The 4 a.m. mystery | Rives

www.ted.com Poet Rives does 8 minutes of lyrical origami, folding history into a series of coincidences surrounding that most surreal of hours, 4 o'clock in the morning.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

[@eliaschevette]

I wake up at 4 in the morning to be able to work on my computer, think, run, write or sometimes just walk outside and stare at my dog. I do this because from 4 to 6:30 I don't see a hear a single human being is amazing.

[@rafaelfreitas6159]

David Quintana Indeed

[@joellemartin4466]

David Quintana I should try this it sound blissful

[@MrCynan4812]

I also wake up at 4, mainly to write though sometimes I just end up staring at my cat, and contemplating.

[@stutir.5242]

David Quintana I wake up at 4 and study lol and then go to school by 6

[@evej8131]

David Quintana that shares me tho I don’t like being alone

[@KindomChums]

I like how he doesn’t pause to allow the audience to laugh. He is not working for the laugh or applause, he is working the point

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

I know this video is old, but it holds a special place for me. This must have been the first Ted Talk I ever watched, oh so many years ago, and I thought it was so goddamn funny at the time. I still think it is. A classic.

[@UrbanSurvivalMethods]

I actually found this while looking through Ted Talks to watch….at 4am.

[@lorrainejohnson829]

OMG I just noticed...it IS actually 4am right now 😂

[@TheDiscoMole]

The reason 4 am is such a controversial time is cause on an emotional level adults doing work and procrastinating recreationally find the hour from 4 to 5 to be the turning point where one day changes into the next. Even though we can rationally tell that midnight is the time shift to the next day, on an emotional level we feel that the new day has approached as we start approaching the morning light at around 5 to 6 which infers that 4 am tends to be the real end of a day to us.

[@skiinginmt]

This is a very good example of how information can be cherry picked to form outlandish conspiracy theories. And it's funny.

[@julienestella]

Who is this guy?!! Absolutely incredible speaker. Is he an actor?? I don't care what was all this talk about, but he kept me fascinated, focus, smiling the whole time😳

[@insanelist5060]

lol

[@shanelp7489]

Juliene Bernardes He’s a poet. Watch his poetry. Type in Rives Dej Jam Poetry

[@_adi_dev_]

discovered at 4am... coincidence?

[@praneethrajbhatprbhat1029]

Adi Carlisle AI of youtube did it

[@alvindueck8227]

Adi Carlisle nope, creepy

[@int3533]

Same

[@mendiplanko2995]

same

[@DonkeyFrog]

no

[@ay-pj8co]

i understood nothing

[@udaybhattacharjee1979]

ayub abdikarim me too😂😂

[@beecare5383]

ayub abdikarim I think...that is at the time when Allaah subhana Hu wa tala decends to the lowest heavens. ( check some hadeeth about it) Hence the night pray (Attahajud) - is a potential time for dua to be accepted. Plus starting your business or studies or anything else for that matter ,from that time onwards, insha Allaah. Has with it emence blessings for whoever is up and active in something one way or another. It has reminded myself of this blessed time that is available to all who seek it. Hope that helps bro. Peace. ( just to explain a little - A person would derive the most blessings, success or whatever you what to call it, in what he or she is doing) Hence and Allaah knows best: " For the most part...you see that Wealthy people are awake and active at these times taking advantage of the time...but in the unseen forces in life...they are actually conciously or unconsciously reaping the blessings and benefits of starting anything at the peak blessed time on the morning before sunrise. These guys have named it as 4am".

[@darthvader9121]

Anything can be turned into a conspiracy theory. That's point of the talk.

[@arisilias8787]

neither did the speaker

[@DuqoQuod]

What about when Gatsby and Mr. Wolfsheim do a shady business deal at "about four o'clock in the morning"? The great gatsby was published in 1925

[@1Nida]

Possibly my favorite Ted Talk ever.

[@MsGeorgeyboy]

Kanye West "4 in the morning, and I'm zoning they say I'm possesed, it's an omen..."

[@muhammadabdurrahim752]

lol genius

[@alexrodriguez9520]

Genius 💯

[@victorJ2050]

I got up and watched this video at 4 in the morning.

