Bored of listening to music? Listen to TED!

Quite a while ago I discovered TED. No, this is not some strange man that I found in a remote place! TED stands for Technolgy Entertainment and Design.The BBC in an article today describes TED as a cult. I wouldn’t quite go that far but there is no doubt that since videos of TED talks were put online they have become mainstream rather than just listened to by those willing to pay thousands of pounds for an annual membership.

TED talks, if you don’t know are lectures lasting about 20 minutes that are given on just about any subject you can imagine. The talks are given by experts in that field or by people with a passion for the subject. They can be inspiring, educational, informative, bewildering, bizzare and mind bogggling but the one thing they all have in common is that they are very thought provoking. TED talks are an outlet for ideas and there is something that will interest most people.

Some of the quotes and subjects you can see online range from -“The Secret to Happiness is Low Expectations” to “Lessons from Death Row Inmates”.They are educational and as the website says are “Ideas worth spreading”

I find TED talks so interesting that I have found myself listening to talks rather than listening to music. I have downlowded the TED app and I often lie in bed at night listening. I can understand why the talks have become cult listening material and if you haven’t tried listening I suggest you give it a go.

The top TED talks you can watch are:-

1. Ken Robinson on schools killing creativity – viewed nearly 11 million times

2. Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight – viewed 8.7 million times

3. Pranav Mistry on sixth sense technology – viewed 8.3 million times

4. Steve Jobs on how to live before you die – viewed 8.2 million times

5. David Gallow shows underwater astonishments – viewed 7.4 million times

6. Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense – viewed 6.4 million times

7. Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action – viewed 5.7 million times

8. Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability – viewed 5.1 million times

9. Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic” – viewed 4.2 million times

10. Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen – viewed 4.1 million times

Viewing figures as of 20 June 2012 on TED website