The conference lobby is filled with tons of exhibits featuring the latest technology, science, books and gourmet food in subtly sponsored ways (Google Glass, 3-D printed candy to taste, craft coffee, custom eyeglasses, etc).
TED conferences defy easy explanation: filled with wealthy and famous people trying hard to act with compassion and humility. The kind of place where hedge-fund billionaires dress like 4th graders and wait in line for lunch from food trucks, where 25–35 year olds have nametags with titles like: “Retired”, “On Sabbatical”, “Investor” or “Philanthropist”, where people almost apologize for not having attended Stanford, yet where attendees are much more excited to talk to a 15 year old who has cracked nuclear fission than to Cameron Diaz and Al Gore, the kind of place where an on-stage conversation with the head of the NSA about Edward Snowden (who also spoke via robot/skype from Russia) is followed by a talk about how fireflies have sex.
Overwhelmingly, TED left me feeling 2 things: 1) incredibly optimistic about the future and 2) inspired by the passion and courage of the 150+ speakers. In lieu of doing anything worthy of a TED talk, I am inspired to organize a (very) local TEDx talk. Stay tuned.
The 150 speakers I saw were broken up into 3 groups: 1) the main stage (TED talks, 18 minutes), 2) TED Fellows (group of extraordinary young people trying to change the world, recruited by TED to talk, future main stage speakers, 6 minutes) and 3) the aforementioned TED All-Stars (most popular speakers from the past 30 years).
My top 10 (ok, 16) 2014 main stage talks are below, plus 5 amazing “celebrity” talks/interviews. I’ve linked to the talk itself if it’s already online, to a blog post if not:
· Hugh Herr — The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance — simply EXTRAORDINARY talk, a tour de force that is both technical and deeply personal. People were weeping and cheering at the end of this one (must watch!)
· Ed Yong — Suicidal crickets, zombie roaches and other parasite tales — hysterically funny talk about the bizarre corners of the animal kingdom. All science teachers should be this entertaining!
· Chris Hadfield — What I learned from going blind in space — watch a NASA astronaut sing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity/Major Tom” after a great talk on the difference between danger and fear
· Ziauddin Yousafzai — My daughter, Malala — heartfelt talk about a father’s pride in his daughter. Malala was shot by the Taliban when she was 15 years old, simply for daring to go to school. Both father and daughter (who Skyped in to TED from the hospital) will inspire you with their courage
· Marc Kushner — Why the Buildings of the future will be shaped by you – rollicking, funny and fascinating talk about how architecture can humanize us
· Bran Ferren — Let’s combine art and engineering — passionate talk by a Hollywood special effects whiz who connects the Pantheon in Rome to self-driving cars. He reminds us of the lesson of Steve Jobs: operating at the corner of technology and liberal arts can change the world!
· Brian Greene — 13.8 billion years of the universe in 4 minutes — ‘nuff said
· Zak Ebrahim — My father was a terrorist, I’m not — the son of an Islamic terrorist responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Courageous talk about not letting your upbringing define who you are
· David Epstein — What’s making athletes faster, stronger, better — entertaining and thought-provoking talk by a Sports Illustrated writer that compares athletic performance now vs 100 years ago
· Avi Reichental — How 3-D printing will turn us all back into makers– the future of 3-D printing (cakes, electric guitars, clothes and prosthetic limbs!)
· Ben Saunders — The hardest 105 days of my life– first man in history to travel to and return from the South Pole on foot. Extraordinary tale of endurance and bravery in an attempt to accomplish what Captain Scott’s expedition could not more than 100 years ago.
· Simon Sinek — Leadership is about making others feel safe– fascinating (and surprising) talk on what makes a great leader
· Ze Frank — hysterical call-and-response to the TED audience recalling his popular 2004 TED talk
· Chris Kluwe — Stronger, better, faster football– NFL punter on the future of augmented reality in sports (think Google Glass in football helmets)
· Kevin Briggs — Hope on the Golden Gate Bridge– heart-wrenching talk by a California police officer who spent the last 25 years patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge, trying to stop people from committing suicide by leaping from it.
· Andrew Solomon — Forge meaning, build identity — this talk brought the TED audience to its feet after hearing about how to triumph over adversity
Celebrity Talks/Interviews
· Edward Snowden — Here’s how we take back the internet — Snowden “spoke” at TED via robotic video-conference from Russia (Snowden could steer the robot around the stage like a speaker would pace around) and was interviewed on-stage by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet. Extraordinary moment. Two days later, a senior NSA official addressed the TED audience from Washington, responding to Snowden’s claims. Only at TED…
· Bill & Melinda Gates — Why giving away our wealth has been the most satisfying thing we’ve done– interviewed on-stage about their family life and how to give $40 billion away effectively
· Charlie Rose interviewing Larry Page (CEO of Google) — Where’s Google going next? — great discussion about how we’ve just scratched the surface on the future of innovation
· Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly — Better, stronger, tougher — a treat to hear Gabby Giffords speak live in response to interview questions about her recovery and gun-control advocacy
· Sting — We’re all in the same boat — exceptional performance of his new musical work and his views on going back to his childhood past and hometown for inspiration. Bonus rendition of “Message in the Bottle” that got TEDsters singing along
Best TED All-Stars (new 5 minute talks from the most popular TED speakers of the last 30 years)
· Larry Lessig — The unstoppable walk to political freedom — emotional follow-up to last year’s exceptional talk on how to reform our government, his movement is now dedicated to the late internet activist Aaron Swartz
· David Brooks — Should You Live for your resume or your eulogy — inspiring talk that asks “Are you earning your eulogy?” Here’s his popular 2011 talk as well.
