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steven clausnitzer
Durham, NC
United States

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Where, beyond TED, are you going to discover new and interesting ideas? Where can you find an intelligent and thoughtful discourse?

The web is full of information aggregating news sites like CNN, Huffington Post, NPR, Reddit, Politico etc. But where do you go to find thoughtful information? I personally have found a new site where I have posted a number of TED talks It's called hubski. The following is from their "about" section, "Hubski is a community for sharing thoughtful information and insightful conversation. Here you can find interesting stories, ideas and events, and share what interests you with others".
They go on to say that there are no strict rules on what to post and what not to post but if the information you are posting is easily digested/processed, it probably isn't hubski material.
I have learned a lot from my times at hubski. But I want to know about where YOU are finding information. What is your hubski? I'm thirsty for knowledge and unfortunately, most of the internet is an empty canteen. Send me in the right direction :)

http://hubski.com/

Related Talks:

Topics: education knowledge learning web

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Karen Allman
- +3
Aug 21 2011: I suggest The Commonwealth Club: www.commonwealthclub.org/ or via podcast (available free on iTunes). I copied this from their website:

"The mission of The Commonwealth Club of California is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation.

Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Alec Baldwin and author Christopher Hitchens in recent years. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at The Club."

The usual format is a half-hour speech by somebody very interesting, followed by Q&A with the live audience. Sometimes they have panel discussions with Q&A, though I usually find those less instructive. Hope you enjoy it!
Yohan Kim
- 0
Aug 19 2011: I think Book, classic music is the best. and.. I recommend you this site

creative presentation stie:
http://prezi.com/
Thomas Jones 100+
- 0
Aug 19 2011: QUOTE: "Where, beyond TED, are you going to discover new and interesting ideas?"

- Bookstores.

- Amazon.com. - I spend a few hours every month browsing the new books, reading the reviews, and so on. It's very informative.

- Lots of websites.

QUOTE: "Where can you find an intelligent and thoughtful discourse?"

Anywhere you find people.

Of course, you can find "the other kind" of discourse wherever you find people too [even on TED.]
Sumeru Chatterjee
- +2
Aug 18 2011: Hi Steven,

Great topic of discussion. I havent been on hubski yet but I will check it out. I try and follow this one blog called:

http://youarenotsosmart.com/

Simple journalist, but with great ideas. They are more on human error and psychology, not technology.

Another great org is

http://www.skeptic.com/

Its not so much about discussing new idea, but it is about critically analyzing lots of bogus ideas - and there are many of them out there! So I think it is as important as discussing new ideas.

Hope that helps.

Peace,

Sumeru
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Aug 19 2011: Sumeru,
  Thank you for the thoughtful post. I really enjoyed my time at youarenotsosmart.com it's a cool site. I actually posted an article from there on hubski.
  
  I'll check out skeptic soon.
  
  I appreciate the new sites!
  
  Hope you are well,
  -Steve
  - Sumeru Chatterjee
    
    0
    Aug 19 2011: You are welcome. Also, I must admit you have been particularly patient in your dealing with some of the responses on you topic, especially those who steered right off your questions. I, personally, would have been much less forgiving. Bravo!
    - steven clausnitzer
      
      0
      
      Aug 19 2011: Thanks Sumeru, I guess I sort of thought of my position in this thread as one of "moderator". Take care,
      -Steve
steven clausnitzer
- 0
Aug 1 2011: No worries on the gift, I'll be stopping back by regardless. Good luck with the site Chip, I'll check out the Daily Human feature.
Hope to see some posts on hubski from ATH, some symbiosis there I think.

Take care,
-S
mark katakowski
- 0
Aug 1 2011: Ok, I am a big fan of hubski. The 'subreddit' http://www.reddit.com/r/truereddit is pretty good for discussion. But you need to wade through memes sometimes. ProPublica.org is an excellent source of US-related news, but not so much about conversation.

The web is still working on good conversation, IMO. I just created a TED account.
Margaret Duquette
- 0
Jul 31 2011: Steve, you just left Ann Arbor?? What a great city that is. I visited Ann Arbor for the first time last year when I attended its annual summer art fair. My boy friend is a UMich alumni and had been telling me all about the city and the fair. The city was alive with creativity. I have since found a dose of nourishment from the weekly UMich arts e-newsletter to which I subscribe. If you are not aware of it, you should check it out. http://www3.arts.umich.edu/
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 31 2011: Hey Margaret,
  Thanks for the heads up regarding the e-newsletter, I will check it out. It was definitely bitter-sweet leaving Ann Arbor, it is a great town. But Raleigh-Durham is a very cool area too. The Ann Arbor art fair is definitely an event worth checking out, it's HUGE. -Glad you enjoyed your time there :)
  
  Take care,
  
  Steven
J J 20+
- +2
Jul 29 2011: I may have a different take from some of the other posters in that I'm not too interested in searching for many things. I find google and youtube searches cumbersome and I end up spending too much time; I know some people like that, but I guess I'm a farmer rather than a hunter.
I'd rather get a dependable place and stick with it till the marrow is sucked out. I know I miss out on a lot, but there's no way to avoid that no matter what you do.

