Earlier this week, as my best friend and I were scrolling through Netflix’s options, we became increasingly irritated with ourselves for not being able to make a decision. The fact that we spend half of our time together trying to chose something to watch is part of the problem. Another part of this problem is that we have short attention spans and grow bored rather quickly with our show or movie choice. This week, we decided that we needed to change this habit. Instead, we opted to utilize the TED Talk app that is available through Roku (shown below). Although the app is a little confusing, and has playlists to choose from instead of simple topic lists, we used the option that allows the app to start playing a randomly chosen TED Talk (the website, however, allows you to search playlists more efficiently with many topic choices).
TED Talks are often short, yet informational, and we soon found ourselves completely enthralled by some of their topics (and if not, it’s as easy as skipping to the next one). We felt this decision was better for us, not only because it essentially makes the choice for you, but it also forces us to watch things that are educational. As much as I appreciate pure education, I really love fiction. I indulge in television shows and movies, but sometimes the focus and commitment a series or a two hour movie needs just isn’t what we’re looking for after a long day of classes. In half the time it would take to watch a movie, we’re learning about how to conserve water every day, and why sleep is so important for your health, and how infinitely amazing nature is.
In hopes that some of you may opt to watch TED Talks as an alternative to watching Netflix the next time you have downtime, I wanted to share some of the talks that we came across and thoroughly enjoyed.
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The emergent genius of ant colonies. This topic may seem odd, but if you appreciate science, I’m almost certain you will find this particular talk interesting. I definitely did.
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Why a good book is a secret door. This TED Talk is funny, refreshing and reminds us how imaginative childhood is.
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Why bees are disappearing. This explanation is probably obvious: save the bees!
- A queer vision of love and marriage. This talk explores the relationship/marriage of a trans man and a CIS, queer woman.
Happy watching!