TED: The Future We Will Create (review)

TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” and it is an annual, invitation-only gathering of the brightest and most creative minds on the planet, a kind of live WIRED meeting of the people who are shaping the future for all of us. Actress Daphne Zuniga attended the 2006 TED with a camera, and the resulting documentary -- which she directed and narrates -- is stupendously hopeful: if these are the folks who are thinking about how we’re going to navigate a difficult future, and are already taking the actions that will see us through it safely, then we are in good hands. There’s a palpable electricity to the TED sessions, parts of which we share, with luminaries including scientists creating innovative programs to bring first-world health and education opportunities to kids in developing countries; artists, comedians, musicians, and poets with startling perspectives on modern life; philosophers of human potential; engineers on the cutting edge of the human interaction with machines; and many other people who are deeply inspiring not only for their genius but for their optimism and the seemingly boundless energy. This is the buoyant antidote to the mood of doom and gloom with which it is so easy to become infected today. As a bonus, twelve full-length TED sessions are included. [buy at Amazon]

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