[@Blueteam-to2mz]

victorJ2050 I'm watching this at 3:00 am. why did I have too wake up at this time? ;-;

[@azouzbenzenagui8521]

Me too

[@elperroreggae]

"Meme" in 2007? I didn't recall it was used at such an early time.

[@InfiniteFaithInUniverse]

The word "meme" is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning "to imitate". The word has been around since 1976.

[@blazer6248]

Depends on how old you are. In 2007, I was 26. I saw the internet from AOL 2.0 lol. Meme has been around for a long time.

[@GloriousAssam]

At least 2006, my dude

[@slapshot1x]

He is a great speaker.

[@TheMiist]

Chris Penney but us he saying anything?

[@sheltonlmack]

Charles Harding ‘is’

[@advcss]

@@TheMiist No, and thats the whole point of the talk

[@shvonned.burkemsncrnpagpcn619]

Funny thing is, I don’t consider myself to be a creative artsy type (more of a book smart nerd) but whenever I wake up between 345-4, on occasions I have all sorts of ideas and write poems. More than one at a time. I literally have to stop myself. It even feels as if I’m operating like a computer while it’s all going on. Idea after idea. I surprise myself, but sadly haven’t made a habit out of it yet. I should. Maybe more people should. (Now as a I write it’s 636, been up since 4 am) 🤯

[@ErikaMink]

am i the only one who loves how charismatic this guy is?

[@thirteenfingers]

This guy's delivery style is incredible! Musical. Rythmic. As a public speaker myself I like to see (should that be hear?) someone who can deliver well, He's a master! There's a really poetic quality to it. Hm - as I typed this I checked the video description. I see he's a poet (previously I'd only read the title) so that actually isn't so surprising. His delivery is still fantastic though. :D

[@meagentzero]

Shinedown: "It's 4:03 and I can't sleep without you next to me, I toss and turn like the sea."

[@bodyofhope]

There is a bewitching hour between 3 and 4 in the morning. If you've ever been severely ill or suffered from insomnia, you will find yourself awake at 3am and through the 4 o'clock hour.

[@ericj1452]

"4:30 in the morning, I'm milking cows - Jebadiah feeds the chickens and Jacob plows - fool..." - Weird Al Yankovich "Amish Paradise"

[@clitoraborealis]

I love being awake at 4 A.M. Everyone else is sleeping and I'm free to do whatever I want. I think I'm more awake between 4 and 5 in the morning than any other time of day.

[@seekonlytruth1831]

clitoraborealis r

[@ndeoligence8]

Everyone who wakes up at 4am thinks that everyone else is still asleep. All of them!

[@samvedah7701]

Then u won't get sleep in the afternoon? Or drowsy

[@UncleSam13]

Definately the most humorous TED posting.

[@tikilove2241]

Hahaha once i got up at exactly 4:20 universe has a good sense of humor xD

[@amm2911]

4 in the morning is when i feel like i am at the height of my creativity.

[@grsims20]

that was absolutely brilliant!

[@navedrizv]

Incredible, I almost understood nothing from this talk, except for few laughs

[@BelindaRachman]

He is one of the best slam poets in the country!

[@mikahpaul2298]

Unarguably

[@lcbabyxox]

4am by Kaskade

[@GenocideLv]

from an analytical standpoint the answer is simple at 3 a.m. not everybody has gone to sleep yet at 5 a.m. some people start getting up, especially the older ppl so 4 a.m. is simply the middle ground where the least % of people are awake

[@jazbone]

Listening to a song right now called 4 a.m. by Poison Idea and it reminded me of this great speech!

[@ThunderSmell]

Watsky "It's almost 4am, Monday in my room again"

[@ozmenelkhatib4642]

I put this on my list "Sleep" as part of my research, i didn't learn anything useful to help me wake up at 4:00 in the morning... But now I some artistic contribution into the project to wake up early. He escrito esto, primero como registro de vista, y segundo como registro temporal... quiero ver este comentario en 10 años, como la mayoría que ahora tienen ese tiempo.

[@gotnoshoes99]

Because it's too late to still be up and way to early to just be getting up.

[@luisvillar8320]

Rives always crushes it.

