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Dimitra Papageorgiou
Thessaloniki
Greece

TED Staff Host TED Attendee TED Translator Associate Language Coordinator

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Would you translate (or spread) a TED talk if you didn't agree with it's topic or the speaker's point of view?

I think, I've said it all in the title.

Would you translate a TED talk even if you did not agree with it? Do you think that people will feel you agree if they see your name written next to it?

Would you be willing to spread ideas, even if you did not agree with them?

Topics: diversity ideas

+18

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Rob Kerr
- 0
May 18 2012: Absolutely not.
Michael Keller
- 0
May 17 2012: Would TED post a topic that is real talk about rich people where the entry fee starts at $7,500—and reaches heights of $125,000? http://roundtable.nationaljournal.com/2012/05/the-inequality-speech-that-ted-wont-show-you.php
Adam Sid
- 0
May 17 2012: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" -Evelyn Beatrice Hall kinda summed it up. But would I personally refuse to translate something I despised? Yes I would. In actively participating in its release, you are lending yourself to it's dissemination. I also would do nothing to prevent it's dissemination.
Grant Sutton
- 0
May 16 2012: I do frequently if i think the view is well stated and interesting. I have enjoyed talks that are different than my prospective in dramatic ways, and I think help us to see the world better even if I don't agree with all or perhaps any of the content.

Translating I can see a legitimate issue on the other hand and if I spoke a second language well enough I would have more difficulty feeling I was doing the translation justice if I either didn't understand the speaker or did not come from similar prospective. The better I think I understand the case being made the more I would be tempted to translate even if I disagree with view.

If it was a political leader I would also be more tempted to attempt a translation. What's in their head matters more as they have realistic and direct power.

Final point I think it has more to do with your respect of the speaker than your agreement.
Linda Taylor 50+
- 0
May 16 2012: I sometimes run into this at work. I am not the only person on the planet. If I disagree with the content or ideas I would not perpetuate or further disseminate. Someone else without an issue can disseminate it. It does not have to be me.
Dean Bush
- 0
May 14 2012: I do in fact always create dialog on topics of discussion that I don't agree with. The purpose is to get ideas and perspectives on topics that I might not be familiar with and that may even change my own way of thinking. I always appreciate difference in all of its forms. Afterall, it's the reason I come ot TED.
Luciano Borges
- 0
May 13 2012: Sincerely, no. I think that disagreeing means not support.how can one cooperate with the dissemination of anything he/she think is wrong?
Becky C
- 0
May 12 2012: Depends how much I was against them, I may like Mohammad said not be able to find the motivation to do it but if I very strongly disagree'd with it then I would still probably do it if no one else was willing to do it but feel a little down as I said it and wouldn't sound as inspiring.
Mohammad Tauheed 500+
- 0
TED Fellow TED Attendee TED Translator TEDx Organizer Associate Language Coordinator

May 12 2012: I would spread it. However I may not translate it voluntarily. Voluntary translation jobs requires huge motivation that this translation is going to help the people of my community. Now if I do not agree to a certain talk I may not find that motivation to start translating it.
Adam Cross
- +1
May 11 2012: Yes. I feel that if you disagree with something others will too. Some might also agree with the speaker, but you must give them a chance to either agree or disagree. If not, well what's the point?
Filip N
- 0
May 7 2012: I would say that as individuals, we do not have much power to say that one idea is universally wrong. All we can do i agree, partially agree or not agree. I couldn't picture myself translating or spreading the idea i do not fancy. Partially because i am bad at translating, but majorly because it would be a misleading sign that i share the same thought. It could be done only if I was to wright a comment with it describing my opinion.
Reza Ghiabi 50+
- 0
TED Attendee TED Translator

May 7 2012: I think people like to help sharing ideas they are belie in. Even if someone does it, it changes the whole agenda of translation and effectiveness of it.
So i don't think I would do it.
Scott Goodman
- +1
May 7 2012: Translating is a technical act, supportive in general of the principles of your chosen TED community.
Agreeing with a particular speaker or presentation is a personal act, specifically supportive of the idea(s) presented.

