The creative spark (10 talks)

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

TED2009, Filmed Feb 2009, Posted Feb 2009

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Is your school or workplace divided into "creatives" versus practical people? Yet surely, David Kelley suggests, creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few. Telling stories from his legendary design career and his own life, he offers ways to build the confidence to create... (From The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)

TED2012, Filmed Mar 2012, Posted May 2012

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Janet Echelman found her true voice as an artist when her paints went missing -- which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material. Now she makes billowing, flowing, building-sized sculpture with a surprisingly geeky edge. A transporting 10 minutes of pure creativity.

TED2011, Filmed Mar 2011, Posted Jun 2011

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What is a mistake? By talking through examples with his improvisational Jazz quartet, Stefon Harris walks us to a profound truth: many actions are perceived as mistakes only because we don't react to them appropriately.

TEDSalon NY2011, Filmed Nov 2011, Posted Dec 2011

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At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't).

Serious Play 2008, Filmed May 2008, Posted Nov 2008

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Novelist Amy Tan digs deep into the creative process, looking for hints of how hers evolved.

TED2008, Filmed Feb 2008, Posted Apr 2008

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Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

TED2006, Filmed Feb 2006, Posted Jun 2006

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Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi spins through a dizzying array of inspirations -- from '50s pinups to a fleeting glimpse of a woman on the street who makes him shout "Stop the cab!" Inside this rambling talk are real clues to living a happy, creative life.

TED2008, Filmed Feb 2008, Posted Nov 2008

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Use dancers instead of powerpoint. That's science writer John Bohannon's "modest proposal." In this spellbinding choreographed talk he makes his case by example, aided by dancers from Black Label Movement. (Filmed at TEDxBrussels.)

TEDxBrussels, Filmed Nov 2011, Posted Nov 2011

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Nothing is original, says Kirby Ferguson, creator of Everything is a Remix. From Bob Dylan to Steve Jobs, he says our most celebrated creators borrow, steal and transform.

TEDGlobal 2012, Filmed Jun 2012, Posted Aug 2012

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