Ideas worth spreading

56,741 views | Tomas Elemans • TED@Tommy

The inspiring truth in fiction

What do we lose by choosing non-fiction over fiction? For Tomas Elemans, there's an important side effect of reading fiction: empathy -- a possible antidote to a desensitized world filled with tragic news and headlines.

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This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with Tommy Hilfiger.

Read more about the TED Institute.

What do we lose by choosing non-fiction over fiction? For Tomas Elemans, there's an important side effect of reading fiction: empathy -- a possible antidote to a desensitized world filled with tragic news and headlines.

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with Tommy Hilfiger.

Read more about the TED Institute.

About the speaker

Tomas Elemans

Empathy advocate

Tomas Elemans has spent his career protecting the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein trademarks from misuse and fraud. He discovered his love of fiction through his mother, who taught literature at his local high school in Amsterdam. Elemans says he discovers new worlds through reading fiction and has taken away profound lessons from the pages of his favorite novels. When he’s not reading, he can be found talking about football or listening to music. Elemans graduated from Vrije Universteit in Amsterdam with a Master of Law.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute