John Hodgman is a writer, humorist, geek celebrity, former professional literary agent and expert on all world knowledge. He was the bumbling PC in Apple's long-running "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC" ad campaign.

Why you should listen

You may know him only as the PC in Apple's PC vs. Mac smackdown ads, or as the Daily Show with Jon Stewart's Resident Expert. But John Hodgman has many other claims to fame. He's the author of The Areas of My Expertise, which provides vital and completely fake details on the great lobster conspiracy, hoboes, nine US presidents who had hooks for hands, and how to win a fight; the followup More Information Than You Require; and his newest (and he claims last), That Is All.

He is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine; host of the Little Gray Book Lectures, a monthly series that has aired on This American Life; and an actual former professional literary agent.

What others say

“Hodgman may be an accidental celebrity, but he occupies a familiar position in the entertainment world hierarchy, that of the archly amusing nerd.” — LA Times

John Hodgman’s TED talks

More news and ideas from John Hodgman

Design

Design, explained: John Hodgman at TED2012

March 2, 2012

Design, says session host Chee Pearlman, can be confusing, the words often jargony and opaque. Fortunately, John Hodgman is here. John Hodgman is a expert. That’s it, expert. There is nothing that follows the word, expert. And at TED2012 he takes a moment (well, three) to explain the design of three objects. He is qualified to […]

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A brief digression on lost time: John Hodgman on TED.com

October 21, 2008

Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love. (Recorded February 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 16:39.)   Watch John Hodgman’s 2008 talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment […]

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TED2008: What is our place in the universe?

February 27, 2008

(Running notes from the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California. Second session.) The second session of TED2008 asks "What is our place in the universe?" and it cogently opens with a sneak preview of an amazing piece of technology under development at Microsoft: the World Wide Telescope, a powerful new web-based tool for exploring the universe […]

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