College is the birthplace of ideas. There’s no other time where you will be surrounded by unrelenting minds willing to stay up to solve the world’s problems. TED talks are a favorite past time of many. It’s the opportunity to learn from the people who have become what every college student is striving to be. The infamous slogan: Ideas worth spreading which TED shares through conferences and talks.
HOPE has compiled a list of talks that every college student needs to see. Challenge your mind and argue the point of opposing thoughts. Learn from the best and worst. Enjoy.
Patrick Awuah: Educating Leaders
Patrick Awuah makes the case that a liberal arts education is critical to forming true leaders.
After working at Microsoft for almost a decade, Patrick Awuah returned home to Ghana and cofounded Ashesi University, a small liberal arts college that aims to educate Africa’s next generation of leaders. Its first class of students graduated in 2006.
Pamela Meyer: How to Spot a Liar
Pamela Meyer thinks we’re facing a pandemic of deception, but she’s arming people with tools that can help take back the truth.
On any given day we’re lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lie can be subtle and counter-intuitive. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting,shows the manners and “hotspots” used by those trained to recognize deception — and she argues honesty is a value worth preserving.
Ken Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.
Philip Zimbardo: The Demise of Guys?
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo asks, “Why are boys struggling?” He shares some stats (lower graduation rates, greater worries about intimacy and relationships) and suggests a few reasons — and challenges the TED community to think about solutions.
Philip Zimbardo was the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment — and an expert witness at Abu Ghraib. His book The Lucifer Effect explores the nature of evil; now, in his new work, he studies the nature of heroism.
Ben Cameron: The True Power of the Performing Arts
Arts administrator and live-theater fan Ben Cameron looks at the state of the live arts — asking: How can the magic of live theater, live music, live dance compete with the always-on Internet? In his talk, he offers a bold look forward.
Ben Cameron runs the arts granting program at the Doris Duke Foundation, focusing on live theater, dance and jazz.
Eddie Obeng: Smart Failure for a Fast-Changing World
The world is changing much more rapidly than most people realize, says business educator Eddie Obeng — and creative output cannot keep up. In this spirited talk, he highlights three important changes we should understand for better productivity, and calls for a stronger culture of “smart failure.”
Our environment changes faster than we can learn about it, Eddie Obeng says. How do we keep up?
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