[@DanteMoodyFilms]

Someone give this man a Nobel Prize!

[@KYRM09]

4:30 is the dividing line between late night and early mornig

[@buddhistxtrackie]

Pure, unadulterated genius!

[@gracestarvedroom]

Rives is so freakin' amazing.

[@tikilove2241]

There is also Gwen Stefani song called 4 in the morning.

[@emmylene62]

That was fun. :) Great speaker!

[@MalcDaMouf]

his point is that it's an amazing string of "coincidences" that tie alot of "random" events together...

[@Angeltears2431]

Awesome!!!!! It just goes to prove you can find connection between everything if you look hard enough:)

[@Mikelpsu11]

Well it's 4am on Christmas day as I'm watching this.

[@rothbardfreedom]

At least KZbin is suggesting some awesome videos on how good is to wake up early. I thought this video would talk about it.

[@charlieclark74]

Now there’s the song called 4am and also they say “4am” in sicko mode

[@andrewpomorski549]

Charlie Clark by Taeko Ohnuki the one?

[@thefootballkid17]

Watsky - 4AM Monday

[@gauravbhutada7674]

Coincidentally I started this video exactly at 4 AM ! INSANE !!

[@NazarKalinyuk]

Started watching at 5:19 in the morning... But this video is HIGH-LARIOUS!!!!

[@Talixaen]

I scoffed at the descriptiong, but this really IS lyrical origami. It all.. comes together.

[@fixedG]

I'm 16 years late but I'm gonna save this to my Watch Later queue to watch at 4am.

[@MrLittlebigcity]

i was watching this on netfilx and realized it was 4am so i came to youtube to share

[@craZgirl1091]

extraordinarily engaging!

[@Melisa-vc8my]

Well presented!

[@Nyxlave]

"Morning consists of exactly the hours when McDonald's serves breakfast." - My Mom

[@mariusvanc]

That was awesome. Not coincidentally, working backwards, I started watching this clip at 4:04 in the morning. Coincidentally? Oh, I think not.

[@Dan-bg5fm]

why is this even a ted talk?

[@Madi4321]

Dan exactly.

[@samratalha.]

Why this can't be a TED talk?

[@AmadeuShinChan]

Well, what do you think is the point he wants to make?

[@Koribaby1]

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Rives is entertaining. Voila. TED Talk.

[@Koribaby1]

@@lilyp2216 They still have poets. Rives did several more talks, the most recent 5 years ago.

[@jilljeglum101965]

"4 am in the morning, damit listen to me" elton john's someone saved my life tonight

[@Echo5Mike]

As I sat here and watched this video, at 4a.m., I eagerly awaited the commercial at the end for the all new 15 year old BMW Hydrogen 7 automobile.

[@mmbb1610]

@6:00 "Wait wait wait wait, let me get this strait......Matt!" "Laughter and applause" SO WHO IS THIS MATT??? THE MYSTERY CONTINUES

[@irreverentreverend]

Matt Groening, the creator of 'The Simpsons'.

[@TeagueChrystie]

The intro music to these older TED videos roughly approximates the Doppler effect, in a situation where Danny Elfman is running past you at high speed.

[@janew2489]

wow... so all this crazy obsession of his with 4am in the morning links back to his college romance... which was explained in his another TED talk nice years later.... The Museum of Four in the Morning.... wow.... very romantic....

[@wangiartha5208]

Exactly !!!!!!!!!!! I Love It!

[@Nikanaiko]

4 O'Clock by Emilie Autumn should have been in that song medley, too. Hahah.

[@NoyzBot]

holy shit, I didn't know he had a vlog. well thank you!

[@cnmaster01]

i'm not sure what i just watched but i loved it

[@tehjefe]

At every Used concert I've ever been too, the line where Bert stops singing and points the mic at the audience is "its four oclock in the fuckin' morning"

[@RuggeroFratarcangeli]

WOW! Amazing... I'm writing this in my hotel room at a business trip and it's just a few minutes to 4 in the morning. How did it happen? Freaky

[@Megzm6]

Someone sent me this at 4 am since I posted I was awake and I watched it at 4 am.

[@Onshki]

Now this is what happens when someone actually puts effort and thought into what they say.

