TEDx talks have lacked credibility from the beginning as far as I'm concerned, but what I find disappointing is that the main TED talks are increasingly just motivational nonsense. There are some very engaging speakers, but the actual ideas and content are often questionable. I find some of the perspectives on and from "developing countries" particularly patronizing and poorly contextualized.
But most people I know find them inspiring and invigorating, and I hate to rain on anyone's parade so I always keep quiet. I just find (many, not all) TED talks make me want to laugh at how implausible/naive/over-the-top the ideas are. Just sayin' ...
The Onion does a really good series called "Onion Talks" that satirizes the vapidness of TED talks. They also capture the audiences' "inspired" reactions pretty well.
This is great. I cracked up at this, and this particular one is also likely to be the only Onion content that is not only age-appropriate for my toddler but also educational.
Absolutely agree.
But, actually, that is not TED who is getting worse, just some of us are getting wiser.
I remember these times when I was myself seduced with every other motivational and (pseudo)science speech.
Now, working with very serious things, I am seeing total bullshit around every other corner, mountains of life-threatening bullshit in those areas which seemed untouchable great science to me 10 years ago.
I even do not bother to watch and read TED-like sources nowadays (unless they are seriously threatening my field).
Like many other successful venues it can too be co-opted. At times when watching videos there I just left because I knew it was agenda speaking. There are many great videos that currently overshadow the not so great.
