Everyone makes snap judgments. These talks challenge the hidden biases we all hold -- around looks, race, class, gender, language.

Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure -- and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work.

When we ditch our assumptions, new ideas can enter the world, says filmmaker Zach King. In an entertaining talk full of props and surprises, King shows us the trick to regaining our sense of childlike wonder through the power of storytelling -- and a bit of magic.

How much do you get paid? How does it compare to the people you work with? You should know, and so should they, says management researcher David Burkus. In this talk, Burkus questions our cultural assumptions around keeping salaries secret and makes a compelling case for why sharing them could benefit employees, organizations and society.

Reality isn't something you perceive; it's something you create in your mind. Isaac Lidsky learned this profound lesson firsthand, when unexpected life circumstances yielded valuable insights. In this introspective, personal talk, he challenges us to let go of excuses, assumptions and fears, and accept the awesome responsibility of being the cre...

The Silent Generation, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, Gen Z -- we're all in the workforce together. How are our assumptions about each other holding us back from working and communicating better? Social psychologist Leah Georges shows how we're more similar than different and offers helpful tactics for navigating the multigenerational ...

With his art, photographer Platon seeks to strip away assumptions and leave viewers with a window into his subject's character, filling our eyes with wonder and curiosity. Sharing extraordinary stories of what it's like to photograph some of the world's most prominent figures -- from Michelle Obama and Pussy Riot to Vladimir Putin and Muhammad A...

In an infectiously joyous talk, Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi shares the sugary jolt of her first food memory and behind-the-scenes stories of her bakery's famously inventive cakes, cookies and treats. This talk may make you hungry -- but it'll also leave you a resonant message about how breaking the rules and challenging your assumptions can ...

Why are we so obsessed with World War II? Historian Keith Lowe thinks the answer lies in what we choose to remember and what we choose to forget about history. In his talk, Lowe describes the grey areas of an epochal event often considered in black and white terms, and argues that we need to challenge our assumptions to avoid repeating historica...

Backed by research and personal anecdotes, Spanish professor Anna Babel reveals the intricate relationship between language and culture, showing how social categories and underlying biases influence the way we hear, regard and, ultimately, judge each other. A talk that will leave you questioning your assumptions about what it really means to spe...

Some think dogs love us just like we love them; others see them as collections of instinctive behaviors incapable of complex feelings. The truth, according to animal behaviorist Julia Espinosa, lies somewhere in the middle. In this talk, she and her canine guest star Loki explain how (and why) we should challenge our assumptions about animal beh...

Nearly fifteen percent of the world's population lives with a disability, yet this massive chunk of humanity is still routinely excluded from opportunities. Sharing her experience growing up with an autistic sister, disability inclusion advocate Meghan Hussey illuminates the path towards an inclusive future in four steps, and it starts with an a...

Pseudoscience is a set of theories, methods, and assumptions that appear scientific, but aren't. In the worst cases, pseudoscience practitioners encourage this confusion to exploit people. But even when it's well-intentioned, pseudoscience can still prevent people from getting the help they need. So, how can you tell what's science and what's ps...

Business in Africa is booming -- but international companies are missing out, says emerging markets expert Nomava Zanazo. Rushing in without knowing their customers, businesses underestimate Africans and make costly assumptions about their diversity, preferences and buying power. Sharing the basics about what companies need to know to succeed on...

As a young surgeon, Peter Attia felt contempt for a patient with diabetes. She was overweight, he thought, and thus responsible for the fact that she needed a foot amputation. But years later, Attia received an unpleasant medical surprise that led him to wonder: is our understanding of diabetes right? Could the precursors to diabetes cause obesi...

Our memories and bodies give us clues about who we are, but what happens when this guidance shifts? In this mind-bending talk, science writer Anil Ananthaswamy shares how the experiences of "altered selves" -- resulting from schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, foreign limb syndrome or other conditions -- shed light on the constructed nature of identity....

Heather Lanier's daughter Fiona has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a genetic condition that results in developmental delays -- but that doesn't make her tragic, angelic or any of the other stereotypes about kids like her. In this talk about the beautiful, complicated, joyful and hard journey of raising a rare girl, Lanier questions our assumptions ab...

James Flynn challenges our fundamental assumptions about intelligence.

As an organizational psychologist, Adam Grant believes that great minds don’t think alike; they challenge each other to think differently. In his new show, he has lively discussions and debates with some of the world’s most interesting thinkers, creators, achievers, and leaders—from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Brené Brown to Mark Cuban, and Olympic me...

One of Adam Grant’s guiding principles is to argue like he's right and listen like he's wrong.

Both a surgeon and a self-experimenter, Peter Attia hopes to ease the diabetes epidemic by challenging what we think we know and improving the scientific rigor in nutrition and obesity research.

TED Senior Fellow Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil studies extreme objects -- including a rare double-ringed elliptical galaxy she discovered -- to help us understand how galaxies form and evolve.

David Wengrow proposes new ways to think about the history of human social development -- and the rise of inequality.

Evgeny Morozov wants to know how the Internet has changed the conduct of global affairs, because it certainly has ... but perhaps not in all the ways we think.

Researcher Matt Killingsworth designs studies that gather data on happiness. One takeaway? "A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind."

In "The Fastest Billion," Charles Robertson re-examines the narrative of economic growth in African nations.

From a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions.

Tina Seelig teaches innovation and entrepreneurship and is passionate about creative problem-solving.