Translating is NOT spreading, it is simply enhancing the accessibility of a work. Potential readers still get to decide if they want to read it. Of those who choose to read it, each gets to decide if they agree - in whole or in part - with the work. That decision belongs to the readers, not the translator.

Maybe the most persuasive and artful rebuttal of an idea you don't agree with will come from someone who read YOUR translation! Democracy is neither easy nor pretty!
Loren Trimble
- 0
May 5 2012: Most of the time I would say yes and I have actually done it before. I think information is incredibly valuable and necessary in order to have an informed opinion and a convincing argument. You need to be prepared to speak against ideas and topics in which you do not agree with the conclusions. Thus, sharing topics and talks with others and explaining why I disagree is a good process for building an informed opinion.
Panos Bogdanis
- +1
May 4 2012: I am often interested in ideas I do not completely agree with. I would definitely translate a talk, or even share an idea, not only for my general knowledge but also as a form of debate. After all, that's the essential meaning of a personal thought, an idea, to express it and receive different thoughts of other people. I wouldn't be fun watching, translating or even sharing ideas that I agree with, I want to intrigue myself , my friends but also our logic and personal taste.
Wayne Tod
- 0
May 4 2012: Absolutely YES for what dose politics do in general? We see a point then we argue it and come to a conclusion. No wonder this world looks like a hole big dictatorship full of trolls to squash anything not in-tunes with the powers that spread such nonsense in my point of view of course. To think ones own thoughts are correct without fully understanding where how what when the person persons it came from In any manner is to deny yourself of understanding therefore doing both the world and self injustice. If I say I am in pain then believe me I am in pain. just because someone says well I am not dose not take away that persons pain in realty. I tend to stick with you are right before I but in this instance of said topic I find the thoughts disturbing on a personal basis. Maybe at 36 years of age I still have not had enough brainwashing but hay who am I anyway! Evolving times change minds? Well in 2000 years I only se backward steps with everyone thinking they are somewhat separated to the rest! This may be truer these days than ever before. Can you see a problem?
Lesley Rickard
- 0
May 3 2012: I wouldn't share a talk that went against my code of ethics. I would only share a talk I disagreed with if I thought it would generate healthy debate on the topic. Just because we CAN send information around the world at almost the speed of light does not mean that we have to. I think we should be circumspect about what we share and take responsibility for it.
Nick Lee
- +1
Apr 30 2012: I open my earsto what everyone has to say but if the idea is BS I could not find myself to translate something that I find horribly wrong
Karl Hombaker
- 0
Apr 30 2012: Yes!! most emphatically!!! Ideas are the stimulus of conversation. no matter how far out your particular idea might be, it's still subject to conversation, and thought!!
Enrico Petrucco 20+
- 0
Apr 30 2012: No. I can not translate language. Translation aside: The spreading of 'bad' ideas potentially constitutes misinformation - if the idea is actually poor. There is no point to spread ideas that are not worthy of being spread, otherwise we would fill the world (and our minds) with rubbish if there was no selection process.
Fortunately, no matter how hard a person tries, most of the information that one percieves is already highly selected, though still it may be a mistake to ignore part of your selection criteria, specifically if the criteria in question is well grounded in logic. If one does not agree with an idea, then I believe discussing it might still be worth while in order to ensure that the perspective is given sufficient consideration.
(which technically may unintentionally spread the idea, though not necessaily in the original perspective or a good light)

Does anyone really think it would be worthwhile to spread an idea that one knows to be false?
How would that be different to spreading an idea that one suspects is wrong or misguided?
I would prefer to research the idea to confirm or falsify my suspicions (which includes the aforementioned discussion)

It may be that some people might percieve the view I just explained as "spreading an idea that I do not agree with", but that would be an incorrect perception since any discussion would most likely spread an opposing or differing view.

