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TED Wants To Remind Us That Ideas -- Not Politicians -- Shape the Future (qz.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Quartz report: Amid global political upheavals, TED curator Chris Anderson argues that ideas have never mattered more. "Ideas changes how people act and [shape] their long term perspective," he said in during a April 17 press briefing. "Politicians come and go and ideas are forever." He said TED -- two segments of which will be broadcast live in movie theaters this year -- wants to re-introduce civility into political discourse. "We want to avoid the zero sum game we see on cable television every day," said Anderson, noting that TED is a non-partisan organization and has historically featured controversial and intriguing thinkers from both sides of the political divide. In place of the shrill, headline-bait tenor of political spectacles, TED wants to take viewers to a place of "reasoned discourse" where big ideas can act as a bridge between opposing views. By creating an eclectic program -- including an entire session delivered in Spanish and another on artificial intelligence -- Anderson said he wants to steer the conversation away from government and politics. "With so much focus in politics, the world is in danger of forgetting that so much of what really changes the future happens outside completely of politics. It happens inside the mind of dreamers, designers, inventors, technologists, entrepreneurs," he said.
TED's been posting some hopelessly feminist content lately, and they know it, too, because they've disabled ratings and comments on those vids. They're also abusing the DMCA to shut down criticism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The DMCA-censored vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
And an update:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The staff at ted might like lofty ideals but they are to be consumed not discussed - Bearing an Australian youtuber and others have been dmca'ed and Ted lost the fair use test.
To call them communicators is a paradox when they censor too.
Freedom?
Individual and Inalienable rights?
Personal Responsibility?
Limited Government?
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
There has been an ongoing debate in history comparing the macroscopic idea of history and the "Great Man" idea of history.
From a macroscopic level, things like the industrial revolution (or more specifically, things like the invention of the Spinning Jenny) made societal changes inevitable. It was only a matter of time before the Monarchies feel in Europe. It could have been earlier or later by a few decades or centuries, but it was inevidible.
From the "Great Man" level... it's hard to imagine if Nepolian didn't exist that "meh, somebody else would have conquered Europe."
It's hard to accept the assertion that politicians have no impact and it is only ideas. Can anybody honestly say, "If George Washington had decided to become King of the fledgling United States, to the applause and approbation of all his contemporaries, the United States would absolutely still have become a republic?"
Well, for the most part (of course there are always exceptions), I don't see those on the right, have protests that turn violent against the counter protesters, etc. Again..IN GENERAL.
I don't see the right trying to actually shutdown or prevent talks by left leaning speakers at town halls or colleges especially.
Yes, both are opposed to the other, however, I don't see the folks on the right trying to actively suppress the liberal views being presented in public. They may disagree with them, but they don't riot outside the hall where the speaker is supposed to talk and actively try to intimidate the leftist audience or prevent the speech even being given.
This is something that has been happening with greater frequency in the past few years.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Well, that's better than the selective form of tolerance that is practiced today. I'll take the generous form of tolerance any day, thank you. Somehow, I think that being more generous will result in more freedom.
"We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday