If you would like additional framing: you have only 30 seconds to prepare and you can talk for 10-30 minutes.
Optimal crop tables in Stardew Valley.
Do tell.
I just use Stardew Profits
Nice! I’ve been making most of my money from mushrooms.
The title of my talk is “Innovation as Rebellion against Complexity.”
I’ll start with my experience studying and teaching music history, and demonstrate how every major musical stylistic shift over the past 1500 years or so can be seen as a revolt against excessive complexity developing in the previous style. One example would be the shift from thick, complex polyphony that had become the norm in late Renaissance music, to the relatively simple and much-easier-on-the-ears style of early homophonic music. But I’d actually touch on all periods of music history.
I’d then challenge my audience to ask themselves and each other if this trend can be seen in other fields as well. Do we see such innovative rebellions in, say, art? Or literature? Architecture? The sciences? And what about technology…
…and are we on the cusp of a new rebellion against the massively complex technology that’s thrust upon us today? What does that look like? What innovations await us at the conclusion of that revolution?
I mean I’d be winging the fuck out of it with only a few seconds to prep but wouldn’t that be great to talk about?
You can see I’ve done a lot of thinking about this lol.
I would happily sit through this TED talk!
Well said and a great point. I do feel, personally, I have already begun a small technological revolt. You should actually make a
TED talkvideo or blog post about this if you have more to say.I’m not homophonic. Some of my best beats are homophones.
“So you’re probably wondering why I’m pissing on the floor”.
How insurance actually works, so dipshits can understand the real value of a single national health care plan.
Crash course on how to have a panic attack/nervous breakdown during a live broadcast
Edit: uh oh, my stalker null@piefed.nullspace.lol is back
Yeah my thought was “Hello I’ve been teleported here from my perspective so either that’s now true and I need to go lay down or I’m having a psychotic break and need to go lay down. Goodbye!” then walk as quickly backstage as possible.
Wow, you’d be able to get words out?
Well either that or “Fuck this” would be said, but either way I’m hauling ass to backstage.
The reality of life-saving measures in health care, and why a having a DNR (that isn’t a surprise to your loved ones) is so important.
My wife used to work in a nursing home. I’ve heard a lot about the slings and arrows of end-of-life care, and lifesaving techniques, and no thanks, I’ll just die.
Looking forward to your ted talk.
“The art of improvising a seminar while nude”
A year ago my cat was living on the street. Today she has enough passive income to hire her own chef and masseuse. Follow her for more advice.
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While dogs were domesticated by humans, there’s a growing body of evidence that cats were actually domesticated…by cats. The lack of any archaeological evidence that they were ever subject to any intentional or large-scale selective breeding, the seeming change in feline vocalizations to more closely match those of human young, alongside cats’ current “partially-domesticated” status and the rapid reemergence of wild behaviors in feral populations, all point to a one-sided decision by ancient felines to settle down around humans.
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Ok ok. Bonus fact:
There is some speculation that, in addition to domesticating themselves, cats have also domesticated some humans.
The parasite toxoplasma gondii, which is carried by cats and can be contracted from dealing with their waste, causes a disease called toxoplasmosis, even in immunocompetent individuals. While not confirmed in any study, some researchers have suggested that the disease causes mental and social effects which incline the sufferer toward mild antisocial behavior, increasing their likelihood of adopting more cats, which increases their likelihood of being reinfected with toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii can also be passed from (human) mother to child at birth, meaning that the feline-domesticated human is likely to give birth to a likewise domesticated child.
This speculation has led to some news outlets breathlessly reporting that toxoplasmosis “causes” people to get more cats (or even to like cats more), and led to the association of toxoplasma gondii with so-called “crazy cat lady syndrome.”
I was reading a thread where people were talking about Japanese pronouns and remembered that this is my favorite icebreaker question.
My topic is Japanese pronouns. How they differ from English, a little bit of the history, and broadly why they should make us reinspect how we construct identity and how they complicate the idea of “individualism” vs “collectivism”
I could fill 25-30 minutes easily with no preparation.
The fact I was aiming for a Waffle House.
“My Day”, by @spaghettiwestern
In case you missed it: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house
The importance of a social safety system and a good (non employer related) healthcare system in order to have a productive workforce and society, and why everyone should have access to good healthcare, food, and stable, clean, pest free housing, regardless of their physical or mental ability to work.
The way we treat our sick, injured, disabled and elderly is atrocious and we should all be ashamed that we let this happen.
I work in EMS and the amount of people I’ve seen living in the most horrific conditions simply because they got sick or injured and are now permanently disabled absolutely haunts me. I’ve gone into places that I wouldn’t even let an animal exist in and there are people living in absolute squalor. They aren’t “lazy” or “looking for handouts” or any other shitty thing that people like to call them to other them, many of them simply had the misfortune to get sick or injured and not have a safety net in place. If you get disabled and aren’t lucky enough to have people around you to help support you or haven’t been rich enough to be putting money away to live off of for the rest of your life, you are fucked. I have no one in my life and I live paycheck to paycheck on a strict budget, and I see these people and know their life will be my future if I get sick or injured.
Some of them were always going to be permanently disabled, and some of them could have recovered and lived productive lives except they couldn’t access the care they needed because of cost and now they’re living in shitty poverty situations, still unable to access what they need, and it’s too late to recover.
I could go on for a long time about this, and I could add in many other subtopics.
On a slightly related note, I don’t in any way shape or form believe that a person’s life or value should be linked to the workforce or their ability to labor and I think that’s a disgusting concept, but I could also frame a solid argument along those lines and maybe win over some hardcore capitalists who maybe wouldn’t give a shit about people otherwise. “Hey those people you don’t care about, if you invest some money to ensure they are as healthy as possible and are happy, they’ll get back to work creating profit for the company and will be way more productive than if they are sick and unhealthy, which will be way better than spending money paying out disability for the rest of their life.”
The worst part is that a rich person hears this and thinks about all they’d have to sacrifice to have empathy for these people. But then there’s the part you mentioned: “could have recovered and lived productive lives”. Many aren’t just going to flip burgers at Burger King, they’d be the one inventing a new burger that tastes better, wins the company tons of money, and makes people happy.
Productivity is the tide that lifts all ships, and we’re actively firing at the floor of the boat with a machine gun.
I would like to attend your Ted talk.
There are lasers that can cut metal. I used to operate, program, set up, and maintain such lasers.
I know enough about lasers to make them seem boring and pedestrian.
The way our urban design influences society and community, and how the loss of third spaces and the dominance of cars in Western society has led to the loneliness epidemic and influence bubbles. I would talk about the movement to reclaim main street and encourage “traditional development”, and how that leads to the micro-encounters that help people feel like they belong somewhere. How parks, plazas and pedestrian areas create third places where people can casually encounter diverse individuals and create friends and community connections. Also with a hearty side about public transportation and how efficient it is, and what a better neighbor a tram rail is than a road of similar passenger load. This speech is pretty much 30 seconds away from coming out of me during any conversation anyway and it’s a conscious effort to stop myself. Would be nice to let it out.
Why I’m Not Wearing Any Pants (the starter) followed by Furry BDSM: Roleplay Online and IRL, from Vanilla to CNC. I’m your host, Midnight Wolf.
(I’m in the bathroom and the title said “right now” so fuck it, I’ll do it live!)
Probably the experience and implications of non-consensual teleportation. It would definitely be the most notable thing I’d done in my life thusfar.