We can still respect others without disseminating information that one does not agree with.
Luo Ying
- +1
Apr 30 2012: yeah, i would. From my perspective, we should respect other's idea no matter what it is. As for whether it is true or not, people have their own different points of view. There is no person having totally same opinion.
Ryan Ingogia
- 0
Apr 30 2012: It depends on the talk and my knowledge regarding the topic. There are many topics that have view points that I may not agree with, however do present valuable information that may allow others to decide on their own. I am not saying that I may not include my view when promoting such a discussion. Ideas and points of view are always changing as new information becomes available. Without conflicting views an idea would remain dormant and never progress to the next level.
Tiffany Thorne
- 0
Apr 30 2012: well, this seems to be an ethical question. If the Ted talk could not be utilized for a marginalized group, I would say, please, give them access to these ideas! If you disagree with it you can discuss the talk with give and take. What you didn't like about it and the reverse for them. So long as you can find common ground to spring from. I think that is the key.
natasha nikulina 50+
- 0
TED Translator

Apr 26 2012: No,I wouldn't, and for the same reason why the majority of the participants say - "Yes"

You can't be separate from the work you do.
If you take the talk you disagree with, your translation will inevitably reveal your attitude and reinforce the flaws of the talk.
In a way it prevents spreading. I think, it's better to leave it for the translator who shares the idea.
Greg McWhorter 500+
- 0
TEDx Organizer

Apr 26 2012: Yes. To me that is one of the defining aspects as to how intelligent we are; the ability to share ideas, whether we like them or not. To have open and frank discussions and the ability to try and understand how someone sees a thing differently. I would certainly translate/spread a TED talk if for no other reason than to spark intellectual dialogue.
Alkis Diamantakos
- +2
TED Translator

Apr 25 2012: The reason I joined the open translation project was to help spread ideas I felt were worth spreading. There are way too many TED videos out there and far too little time to translate all the ones I've loved, much less the ones I didn't.

Nevertheless, I agree with the point you made in one of your posts: even if I disagree with a video, translating it would allow for a bigger audience and a bigger audience would mean more people to think about the idea, criticize it and even refine it.

Now, having said the above, I should also mention that so far I haven't watched a single TED video that I felt opposed to. All the reactions I recall having ranged from "meh =/ " to "AWESOME!! o/", never "OUTRAGEOUS!! >("

As for the second part of your question, yes, I believe people would automatically assume I agree with the video. We're all volunteers here, we don't need to translate these videos to make a living, so it seems natural to me that one would assume I chose a particular video because I liked something about it. Of course a volunteer could only be translating in order to hone their skills and choosing videos solely based on how easy or hard the English transcript looks, but I don't think the average viewer would bother thinking that deeply into the matter :p
Carlos Miranda Levy 500+
- 0
TED Attendee TEDx Organizer

Apr 25 2012: I would. I think that both tolerance and appreciation of others and other points of views is an important part of co-existence in harmony and key to the same vision of spreading ideas and knowledge.
Kristine Sargsyan 500+
- +2
TED Attendee TED Translator TEDx Organizer Associate Language Coordinator

Apr 25 2012: I do translate :) cause It helps me to open my mind to other prospective.... it is hard to start, but you enjoy at the end and also learn a lot :)
Ivana Korom 500+
- +2
TED Staff TED Attendee TED Translator TEDx Organizer Associate Language Coordinator

Apr 25 2012: Dear Dimitra,

I wanted to say "yes", at first. I would translate a talk I don't agree with. I think I've reviewed talks I don't agree with. I like to learn new and different opinions, and share different ideas.

But then I remembered there was one talk that at first seemed interesting, but after hearing the speaker, I chose to ignore it because I strongly disagreed with what he said. This opportunity, however, made me think differently. I decided I'm going to translate it and maybe learn something new in the process. Because, every time I translate, I go deeper into the subject, find out something that wasn't there on the first glance. I can stil disagree with his words, but I can also give other people a chance to agree ar disagree.

Thank you for this conversation and everyone who contributed!

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