Bored? Stuck in a rut? Maybe you just need an influx of something fresh and new. Look no further than TED.com, a ?global community? created by non-profit organization TED, whose singular mission is to propagate ?Ideas Worth Spreading.?
The organization sponsors conferences and prizes, but its website is accessible to all. It hosts nearly 1,000 (and counting!) interesting, entertaining, inspiring, and/or informative talks by experts and thinkers in all fields and from all corners of the globe. Some talks were given at TED conferences, while others were created expressly for the organization. All the talks are published under a Creative Commons license, which means that they may be downloaded and shared freely (with certain limitations as to use).
The site can be searched by category, but viewers can also browse the most popular talks, as well as those rated by other viewers as high-ranking in certain descriptive categories (most inspiring, most ingenious, etc.).
A sampling of what’s awaiting you: a talk profiling someone who treats cancer through dance, an education and creativity expert’s thoughts on why traditional education stifles creativity, and a Harvard political philosophy professor’s discussion of the ?lost art of democratic debate.? From AIDS research to artificial intelligence to Google to sustainability, You’re sure to find something to intrigue or inspire you.