So I've been going the 'In Our Time with Melvin Bragg' website for the past year, and have now listened (and re-listened) to almost all 500+ programmes on History, Culture, Science, Religion, or Philosophy. It has changed my intellectual life more than anything in the past few years, but I've almost exhausted it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/in-our-time/

That's why I look forward to exploring some new area! Thanks for the links and the discussion.

by the way, you know about libravox, right?
hassan saeyd
- 0
Jul 28 2011: hii how are you?
Chip Walter
- +1
Jul 28 2011: Thanks, Steven. Kind of you to go for a visit. Hope you'll come back again often :-). Sunscribe and we'll send you a free book. I love Hubski. Great content, even found one of my favorite works of earnest hemingway and a passage about "Nothingness" by Alan Watson I hadn't read since my senior year in college. Thanks!
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 31 2011: subscribed!
  - Chip Walter
    
    +1
    Aug 1 2011: Saw that. Thanks. Visit often and be sure to check out the features page. We have something called The Daily Human there I think you'll enjoy. Easiest way to get their is to play the trivia game "Answer This ..." at www.allthingshuman.net. It automagically takes you to the features page. Four new questions every day. And thanks agin for filling me in about Hubski. We'll be sending you your free gift later this week for subscribing. :-)
Roger Williams
- +1
Jul 28 2011: http://newscientist.com
Dave Kunau
- +1
Jul 28 2011: A few I keep up with:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pubnews.php (just press releases but lots of info)
http://spacecollective.org/ (kind of "Artsie" but good thinkers, nice people)
http://www.acceler8or.com/ (a new site of "transhumanist" news)
I also always keep an eye on the people I feel are out there changing the world such as Craig Venter ( http://www.jcvi.org/ ) Drexler, ect...
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 28 2011: Dave,
  Thank you for the great suggestions. I'll dig in to all of them. I checked out Eurekalert.org and it's right up my alley. -It may just be "press releases" but they are releases that for the most part, may not make it in to the main stream. I particularly liked an article that exonerated Ben Franklin from introducing a non-indigenous species of plant into China. -Finally, he can rest in peace :)
Chip Walter
- +1
Jul 28 2011: At the risk of sounding self-serving, we try hard at www.AllThingsHuman.net to bring some sanity to day-to-day life by providing insights in the nature of human nature and working to provide visitors with information they can use to live fulfilling lives and, in the process, help make the world a better place, one human at a time.
Lance Brown
- 0
Jul 28 2011: I like to read technology blogs. Although these often focus on reviewing the new tech, its often nice to think about the its wider context in the world and the long term impact it may have. You can then try starting a conversation in the comments on that blog.
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 28 2011: Hey Lance,
  
  What tech blogs are you fond of inparticular? I follow tech crunch and visit engadget from time to time. Where should I be getting my tech fix?
  - Lance Brown
    
    0
    Jul 28 2011: I don't really follow any in particular. I learnt long ago that there is just far to much on the internet to follow anything. You will find it ends up feeling like its a chore as you can't keep on top of it otherwise. I take more of a lucky dip approach. I use Google Reader to subscribe to any blog that looks interesting and well written (tech or otherwise) and then just randomly browse the articles when I feel like it and have time. I'm currently subscribed to over 250 blogs but only read a few random articles a day. I also do similar with Twitter.
    
    Using this approach, whenever you find a topic, project, company of person that your interested in, I do some quick Googling on them looking for RSS and twitter feeds and subscribe to any you find. The result is a nice diverse range of posts to choose from that no one blog will ever cover. If you can be bothered, group them in folders or lists by the main topic of the blog so you can easily filter to just read articles on that topic. I have thinks like Tech, Internet, Science Projects, Space etc. Google reader has a nice explore and recommended sources feature as well.
    
    If I want to leave a comment I will click through to the original blog and leave it there or maybe link to it in FB to discuss with friends. For conversations I want to follow, I bookmark them in my browser under a folder 'conversation I have taken part in'! This way, I'm not tied to any one place.
    
    Going back to your original question. You will always get better conversations the closer you get to the original source. So if you read an interested news article on a space telescope for example, go and seek out the specialist blogs and forums where the professionals involved hang out (try searching on the names of the people, project or their institutions). Just avoid making dumb statements about matters you don't know anything about if you loiter in these areas!
    - steven clausnitzer
      
      0
      
      Jul 28 2011: Great advice Lance, particularly regarding staying "close to the source" in order to find a more informed and stimulating conversation. I have found that the further you get from the source, the more catty and irrelevant the comments seem to become. My bookmarks, much like the old list of "books to read" I used to keep in my old-school "analog" journal, are overflowing and sometimes I feel I'll never catch up. But that is what's great about life, there is always more to read/learn/ingest.
      
