TED Talks

I think TED Talks are elitist. TED is supposed to stand for Technology Entertainment and Design. All the topics seem too selected. TED talks are supposed to represent the encouragement of new ideas and thought. Is it really encouraging if they only encourage the ideas they want. How come we haven’t seen a TED talk on sexuality? Or a TED talks in the defense of pornography? Those are just examples. What I am trying to say is that it all feels filtered. Everything is handpicked and set up the way they want it. They only pick topics they want. It is all to the whims of the TED committee. So it is a very biased affair. Bias should not have a place in a function such as TED. TED talks in a way represent what Jon Stewart has been waiting for. The TED format could be the ultimate debate platform in which actual debates can occur naturally. A format in which arguments can be stated and everyone could be represented. But the moment we dictate what is allowed and what is not allowed, the value and legitimacy of the affair is gone. TED talks can be a viable form of communicating but only when all sides of the debate are present. TED talks are closer to the O’Reilly Factor and other political talk shows than they are to the auditorium style presentation. Also I wish the TED talks would be more engaging. The truly great TED talks  have seen have found a way to make the audience interested. The Salman Khan and the Khan Academy Ted talk instantly come to mind. It was interactive and it was down to earth. A lot of TED talks cater to their audience. An audience full of people who are significantly more well off than the average person. I do not mean dumb down the content. What I’m referring to is the condescending attitude you can pick up off a lot of the presenters. They act like theyre better than us. I feel TED talks wont be used to their fullest potential until they change the way the run it.