
The Naked and the TED - tijs
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/105703/the-naked-and-the-ted-khanna
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DanielBMarkham
_...Today TED is an insatiable kingpin of international meme laundering..._

I liked this article a lot, even though I don't have as much experience with
the TED community as the author does. Applying a acerbic wit and cynical eye
to what we do as technical people is sorely needed.

And the author has a point: at some point the language gets so conceptual and
fuzzy that it becomes more of a performance than a knowledge-sharing exercise.
It's like a carnival for the wannabe Bill Gates of the world.

For a couple of years I've been fascinated with the idea that as intelligent
people many of us are drawn to activities and consumption that makes us _look_
more intelligent, whether or not we actually learn anything of value from them
or not. So we listen to the right music, have the right opinions, and banter
on about the right topics in the right way, all the while doing more than just
a little social posturing and signalling. Vast segments of intelligentsia are
little more than echo chamber. We are giving up independent analysis for pre-
digested bits of feel-good junk food.

Good to see that argument gaining more traction. Healthy communities require
introspection and honest conversations.

~~~
7952
To me TED feels a bit like going to church, just replacing the Bible with
technology in a collective experience.

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tadhgk
Sour sour sour grapes.

The thing about TED is, wild-eyed though it may be, it's not a political
agenda. It's (trying to be) beyond that, about technology and science and
understanding, and while the result is often pretty technocratic it is
actually often reflecting the benefits of self-organisation through tech.
Stuff like Wikipedia, for example, is perfect TED-fodder because it shows
demonstrable ways of doing things better.

People who do not understand that idea (of which they are many) criticise it
on their own terms, and so miss the point. If you are used to seeing life
through a political lens (as we might hazard the New Republic does) then TED
looks like an agenda by a different name. However that's like religious people
insisting that atheists must believe in _something_ , even if that's belief in
an idea. It is outside their framework of understanding to consider a person
who does not hold any kind of belief.

So, personally (and I think the popularity of TED and RSA etc reflect this)
this whole article reads like some venting from someone who doesn't really
understand the concept, and so can only think of it in terms of politics.
These Teddites must have a political view of _some kind_ , right? No.

It's trans-political because it's about applied informational learning to
solve problems. Politics itself being one of those problems.

~~~
gyardley
Is there some alternate Wikipedia out there that's not a bureaucratic,
inefficient, often self-destructive mess?

If I drew anything from Wikipedia, I'd draw the conclusion that this sort of
'non-political' technological organization becomes intensely political, with
most decisions made through behind-the-scenes rules-related politicking by the
people with the most time to burn.

Horrifying, because the people with the most time to burn on any particular
issue are usually the extremists. I can't imagine the distopia that'd result
if things like zoning laws or environmental regulations were decided by the
same process.

~~~
mortenjorck
_I can't imagine the distopia that'd result if things like zoning laws or
environmental regulations were decided by the same process._

You have a brutally dry sense of humor.

~~~
gyardley
Thank you. I like to post where it's appreciated.

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dictum
>Given TED’s disproportionate influence on a certain level of the global
debate, it follows that the public at large also becomes more approving of
technological solutions to problems that are not technological but political.
Problems of climate change become problems of making production more efficient
or finding ways to colonize other planets—not of reaching political agreement
on how to limit production or consume in a more sustainable fashion. Problems
of health care become problems of inadequate self-monitoring and data-sharing.
Problems of ensuring one’s privacy—which might otherwise get solved by pushing
for new laws—become problems of inadequate tools for defending one’s anonymity
online or selling access to one’s own data.

Likewise, when a publication focused on politics analyzes problems, the
solutions are always political, never technological. If you follow the
author's logic, most of the issues presented in TED talks could be solved with
laws.

I'm quite cynical about the somewhat simplistic solutions offered by some TED
speakers, but I don't see laws and political debate solving most of the
problems TED discusses.

~~~
ippisl
Even when there exist technological solutions to big problems , there's
usually a need for strong political component to make them work. Two examples
are the birth control pill and the industrial revolution. After the birth
control pill finally enabled women to develop careers, it took and is taking a
long political struggle for them to have equitable jobs. And even as the
industrial productivity increased productivity greatly, people were forced to
leave their homes and work long hours for barely subsistence pay , until the
worker movement succeeded in helping them.

In a world where technology is relatively abundant, the hard problems are
still political(at the country, industry or company level).

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Tloewald
The author almost but not quite describes "the singularity" as a kind of
secular pseudo-intellectual rapture. Nailed it.

~~~
_delirium
That's an idea that does get thrown around fairly explicitly now and then:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=singularity+%22rapture+for+n...](https://www.google.com/search?q=singularity+%22rapture+for+nerds%22)

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kingkawn
The herd of independent minds.

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mashmac2
Morozov (the post's author) has also written a book called _The Net Delusion_
that provides a good background on the less-friendly parts of the Internet. I
recommend it for those just entering the IT/Internet-based business world.

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pasbesoin
I don't have the experience with it to make informed comments, but I can't
help feeling increasingly that TED is or has become another version of "the
beautiful people".

The money swirling around it doesn't help, in this regard.

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SudarshanP
TED and HN provides me better "entertainment" and some knowledge than TV. For
learning there is stuff like Coursera, Udacity etc. But I still wished there
was something between entertainment and academics. I hope some entrepreneur
jumps into this area and creates an awesome solution. It may not make him a
billionare. But his/her impact on humanity would be truly great.

~~~
someperson
+1

Expand my mind with documentaries on history, science etc - not just full
length hour long ones, even 2-20 minutes is good. As long as it's engaging.

I like the idea that TED release talks and books so slowly that you can
consume every one (not true for talks, but they're trying with books.)

Pity TEDBooks is apparently crap (given the info from the featured article)

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sxcurry
tl;dr - Reviewer didn't like the book.

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alpine
_It might seem odd that Parag Khanna would turn his attention to the world of
technology. He established his reputation as a wannabe geopolitical theorist,
something of a modern-day Kissinger, only wired and cool_

I don't find it strange. Having followed TED for years I have noticed the
political under current become more obvious over time. The technocratic
political elite like having a forum to promote their agenda, no surprise there
really.

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delinka
"takedown"? I don't think it means what you think it means.

As for the article, I kept wanting to nod off. I guess it's just not my style.

~~~
mistercow
>"takedown"? I don't think it means what you think it means.

Take a gander here: <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/takedown>

I see three definitions, two literal and one figurative that apply here:

>6\. _Informal_ . the act of being humbled.

>7\. _Wrestling_ . a move or series of maneuvers that succeeds in bringing a
standing opponent down onto the mat.

>2\. a crushing remark [syn: put-down]

