Lies, damned lies and statistics (about TEDTalks)

www.ted.com In a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek analysis, Sebastian Wernicke turns the tools of statistical analysis on TEDTalks, to come up with a metric for creating "the optimum TEDTalk" based on user ratings. How do you rate it?
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/tra.... Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at www.ted.com/ind...

[@ViciousRanger]

One of the greatest TED talks ever. This guy should go into advertising, he'd make a fortune

[@abcd123906]

I find it a bit disturbing that TED talks about architecture, geography, transportation, media, war, animals and plants, and time don't do so well. (2:05) That indicates to me that we've gotten too focused on vague ideas to the exclusion of strategies for solving real, concrete, specific problems.

[@123axel123]

True, TED is really trashy bs

[@jeff1865]

I see TED talks as "food for thought" rather than a solution to any problem.

[@Baronnax]

The average person listening to these talks can't really do much to solve "concrete, specific problems" that affect the globe, but videos that talk about how you can alter your everyday life positively can provide actionable info and be more helpful to the individual.

[@pariskeith8016]

Also it's titled "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" so take from it what you will.

[@MichaelLuchiesTrepRep]

Now that is a fun crowd.

[@danielamercadovillanueva9786]

the BEST TED talk I've ever watched!

[@oskarnorback9496]

Statistics is the science demonstrating that if you have one foot in a pile of snow and the other in the oven, on average it feels quite good.

[@FunkyMonkeyJunkie302]

I'm actually desperate for TedTalkHero to come out ... looks like the best game EVER O.o

[@BrenLPeters]

Mr. Wernicke, I have to share this with you, as you inspired me to write this reply to a classmate about using humor to engage students: To YOU, my partially French colleague Oscar: I can’t agree more that humor adds to the student-engagement process. It also makes me happier in class when there’s a little humor present than when not. Somehow, it makes the brain work better. Last year, I took a Stats class and thought I died, before I even started (and get this: I’m a glass-half-full kind of person). LOL. The professor was brilliantly funny; however, he made me work to get his jokes. He almost always included statistical language in his humorous exchanges with the class, so I had to understand the material to some degree to even appreciate his jokes sometimes. I maintain that the jokes still helped to ease the pain of that class, while I was going through it. Sebastian Wernicke is that kind of guy, whether “French coffee spreads happiness in your brain” or not, he makes statistics look fun! Enjoy the video: Lies, damned lies and statistics (it’s a riot!). I’m sure that you’ll want to share it with other Mathematicians and enthusiasts! Please let us know what you think?*! -Bren p.s. Oscar, be patient with me. I promise that my reply to you will make more sense, after you look at the data in video. p.p.s. You may think I'm nuts or even funny or somewhere in the middle! Either way, I hope that this posting makes you laugh. :)

[@witheringsun]

I actually applauded my computer! That was brilliant!

[@pinoyboix]

im a stats major and this made my day

[@mashudakarbary1470]

pinoyboix likewise!!!

[@anantsharma7955]

What do you think about statistics?

[@jeembomb]

@billyjay they respond so highly because this is a metatalk, a ted talk about ted talks

[@OuroborosChoked]

I'm not sure why, but there's something about this video that I just like a whole lot.

[@git1958]

Who say's Germans don't have a sense of humour...or is he an statistical anomoly. The exception that proves the rule?

[@Marchawc]

Now we need Sebastian Wernicke to analyse KZbin and create the YT-pad so we can reverse-engineer perfect, highest rated, most fav'd videos.

[@srgwarcock]

that was the best ted talks ever... hahaha bet that throws off your statistical data!

[@sk8rdman]

@billyjay Have you seen some of Ken Robinson's talks on education? They received a very powerful positive response, including a standing ovation. I'm not going to lie. They connected with me on an emotional level that nearly brought me to tears. Entertaining talks like this one aren't the only one's receiving an energetic response. I'll admit that I was a bit surprised to see them all stand up, but once that one guy did, the rest of the sheep inevitably followed.

[@Orsbore]

This guy sure knows how to do a great TED Talk!

[@sahiti321]

i love this guy!, he is the best presenter ever!

[@SweetMisery17]

I didn't want this ted talk to be over with!!!!

[@billyjay]

@sk8rdman Yeah. I love TED talks. I watch all of them and I've had some really powerful reactions to many. I like Ken Robinson very much. I've seen a lot more TED talks that get less applause then they deserve, than I see TED talks that get too much applause...like this one.

[@ilotitto]

best TEDtalk ever

[@IseeRightThrough2you]

3:10 Notice that the phrase "of the United States" is in the good list, but "in the United States" is in the bad list. Hmm...

[@dee5331]

The all time best ted talk!

