The rehearsed smugness of the presenters puts me off the content — which is all about making the simple sound profound
I liked some TED talks in the early days, but they quickly became a parody of themselves. They’re tied up with the tech CEO-worship that is severely harming the world, and they’ve become simply marketing tools for people with something to hawk.
The talks are so rehearsed that even the well-placed pauses and casual hair flicks look hideously false. TED bots strut around the stage, posing, delivering well-crafted smiles and frowns. It’s like amateur dramatics for would-be intellectuals.
Yep. It’s as if they all emulate Steve Jobs, who was arguably one of the best tech presenters of all time.
Many of the speakers state the blatantly obvious on a loop, sounding as though they have discovered the theory of relativity all over again. The pretentious gestures, rehearsed pauses and speech traits single them out from other public speakers. They appear to have learned the art of making the simplest ideas appear complex.
Yep.