[@hammouriii5774]

Great speaker .. but wtf is he talking about !! 🙃

[@zulfiandrinanina210]

The oldest TED talk in youtube ? Btw, great presentation !

[@mikedubya4427]

Me too! I almost wasn't going to watch this video because of my perceived pretentiousness of "lyrical origami", plus I'd just watched his internet poem which I just did not like at all... but this was awesome.

[@BigDodonga]

I timed this so I finish watching it at exactly this time, 4:00 AM.

[@prod.GodfatherBeats]

I'm watching this at 4 am in the morning

[@tvstealer]

when i was watching this, it was 4am in the morning in taipei

[@vixikie]

Fun fact: Hour of the Wolf is the time at about 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 and that's when the body's activity is at its lowest. If you're awake during this time it is also the time of day you feel like the worst, regardless of how much sleep you got. This is also the time most of the humans are being born or dies.

[@MrCynan4812]

Ok lets reach here, what if werewolves are real? Perhaps we would romanticize our time?

[@Maya-fi4dm]

Its an incorrect fact, I wake up between 4 and 5 and it’s the time I’m relaxed and active. I get a lot of work done in that time

[@xxy5757]

u sure?

[@spit0flip]

damn 20 more min to 4 in the morning, still watching ted talks

[@evannewman8381]

And yet another piece of the puzzle: Stu makes chocolate pudding at 4 in the morning...

[@TheEdge92]

I thought this is a place for ideas to be spread and not just poetry slams

[@TearinyCatala]

I am amused that I just realized that I started watching his stuff at 4:30 in the morning... wow... But its true. Midnight is not that harsh of a time anymore.

[@HenryTheCrook]

I see a lot of mixed comments. Just wanted to say I really enjoyed it. I think the people pointing out you could cherry pick examples from any time are right but it doesn’t matter. It’s not supposed to be an information talk it’s a performance, it’s supposed to entertain you. Which for me it very much did.

[@HamzaSayedAli]

Came from part 2.

[@Koribaby1]

Rives is so ridiculous. I adore him.

[@lissahxox]

hes a great speaker, wow.

[@bobking1128]

I was introduced to the 4 a.m. mystery by a friend who was commenting kindly on an article that I had written and noted that coincidently, it was logged in at 4 a.m.

[@rogerhendrix147]

I watched this at 3pm, and will now slap myself at FOUR(4) in the morning

[@nolanjohnson7401]

Illuminati confirmed.

[@ahmeddaaniyal7988]

Who cares about the untouchables!

[@hafsaryuzaki3295]

hahahahah

[@oscar842]

genius. genuine article

[@Evfan091]

4 am is the time I usually go to bed when I don't have to get up in the morning

[@soylencer]

4 A.M. - A Short Play By David Mamet, perhaps linked to the greater Toynbee Tiles mystery.

[@joshuamoody2941]

two hours after two oclock in the morning. thats four a.m. im getting chills down my spine. super weird.

[@mist__4974]

Jason Miller ?

[@mist__4974]

Jason Miller -Yes and 3 hours after 3 is 6am. So what is your point?

[@Shivierie]

This was amazing!! Well done. :-D Now...who takes this seriously?

[@SirMartinus]

I discovered this at 3 pm. (Oslo, GMT +1) However... This means that in on Christmas Island, and atoll belonging to The Republic of Kiribati, the very same country one of my former lecturers in journalism was infatuated by, an atoll where the UK performed nuclear tests during the 50's, the same decade my parents were born, an atoll where the second biggest city has 1881 inhabitants, the same number I often call to find someone's phone number... It's 4 am.

[@MundungGus]

This guy is onto something

[@cindyortiz4874]

I was up at 3:30. Saw this at 4:45. Too funny.

[@wytherwings]

this is awesome

[@plasticgirl222]

I love it!

[@bitcoinheistcryptotraderce3439]

1. Go to sleep early 2. Go to the gym 3. Eat healthy

[@littleladyinlalaland1749]

Technically saw this for the first time at 4:30 eastern, 1:30 pacific😂

[@lordblazer]

You guys must live in the suburbs. I use to live in NYC. 4am is just another time.