· Neil Turok — exceptional follow-up to his 2008 talk by an educator looking for “the next Einstein” in Africa
· Dan Gilbert — the psychology of your future self — an expert on happiness on why we underestimate how much we will change in the future. See his great talks from 2004 and 2005
· Stanley McChrystal — 4-star general on the new definition of power in the sharing economy. His great 2011 talk on leadership is worth a watch
· Stefan Sagmeister — album cover designer doing a very funny talk on being passionate about design. In 2009 he gave a TED talk on the power of time off
· Elizabeth Gilbert — success, failure and the drive to keep creating — author of Eat, Pray, Love with an epilogue to her 2009 talk on how to find your inner genius
· Elizabeth Pisani — funny talk on lies about sex, a follow-up on her 2010 talk on the behavioral aspects of AIDS transmission
· Sarah Kay — an inspiring talk by a young poet who wowed TED audiences in 2011 with her talk
· Susan Cain — great follow-up to her very popular 2012 talk on the power of introverts
· Taylor Wilson — 19 year-old who achieved fusion at age 14 and nuclear fission at age 16 came back to remind us (again) how relatively little we’ve accomplished in our lives.
· Sir Ken Robinson — hard to replicate the great alt-rocker Amanda Palmer serenading the legendary educator who holds the record for the most viewed TED talk in history
Best TED Fellows Talks (inventions/breakthroughs/causes)
· Aziz Abu Sarah — for more tolerance, we need more tourism — runs peace-building tour and travel agency (Mejdi Tours) whose mission is to use travel to overcome hatred and prejudice (joint Jewish/Palestinian tours of Israel, etc)
· Alex McLean — dedicated to turning reformed African female prisoners into lawyers to fight for justice for other women
· Shubhendu Sharma — “open-source” forest making. How to create new forests using modern manufacturing techniques (lean, etc)
· Bora Yoon — sound architect who believes that music changes the spaces we live and work in (“Sunken Cathedral” is her new album)
· Andrew Bastawrous — get your next eye exam on a smart phone — using smartphone apps to test and treat blindness in poor countries
· Aziza Chaouni -how I brought a river and my city back to life — creating the “High-Line” of Fez, Morocco by turning dead riverbeds into new urban spaces
· Sergei Lupashin — a flying camera on a leash — using drones to change photojournalism. “Perspective matters”
· David Sengeh — the sore problem of prosthetic limbs — designing 3-D printed next-general prosthetic devices for amputees. Companion talk to Hugh Herr’s main-stage talk. The MIT Media Lab is doing some extraordinary work in the future of health care!
· Usman Riaz — teenage musical prodigy who self-taught himself to play guitar in an unusual way
· Eric Berlow — two-time TED speaker showing amazing tools (“MAPPR”) to help people collaborate on world-changing projects
Only at TED moments
· Mini-TED conference on the plane from Chicago to Vancouver: chatting with Jim Hackett, former CEO of Steelcase and 30 year TED attendee and Richard Saul Wurman, TED founder while the flight attendants tell us their all-time favorite TED talks
· Dinner with the founder of Apple’s Siri (Tom Gruber) — hearing stories of when Steve Jobs called him to buy his company (“do you want to be 1 of 100,000 apps or do you want to have 100 million users?”). Tom and I had a lot in common: we both checked luggage to come to TED, me because I brought more than 2 pairs of shoes, he because he brought his own drone to TED (it paid off, see his drone’s pictures here)
· Sitting directly in front of Sting during TED talks and having better seats than Peter Gabriel when Sting took the stage
· Private lunch with the CEO of GE (Jeff Immelt) to talk about renewable energy
· Enjoying talks with the son of the founder of Neiman Marcus
· Attempting to give career advice to the 40-something recently “retired” CTO of tencent, the Facebook of China
· Debating anonymity vs corruption with Matt Cutts, the head of anti-spam at Google. In 2011, he gave a great 5 minute TED talk on taking a 30-day challenge
· Chatting with Nina Zagat about life post Google’s acquisition of Zagat Guides
· Dinner with the founder of Tetris who is most proud of his game being used to treat PTSD
· Hearing about the former Chief Scientist at Amazon’s passion for teaching
· Al Gore taking a selfie with Will.I.Am during an after-hours party
· In line with Cameron Diaz for appetizers at the conference closing party
· Curious to know what Jeff Bezos and the founder of Kickstarter are talking about while in line at the food trucks
