Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure — and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgements. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work. An older video (from 2009), and relevant more than ever.
Tag: TED
Don’t eat the marshmallow just yet: Delayed gratification [Video]
In this short talk from TED U, Joachim de Posada shares a landmark experiment on delayed gratification — and how it can predict future success. With priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat the marshmallow.
A One-man Orchestra of the imagination [Video]
Musical innovator Andrew Bird winds together his trademark violin technique with xylophone, vocals and sophisticated electronic looping. Add in his uncanny ability to whistle anything, and he becomes a riveting one-man orchestra.
Can anyone learn to be a master memorizer? [Video]
In his TED talk on memory, Joshua Foer takes the audience through an evocative image that he paints, & then shares his transformation from a science writer covering the US memory championships to becoming a contestant. Training, he reckons, can make anyone into a master memorizer. He shares a few ideas with the audience too.
Cancer vs A teen with an internet connection [Video]
At age 13, after losing a family friend to pancreatic cancer, Jack Andraka set out to discover why the available tests couldn’t detect the disease earlier and at a lower cost. Amazingly, he stumbled upon a way to do just that – he estimates his method is 168 times faster, 26,000 times cheaper and over 400 times more sensitive than the tests available at the time. He tells his story in this TED talk.
How to give a great presentation: [Article/ Video]
Richard Turere is a Masai teenager who presented this incredible TED talk. Curator of TED, Chris Anderson uses this example to show how to give a killer presentation
The Axis of Evil, Comedy [TED video]
Maz Jobrani is an Iranian American comedian. Yes, Muslims laugh too. And not in an evil way, as most Americans seem to think, says he, in this hilarious talk during TEDXSummit in Doha, Qatar.
William Kamkwamba – How I harnessed the wind [TED Video]
To power his family’s home, young William Kamkwamba built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap — starting him on a journey detailed in the book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”. How I harnessed the wind.
The Kid President’s command [Video]
I got this command from the Kid President aka Robby Novak, age 9, & I think I will heed the order!
Treat everybody like it’s their birthday. Every single day.
10 top time-saving tech tips [Video]
NYTimes Tech writer David Pogue shares a few tech tips that will save you minutes every day.