      Thanks for the thoughts!
Harald Jezek 50+
- +2
Associate

Jul 28 2011: 2 sites I like are:

http://bigthink.com/
http://www.edge.org/
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 28 2011: Thanks Harald, that's what I was looking for. I'll check them out tonight.
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 28 2011: Harald, I checked out bigthink and I really like it. I read an article about "Mission Statements" and it got me to thinking, why don't individuals have mission statements? It seems that the most successful organizations in the world have clearly defined mission statements, I would wager that the most successful people do too. -We just don't refer to them as missoin statements, we call them "philosophies" or "mantras" etc.
  
  -Thanks again for the recommendations.
  - Harald Jezek 50+
    
    0
    Associate
    
    Jul 28 2011: Hi Steven, glad you like the site.
    Many companies have mission statements, but not all actually adhere to them.
    I agree, people should have mission statements too. I would call them life goals.
    I'll check out the hubski site.
    - steven clausnitzer
      
      0
      
      Jul 28 2011: Thanks Harald, we look forward to seeing you on hubski. I checked out your bio on here and it sounds like you have lived an impressive life. I too work in sales and the idea of moving to Latin America and opening a luxury Spa sounds pretty appealing :)
      
      Now go do some scuba diving! -Life's too short.
      
      Steve
Debra Smith 200+
- +2
Jul 27 2011: Local libraries are a god send! They are the very best investment that a society can make and I enjoy mine immensely! The newest books are always on the shelves and my library has a discussion series that operates all year except in the summer where a variety of interesting topics are discussed one each week with community members who are interested.After experiencing that format, I made friends with some of the most interesting participants and invited them to dinner at my place a few at a time for more in depth discussions. What fun! Be brave and try it? If you don't like to cook see if people would like to meet at a restaurant!
It isn't just ideas and creativity that make it all worth while - its the people connection too.

(De plane! De plane!)
- steven clausnitzer
  - +1
  Jul 27 2011: What a great response, thank you Debra. You are right, local libraries are fantastic. We just recently moved to Durham NC from Ann Arbor MI and after moving in to our new home, we were delighted to find out that the local library is less than 1/2 mile from our house. We have been taking our 7 month old daughter there for story time but perhaps we ought to explore their "discussion series" or equivalent -adults need "story time" too :)
  
  And I love to cook, so look out Durham library goers, there's a new chef in town!
  
  Great recommendation, thanks again.
  
  Steven
  
  (PS. Ricardo Montalban rules!)
Jim Krijnen
- +1
Jul 27 2011: Hi Steven,

Generating ideas is according to me like breathing. When you sto pdoing that you die. Creativity has always been on this planet and always will be. The source of new ideas is within the people themselves. Being an owner of all the telephonenumbers of the world, doesn't mean that you know everybody.

Ideas are for granted. Pick them up and explore them, but don't wait until somebody asks you: 'Can I help you"

Have a nice day

Jim Krijnen
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 27 2011: Jim,
  I agree that "generating ideas" is a critical part of life. I also agree that we should all be "picking them up and exploring them". This gets to the essence of my question, where are YOU going on the internet to pick up new ideas? I realize that we meet people in life that share ideas with us and that we all create our own ideas but where on the internet are you finding new ideas that help to nurture your intellect? I love TED for this reason as well as hubski but I am interested in finding other Internet "communities" dedicated to the evolution of human intellect.
  Thank you for your response, I enjoyed it and I hope you too are having a nice day,
  
  Steven
Muhammad Afif Idris
- 0
Jul 27 2011: Hi Steven...

I think the topic that you came out with is really great and brilliant, so here is my thought.

In my opinion, in todays modern and world full of civilization and technology, it's quite hard to come out with new ideas. I always believe that most things now came out of an improved ideas and all we need is a little bit of creativity, critical thinking and much more effort.
- steven clausnitzer
  - 0
  Jul 27 2011: Thanks for the response Muhammad, I agree the world is "full of civilization and technology". My question to you is, where do you go on the internet to find new ideas and technologies? Are there specific publications that you enjoy? I love visiting TED and watching the talks here, I just wonder if there are other places on the internet that also offer a wealth of new information?
  
  Thank you again for the response, I hope that you are well.
  
  Steven
  - Muhammad Afif Idris
    
    0
    Jul 28 2011: Sorry for not answering your question. So far, I found TED is the best place to get new ideas and opinions from around the world. I really enjoy using TED. However, I will definitely tell you if I found any sites that are as interesting as TED. I hope that you can do so as well if you found one. Thank you Steven. :)
    
    Peace... Afif

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