Complex Numbers

TEDdy Bear

If you were to give a TED talk, what would it be about?

I'm not overly familiar with that format.

I've seen a few of them, occasionally, from time to time. But I don't even know what, if anything, TED stands for; why there's a TEDx also; what the purpose of them (as opposed to other kinds of lectures) are; or why it gets a special name. I could look all of these things up, of course, but... can't be arsed.

However, the ones I have seen, as I recall, have been from credentialed experts. The only credential I have is a BS degree (take that as you see fit), and I'm an expert in nothing except maybe procrastination.

To play along with the blog prompt, though, let's assume I can get credentials and gain a few levels in knowledge about something. What would that something be?

Saying "writing" would be cheating, so let's not go there.

I am of the considered opinion that "self-help" speakers are good at helping themselves first, with any benefit to their audience being incidental. While part of me would like to get in on that sweet gravy train, I could no more do that than I could become a preacher. Damn conscience. So that's out.

There's an argument that I trot out once in a blue moon that explains why the popular definition of "blue moon" is an error, and it actually means something else. I don't know why this bugs me as much as it does, but it does bug me. I know part of the reason; it's because it illustrates how stubbornly people cling to false beliefs even after being presented with evidence that they are wrong. If I could choose one topic to lecture on, it would be that. I'm not going to rehash the argument here; if you're interested, here's a seven-year-old blog post on the subject.  

Not sure it's worthy of a TED talk, though.

So, in the interest of just picking something and getting it over with already, I'm going to go with the "common misconception" theme and say: "If Humans Evolved From Apes, Why Are There Still Apes? And Other Misinformed Questions About Evolution."

Probably should give it a shorter title, though.

Ask me again tomorrow, or next week, or next month, and I'll have a different answer.