[@OtisJCW]

This is such a good vid, et cetera et cetera

[@billyjay]

i like it, but i am also surprised with the over energetic crowd. some TED talks that are simply fascinating get only lukewarm applause. obviously he had this crowd eating out of his hand. in the end, i enjoyed it very much.

[@WinsomeWinnower]

The title given to this talk ~ Lies, damned lies and statistics ~ is poorly chosen given Sebastian's real top. He briefly lists analysis of many TED Talks with suggested guidelines of how to create a good or bad TED Talk ~ nothing of lies, damned lies.

[@dostaglou]

Funny! Fascinating! Amazing! Great! ^^ Among the best TED Talks ever! ^^

[@huanghouWuZetian]

I absolutely love this guy :)

[@channelname28]

How in the world did he take the time to do all this?

[@icosmini]

Is the audience high or something?

[@Jonyrijo]

WAU, I like exactly the ones that are least liked and like less exactly the ones that are liked most.

[@jgonsalk]

It wouldn't be easy, but not that hard either. You take all the transcripts and the ratings for each talk and put them in SPSS or any statistical software package and work through the data. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a genius idea. But it is a manageable (although challenging) task.

[@philnoll]

Wow. You'd think he was bashing GW bush the way that crowd applauded.

[@stuwy]

this is so hilariously true and it has been on my mind for awhile as I'm a fan of tedtalks. hahahaha thank you for doing the stats!

[@catherineabbott9009]

Proud of Clay Aiken for finding his passion

[@DimitriRytsk]

Why they did not put the name of the speaker - Sebastian Wernicke in the title as they do for everyone else?

[@MrRuggedboy27]

wow he totally got into our heads :)

[@caiwarrior]

Uhh, the whole "enthusiastic laughter" was extremely disturbing. Did they smoke something or do they get paid to be all hyper? Feels like episode of friends

[@VanXIInX]

This TED talk is considered in TED Website funny, and have just 6:30 minutes. One more for statistics.

[@vanillatwilight830]

Ted Talk Hero!!!!!!!!!!!

[@txdmsk]

@gunblademaster I think it was very funny. But of course, there were much more brilliant TED Talks that got much less ovation, but the clapping, shouting mass is not why I watch TED, so why worry so much?

[@SuperJanders]

How many times does he say "Tedtalks" during the presentation? Lost track at 30

[@rhn122]

Expected to hear about that famous quote on the title, instead got a giggle about analytics

[@ferdiemac]

What's up with the audience... they feel excited even though there is nothing to be excited about. It annoys me and let me say WTF!

[@chromebooktest1128]

in another video someone said, "i love how tedtalks dont have commercials, spreading knowledge without a profit motive" "a comment that didnt age well"

[@hatchk01]

What's with the all the cheering?

[@dan2kxyz]

Loved it!

[@clearmenser]

Way funnier than any of the other meta-talks

[@AguzSuiCaedere]

Interesting, but I would like to point out my interest for expansion on the topic of the correlation between French coffee and happiness.

[@LiquidFriction]

Brilliant lol, I just favorited it because he had a white shirt on and the chart told me to favorite it. Everyone should favorite it now! :P Stuff like this is why I love TED and will always enjoy watching it haha

[@e1nste1n]

Brilliant something we can really use!

[@Dxmpr72]

brilliant

[@Waranoa]

This man is a genious!

[@cringe-tek3d]

i've been laughing so hard throughout the whole talk. :)

[@joshfaille]

@caiwarrior I was wondering why the laughter was so ridiculous too

[@DaveHale]

Best...TED...talk...ever! :-)

[@Fingolfin3423]

The title for this KZbin video makes no sense.

[@kelumo7981]

its a quotation from a book...i guess you wont know about that too😂

[@sanalsanthosh9721]

It's a quote from Mark twain

[@drnuke7393]

and so on and so forth

[@Bercik87]

Genius.. or really close to that. Entertaining, informative - nice combo ;]

[@Paulginz]

@darkprincess1012 You'd be surprised how much things like colour really matter. That's why every detail in an advert is intensely scrutinised. Have you ever watched a movie that made you cry just because the music was sad? Form can be more important than content when you are trying to elicit a certain emotional response.

[@wen6519]

I am still looking forward to that game :(

[@drukenhard]

funniest TED Talk ever!

[@munkenmedguran]

Totally awesome!

[@AlgeKalipso]

I wonder if he made an analysis on the role that self-referencing has. Depending on the result, given that this is the most self-referring talk I can conceive, it could either be a very very good or bad talk. etc etc.

[@Crazee108]

Why the extra cheers? did i miss something? =(

[@Roper122]

They are a TED talk audience, and he is ridiculing TED talks... that's why they're laughing so much... simple.

