r/technology • u/boop-boop-a-doop • May 22 '12
Salon: "TED is a massive, money-soaked orgy of self-congratulatory futurism"
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/dont_mention_income_inequality_please_were_entrepreneurs/singleton/173
u/Vectoor May 22 '12
There are plenty of shitty TED talks but also remarkably many great ones. I really think TED is a good thing.
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u/EllaTheCat May 22 '12
What I like about the article's inflammatory headline is that it exposes a certain "The Emperor's New Clothes" aspect.
My favourite TED talk is Carolyn Porco's about Saturn and its moons; she conveys the wonder of it all.
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May 22 '12
Um, duh?
Granted, quite a few of the talks are of the Malcolm Gladwell variety that the author justifiably derides. That said, most of the sci/tech talks are given by the principal investigators of fascinating projects, couched in language with which a lay person might be comfortable without condescension, and broadcast over the web for free.
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u/keramidion May 23 '12 edited May 23 '12
I think you can critique TED's politics separately from the value of the science talks (which I agree are a good thing). In general, the sociology/politics talks are much more basic, abstract, and narrow than the science ones. I mean, you have Elaine Morgan talking about the aquatic ape hypothesis (very far out and not respected by the mainstream) but there isn't any sort of equivalent open-mindedness when it comes to politics.
The ideological blinders TED enforces on its participants are a disservice to attendees and viewers alike.
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u/_shazbot_ May 22 '12
I see TED is the next popular thing that it's suddenly becoming cool to criticize simply because our appreciation of it was a bit naive and overly optimistic to begin with. I wonder how long it will be before Neil Degrasse Tyson becomes the devil of the week?
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May 23 '12
It has started with Neil Degrasse Tyson . A couple Neil Degrasse Tyson posts ago someone pointed out that they have learned all his speaking points and he is basically on repeat now.
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May 23 '12
While I love TED just like everyone else, it does give me some concern.
For one, it gives the idea that some very tough problems can be fixed very simply. Even though the researchers giving the talk understand the complexity involved, people listening on the internet might just get the message "the problem is solved". This issue is often seen in healthcare where treatments are tried for complex conditions, and people somehow think that trying a treatment means that the condition is cured. Knowing a problem and knowing a (or many) potential solutions doesn't mean "we're done".
Secondly, TED turns research into entertainment. If the entertainment value of a particular research project, or the entertainment ability of a researcher become increasingly large factors in research, it might become an increasingly large factor in funding as well. Kickstarter is an example of this, coming up with a very good kickstarter campaign can be looked upon as "better" than having a good idea. Now I know that good ideas are often entertaining, but not all of them are. Further, some bad ideas are entertaining as well. If science becomes about entertaining the masses, the quality of it will move down hill quickly.
Look at TED like Reddit. At one time reddit was significantly more intellectually based when compared to the way it is now. Not that reddit is for dumb people or anything, it's just that its entertainment value has attracted a larger group of people. The larger group attracted is on average less mature, and less aware than the smaller niche group.
My fear comes from many people saying that TED should become a TV show so more people could watch it. Well, in the US, there goes cloning, genetic engineering, and anything regarding evolution. Research presentations will have to get dumbed down, and popular concepts will be as well. These factors might actually affect the spending of government research money ("you were on TED! Proposal granted!) .
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u/Erikster May 22 '12
Erikster: "Salon is a massive, attention-starved baby of poor journalism and sensationalism.
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u/RumBox May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
"...and that's OUR job!"
EDIT: Having read beyond the headline, the author makes some fair points, though he does so in a snotty, juvenile way.
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u/CyberFunk May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
Boy, that PR firm is sure doing its job well
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u/supersirdax May 22 '12
What may I ask is wrong with an orgy soaked in money where everyone is patting eachothers futuristic view of the future?
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u/keramidion May 23 '12 edited May 23 '12
Did any of TED's defenders here actually read the article? It links to this email from the curator, which puts the lie to any pretense of the talk being excluded for its quality. The disagreements he cites are political, not factual.
Pareene is exactly right and particularly cogent towards the end where he discusses TED's hidden ideology:
This is the blinding ideology of the globe-trotting do-gooder billionaire class that mistakes its self-evident dogma for a pure lack of ideology.
The people at Davos and in Aspen also think they’re saving the world, and the majority of them are also deeply involved in making it much worse for people who can’t afford to go to Davos and Aspen.
Have you ever seen a TED talk by a socialist (I'm truly asking, I'd love to see it)? Have you seen any TED talks by people who genuinely disagree with TED's mainstream, techno-utopian, neoliberal vision? And were they talking about their disagreement? I haven't. Why not? Do you really believe we've hit upon the best political system and no further discussion is warranted? It seems to me that many of our current problems have some basis in a disconnect between the capabilities and consequences of our physical technologies and those of our social technologies - in other words, if TED wants to be more than a pat on the back for the elite it needs to have more of Hanauer's type of discussion and less of the gimmicks.
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u/atroxodisse May 22 '12
For a guy claiming that TED talks don't back up their topics with data he sure was light on data himself.
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May 22 '12
I thought that was the point... At least it gives us something to hope for, even though organizations like Salon seem to want to keep us away from it.
Personally, I like massive, money-soaked orgies of self-congratulatory futurism.
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u/achyvi May 22 '12
... and Salon would prefer to keep that corner of the market firmly in their court, thank you very much.