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.

Comments

Re:Wow!

[Archangel Michael]

So, what you're saying is rather than live in Leftist paradises like ... Venezuela with the natural wealth that country has (big OIL), people will flee to the Tyranny and Oppression of the US?

Yeah, I am sure the "next time" socialism will get it right. And that wasn't a good version of Socialism ...

"... the American dream is more apt to be realized in South America, in places such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Argentina .. " - Sen Bernie Sanders

Socialism works, until it fails ... miserably, often catastrophically.

So, yeah, I don't see the world working quite the way socialists in ivory towers (and VT Senate seats) view it.

There is a reason why people come to the US, because for all its flaws, it is still (more or less) free to make it on your own.

Re:Wow!

[WrongMonkey]

we now have to go back and argue out why racism, homophobia, mysogyny, and every other form of bigotry is bad

Straw man attacks don't create dialogue. There are very few people on the Right who are in favor of "racism, homophobia, mysogyny". These are just labels that the Left uses to shut down dialogue.

There are people on the Right who are concerned about illegal immigration and crime. These concerns are labeled as "racist". There are people on the Right who are concerned about biological men using women's restrooms. These concerns are labeled "transphobic". There are people on the Right who believe an unborn fetus has certain rights. These beliefs are labelled "misogynist".

It's hard work to engage people and address their concerns with respect. Label and dismiss is the lazy way out.

Re:TED ideas = super obvious ideas

[cayenne8]

Why would they broadcast one entirely in Spanish?

If this is for US only....ENGLISH!!!

If you're wanting to become a citizen here, one of the prerequisites is to show a level of proficiency in English.

If these are TED talks for Mexico or other Spanish speaking nations, fine, but having an immersive situation in the US, where everything is published and spoken in English, would certainly help visiting and immigrating folks learn how to speak the country's language faster.

It sure worked in college....why not on a larger nation scale?

Wow....

Not many years ago, this would have been taken as "common sense", now it gets modded troll....?

Why?