[@PHlophe]

he sounds like a 2WW officer who is grilling a detainee

[@AvgasStew]

If you don't understand why the crowd was enthusiastic.......I would ask why you were watching TEDtalks. Perhaps you should re-read movie description. Plenty of other movies are on youtube for you to watch

[@citationneeded912]

Don't get it why the audience were head over heels for the talk. It was well researched content, but the video overall is pretty average.

[@koketso_dithipe]

I think I'll ask ChatGPT to write me the best ever Ted talk.

[@SilenceBeGolden]

@ChalleFoV3 I was confused, too. The audience is usually rather reserved, but here they went wild for a funny-because-it's-meta speech. My guess is that the previous speaker had something quite lively because the audience started laughing out loud when the guy just introduced his idea at the start.

[@VilleMetsola]

This is pretty awesome

[@TrueGreatness73]

@CeloxUmbra your right.. I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.. when your in a bad mood everything can piss you off.. lol

[@LeftOfToday]

haha Loved it. I wish it were longer =P

[@bangalorebobbel]

tnx - this is as brilliant as funny - and btw very interesting results of the tedpad tool, too ... ;-)

[@gulllars]

@austpom333 There's a lot of great music there. Luckily i've heard a lot of 60's, 70's, and 80's rock (and also other genres) growing up. There is still great music being made, but it generally don't catch the mass market's attention, and very rarely is ever shown on TV or played on the mainstream radio channels.

[@squishedpimp]

@billyjay people like people who talk about the things they're interested in... namely TED

[@deprofundis442]

That's a shame. It's the technical jargon that interests me. It makes me a sad panda that most people don't seem to like them.

[@williamdaly422]

@OuroborosChoked I think you mean to say: "There is something about this video that I like a whole lot and etc. etc." :)

[@pixelrevolt]

@MrDarkbloom It's because the really really love themselves.

[@abcborgess]

Awesome!

[@BrainRazer]

@git1958 Why is there a comma in the word "says" in you comment? "says" is not "say is" nor is the word "say" possessive of anything.

[@AlgeKalipso]

@crankycactus Interestingly enough, he didn't mention the title nor the exact middle second take (comercial included). I am sure that these two factors are very important in creating the first impression on the youtuber (and tedster), and as we all know from psych classes, if expectations are not met, the user feels disapointed. :P

[@funkyred4]

@pdblouin33 Not necessarily. Your comment would only apply-- that is, it would only mean the words are interchangeable-- if there was a situation of mutual causation. But saying correlation is the same as causation fuels a myth. And it could confuse people when they read statistics. Please don't spread misinformation.

[@moyga]

rofl at that short woman shoving one fist in the air over and over at the end

[@gulllars]

@austpom333 They actually do in the kind of pop you could consider "mass produced sell-out sh!t", and in a lot of rap they use it for bassline, rythm, and also lyrics. The problem is people who aren't anal (analytical minds) and make up the bulk of consumers actually like that artificial and forced crap. If i can tell something is mass produced only to sell as many copies as possible, it is a huge minus in my book.

[@ethitlan]

That was good, that was good

[@qwertyzz7]

wow, AMAZING!!!

[@malcolmbryant]

@MrDarkbloom You are right! The laughter is HUGELY disproportionate to the content. Strange!

[@vidfather]

BAHAHAH TED Talk Hero! This was brilliant!

[@TheRationalizer]

Excellent :)

[@smeva26]

he did well this was a hoot to watch haha

[@DimitriRytsk]

Go after popularity is going after the crowd. TED is not about popularity contest, as this happy guy may fill. There are beauty contests, celebrities and companies serving public such as Google who are trying to be as popular and as gay as possible. Popularize TEDs spirit of invention and you kill it and make just an other muppet show talking about their emotions and believes!

[@pipsantos6278]

Goes to show that bread and circus will always be effective to the bread and circus crowd.

[@rh001YT]

The comment about the US medical system was silly, but of course drew applause from this batty group. Treatments that have been capitalized upon in the past are now relatively cheap. It is the new treatments that are expensive, largely due to intricacy, time & cost of developement & expensive trials. The paper test was not simple, but involved lots of engineering as to how to make indicator inks, and of course the paper must be pure. But how is the treatment to be afforded? And the liability!

[@holdmybeer]

Favorited!! that was brilliant and very funny.

[@toastinator12]

Anyone else want to play bingo with this?

[@malcolmbryant]

And by the way, what exactly ARE these things called "Tet Hawks" ?

[@1966human]

I think this is how they write the new pop songs

[@osofrontinoquantico]

that TED HERO looks like an xkcd comic

[@dhineshveluswamy6936]

4:31. Who is that?