How does the metaphorical lightbulb go off? Is it a flash of genius? The power of crowds? These heady talks explore the nature of ideas themselves: Where they come from, how they evolve, and how each of us can nurture them.

From Twitter to word of mouth, explore the ways ideas spread so quickly from person to person.

Is coffee (or herbal tea, for the non-caffeinated) one of civilization's great unifiers? These TED Talks make a strong cup — we mean, case.

Feel like you're running low on fresh ideas? Get creative with these thought-provoking TED Talks to inspire new and experimental thinking.

A list of the talks mentioned in TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking. Chris Anderson's comments on each talk (in the grey italics) indicate why they were included in the book. Use the book index for more info.