If you aren’t familiar with the golden gems called “TEDTalks” let me take a moment to explain. TED is a conference held each year with the ultimate goal of sharing “Ideas worth spreading”. Speakers are given up to 18 minutes to speak on various subjects, all of which are either “persuasive, courageous, ingenious, fascinating, inspiring, beautiful, funny, and/or informative”. These talks are filmed, and then put online (for free!), for anyone to watch.

I’ve seen over 280 of them, and honestly, the things I’ve learned from them rival the [rather expensive] education I’m getting (I probably shouldn’t say that!). Some things you hear will completely blow your mind and just arouse all sorts of awesome ideas in your head. Seriously, if you want brain food, this is it. Here are the best ones I’ve seen (in no particular order):

The first one I ever watched…got me hooked!

 

This one’s incredible. You don’t need any special qualifications to make an impact, or to change someone’s life forever. You just have to want to:

 

Really gets you thinking about education:

 

A later talk from the same man as above:

 

Can too many choices be a bad thing?

 

It’s the little things and simple ideas that often have the biggest impact:

 

Can a street artist with an idea change the world? If so, imagine what you could do!

 

What are the consequences of distractions, and how can we work more efficiently?

 

Let’s come together and completely rethink the means of production:

 

Video education and the creation of the Khan Academy:

 

Sharing the tools of education to foster interest and growth.

 

A creative talk with profound insight on a whole lot more. The word “brilliant” appears in 5 of the last 11 comments, need I say more?

 

A completely new and captivating look into the beauty and magic of classical music. As a rap/hip hop fan, I was skeptical at first. I was speechless at the end.

 

Rats…are they pests or land-mine-detecting superheros?

 

This man gave people a chance to be part of masterful choir, no matter their age or location in the world. Awesome:

 

Sometimes, problems call for out-of-the-box solutions. Like a laser that zaps mosquitoes, for example:

 

Creative insight into a team-building exercise that reveals more than meets the eye:

 

Yea, humans are smart, but we’re not the only ones!

 

You don’t have to be a superhero to make an impact. In fact, you could be a young Malawian boy with a heart for helping:

 

Never thought twice about mushrooms until I saw this…blew my mind:

 

3D scanning of ancient monuments…one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and one of the best TEDTalks:

 

Comic relief while making a statement:

 

Challenging the reluctance to talk about mistakes in the medical profession. Amazing:

 

Be happy, do better work:

 

Humbling and awe-inspiring. One of my all-time favorites:

 

Innovation and technology showing amazing promise:

 

Profound thoughts on the communication revolution. Is there more to it than meets the eye?

 

Introverts have a lot to offer, let’s value their unique contributions: