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From: TEDtalksDirector
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  • This is the 2nd talk by this speaker that I've watched & I have to admit...she makes it very hard to follow her. While watching her I get an overwhelming desire to fall asleep. I don't know if it is her delivery or her eyes but she makes it hard to watch. Overall though, she's not far off. Despite a few disagreements that I have, I think she makes good points.

  • I don't know about You All but this lecture really moved me, and I am grateful for the observations work and thought that went into this [G*D Bless] and thank you @TED

  • today i am going to introduce you to the most annoying voice ever

  • 18 minutes??? BITCH 27

  • HOLY SHIT THIS 27mins LONG! *watch later*

  • This presentation is a gift to the Internet. My world view has expanded from watching it.

  • Great talk..very interesting.

  • 6.20 the audience slept. or they forgot to turn on the recorded laughing sound.

  • Perhaps that's why she's totally focused on rhythm and intonation.

  • Oh, I didnt noticed she's blind.

  • well what can i say it was one of the most amazing and inspiring ted talks and also very true on how chices makes us what we are today but i was even more impressed with the rolex propaganda wooooooow i mean 12000 feet and the watch still good?? what a load of money that you need to have in order to afford one of those!!!

  • I didn understand her point.. Can someone explain it?

  • I was wondering where she was looking the whole time, then realized that she was blind at the end. Glad I didn't bitch about it :P

  • Great insights and Go the nail polish story!

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  • Ok so i may seem stupid..but what was she really trying to say..what was the moral supposed to be..?

    and I did do a small search about her..and was kind of impressed looking at the awards she received and all..but what was all that for..am i missing something here..

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  • Wow, Sheena Iyengar is smart, articulate and persuasive! What an illuminating, well-delivered talk on choice and choosing!

  • remarkable person!

  • Long comment short : EXTREMELY PREJUDICED .

  • @Vamptrebless Long thought short: Did you even watch the whole video?

  • yeesh calm down about the japan story. The video is on the art of choosing. Second, she is blind, she doesn't SEE colors and different nationality's as we do. She is simply analyzing things from her understanding of it.

  • @stampyvanhalen She is blind, she speaks slowly and carefully because she is read her speech with her fingers. The mind reads faster than the hand for regular people, but because she is blind she is reading and speaking at the pace of her hand. Anyway, its the content that matters. This was a great well researched and wonderfully presented with humor speech.

  • Very interesting, I want to know more. BUT your voice. Is horrible. And very grating.  Please be quiet.

  • @stampyvanhalen it goes after 4 minutes! guess my ears become numb

  • I live in Japan, have for over a decade, and have experienced the same attitudes for Yearrrrs! The first two minutes are SO TRUE!! The Japanese do NOT allow for choice! What a brilliant opening!! :) Thumbs up!!

  • That tea sample is stupid. It´s more than a cultural "standard". Tea is much more but drinking it. A ceremony can last over hours. She doesn´t even mentions the importance and just refers to cultural differences. This is simplification even most japanese do not do a ceremony at all, it´s still a shame if you put sugar in your tea. Wa Kei Sei Jaku.

  • @Durhandoni80 Take a chill-pill.

  • about the sugar in green tea XD hahaa

  • @eojadiius this is actually really interesting

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  • I'm halfway through her book, and so far it has done an amazing job at opening my eyes on the way I live my life and why I choose what I choose.

  • Brilliant

  • Desire to have others choose for us and follow without question has led to some of the worst atrocities humankind has ever committed. 

  • @ScionAscendant

    individual choosing out of pure intentions: good results.

    individual choosing out of evil intentions: bad results.

    individual's community choosing out of pure intentions: good results.

    individual's community choosing out of evil intentions: bad results.

    there's a possibility for atrocities whether individuals choose their own actions or are influenced by others. it just depends on the intentions of the individual/group making the choice.

  • @Promilicious First of all, intentions do not equal results. There's a lot of truth to the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Second, when I make a choice for a personal desire or objective, I know exactly what that objective is, whereas I can be deceived about the real nature of someone else's real goals that I'm helping them to fufill. Finally, someone has to make the decisions for those who do not; that's a lot of power, and it's very corrupting.

  • @SjokkoladeBolleMusa You're a dumbass.

  • @karamid might be, what you know?

  • @SjokkoladeBolleMusa ... she's blind! wow....

  • @BakedStitches aaaw, shit dude xD Thanks fo letting me know xD

  • i like her voice she should be a storyteller

  • @iezzzwan Its funny you say that I thought the same thing within the first minute.

  • The Japanese are wrong.

  • This is basically Barry Schwarz' TED talk.

  • AWESOME!

  • This is a gem. I'm glad they recorded this.

    However this video watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM&feature=re­lmfu creates an interesting problem for her first theory. As the number of individuality choices increases, the perception of failure - of a more desirable option increases, creating an internal perception of failure.

  • This is a gem. I'm glad they recorded this.

  • she sounds like my mom (indian immigrant) , but with much more eloquence. but listen to her speech! her evidence is all anecdotes, and apply to very specific people and situations. yes amazon.com sucks when there's a bunch of choices. but thats why they highlight the deals you need. thats why they recommend me stuff based on algorithms that are getting fine tuned everyday. i respect her but it's hard to agree or disagree with someone who speaks generally about such specific situations.

  • @tessb I think you have a valid point - if you are really interested in the research data that backs up the anecdotes, you should give her book a read. I was surprised to see how different the book was when compared to this talk!

  • "choices" anyone else think of "the matrix" lol. But seriously, an interesting talk.

  • well technically one should respect other countries culture

  • prof Sheena is certainly an inspiring person. Would love to hear more of her...

  • That was simply beautiful.

    

  • This woman is really simply great ! 

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  • Absolutely Phenomenal. I for one have through my own desire and pursuit of mastering the art of knowing thyself that it is being both aware and present when making each and every decision that we make, but also to see and know that decisions is where the true essence and power lies, both internally and externally in each and everyone of our lives. Watching Sheena Lyengar on TED TALK has inspired me tremendously. Sheena must come to Hawaii, and i will do all that i can to make sure that happens!!

  • i like how after the cool video....there is a commercial of "rolex" haha....

  • @doudeskaden Even if it wasn't made up. In expensive 4-5 star restaurants they would also have refused her request to serve Heinz ketchup next to her meal. Some places simply have standards.

  • @doudeskaden

    First of all, the caste Iyengar( her surname) is tamil bramin, her family would normally come from the south Indian state of tamil nadu. Second , you could have countered any opinion that she stated , without having to take a cheap shot at her as an individual. malicious intent is a serious charge against an academic , if you did want to be taken seriously , you would have used causiously and where there is justification for it.

  • @doudeskaden

    I think , it can be taken for grated that no other country has as much choice as the US, so that analysis cannot be entirely untrue.your posts give the impression that you are miffed , that she implied , the cultures such as Japan's have lesser choices , and you somehow find that degrading, or hurtfull. So while you go on to counter that Japan has more choices, and that the speaker is lying( If I may) , she thinks that lesser choices are better .

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  • @doudeskaden

    So what i am trying to get at here, is by your argument you somehow exhibit , a alarming level of infiriority complex , about your nations inability , to offer choices, while she thinks its not always good to have that many choices. Given that you charge her with being prejudiced against Japan, dont you find it ironic that you are railing against someone who thinks highly of your culture .......

  • Was she discriminated in Japan, which rendered her to feel so bitter towards Japanese, and to make false generalizations about Japan and her people? Or was she trying hard to obtain resonance from these mostly White audiences? Her made-up story really does not add anything substantial to the point she was hoping to make, anyway.

  • @doudeskaden The only bitterness I see is yours. It was a great story to open with and had zero bitterness. You have some serious issues. Go see a psychologist.

  • Japanese do kindly recommend that you do not drink green tea that way, for the delicacy of Japanese green tea is way beyond those of Lipton and Twinings, particularly with the way it is prepared in Japan. Such requests by foreigners bring a justice to common consensus among Japanese that Western gaijin have not evolved yet to have sufficient taste buds. continued…

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  • Compassionately realistic.

  • Was anyone else confused about the Rolex thing at the end??

  • Great video, but her facial expression scares me. 

  • @wizrares Isn't she blind?

  • i don't see the use of these type of video.

  • @DimitriPeruzziOnline then you clearly don't understand them.

  • wow she pronounce every word very clearly...

  • It's "personal responsibility" in America. That's what choice is for us. That's not to say that it's irresponsible to leave decisions requiring expertise to another is irresponsible. It's only to say that moral dilemmas can be perceived as duties and decisions deciding them must not be avoided.

  • it's ok, there is no choice anyways

  • aha so thats why white people! it all makes sense now.

  • she sounds like a pretentious bitch, and it works very well :). Good talk!

  • love her voice and intonations

  • she is amazing.

  • Great presentation. One thing though, I think she may have confused the intentions of the Japanese people. If I walk into a high French restaurant and ask for the chef's "finest" cuisine, then argue for ketchup, sure, it can be a bit insulting in a way. Japanese tea is soft and complex in a way where you hope others will feel all of the hard and subtle work behind it. If you like green tea with sugar - just prepare it yourself back home is what I what I say, not in the artisan's house.

  • @marcabela I think she still intended that though, she then goes on to hold her own culture's 'choice bias' against the light. In France you might only find this in the high cuisine but in Japan this (admirable) mentality is more common. Japanese are simply way more prestige-oriented than most Westerners.

  • @BaileysBeads,

    Thanks for the quick reply. I have been living for 20 years in this country (uni + work + now my own company) and I don't find them all that "prestige-oriented". High cuisine is "everywhere" in Japan (even in the very tiny shops) but all behave according to a very "artisan" & "craftsman" approach to their work, for cars, for Walkmans, etc. So personally (I may be wrong) I somehow "understand" how a chef would/could be offended with "ketchup!" and simply politely refuse to serve.

  • @BaileysBeads,

    What I am saying is the "reaction" of the manager in the tea shop she visited had less to do with "freedom of choice" than her TED speech may want to suggest. If you walk into a kendo class and tell the teacher on first class you've got a better idea on how to hold your stick, the teacher replying "here we teach it {this way} - if you want to hold it the {star wars way} you will have to find a different school", the reaction doesn't have (it seems) to do much about "just choice".

  • @marcabela right you think the restaurant staff was under the assumption that she was to be instructed how to drink tea properly?

    I personally think she's crazy, I'm having some excellent green tea now and I'm disgusted by the idea of having sugar in there :)

  • @BaileysBeads,

    I see a lot of weird stuff in Japan, sea urchin on spaghettis, see some abroad too with carrots and mayonnaise on sushi, and that's all cool. What I say is "don't go into a third generation artisan's house and shout {ketchup!}", keep your ketchup back home or open your own shop with ketchup - but at times it's wise to find the freedom in own's mind to trust people a bit around at first and experience before arguing "my choice!". I sometimes eat sugar cubes "as is" by the way, so.

  • it's true though: you don't put sugar in green tea. Also: watch?v=JtmOTYmVNII

  • Excellent speech.

    She sounds like Akara from Diablo II.

  • @danimoth2 oh my god.

  • this woman is blind.... and she did all this spectacular job researching... Respect..

  • @zweisteinJ why is she blind?

  • @erdal0 she has a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa since she was born, lost her sight while a little child.

  • Nice speech! Personally I think that this really assembles the worldwide situation right now. The availability of choice does benefit humanity as it spurs innovation and creativity. Consumers' wants drive the producers to come up with new products, new products turn into revenue, revenue to income which will drive another round of the process... And I believe that this is the reason for the success of America, from its industrialization to all the various technologies.

  • I agree with her argument within the lecture room space, but the moment we step out we are confronted with the question of if the individual does not choose - who does he hand over the right to. And what sort of power equation he has with that person / institution? And that is when the subject becomes much more interesting.

    Otherwise, it is just an interesting intellectual experience.

  • Interesting to watch in the comments how some Americans perceive what she said :-D

    Some people only hear what they want to hear :-D

  • @TheJapanChannelDcom American's aren't bad. All countries have their trolls. ;)

  • Sugar in your green tea??? Preposterous! They should have kicked her out the restaurant.

  • Great talk - annoying voice though ;)

  • she's very good! i understand everything

  • America is about individualism. Where else do so many cultures exist together in peace? She didn't need to do a test on children who have yet to develope, but rather she could just look at all America has accomplished that is good and it's self evident choice developes imagination. Should we limit how much knowledge our children are exposed? I think it's other cultures that fail to understand us, not the other way around.

  • What she is trying to tell you is that "Obama knows best so give up your selfish idea of choosing your own healthcare. Freedom of choice is only a silly American ideal".

  • @shakwurdinsums: she is blind.

  • great lecture, but a very annoying voice.

  • is she blind?

  • The trouble isn't choice. It is responsibility.

  • @Roguedeus sounds interesting. I'd say it's the same though

  • @drmedwuast Except that today, everyone is told they have a choice, and then never held responsible for them... Choice without responsibility leads to excessively worse choice making... Until people start to think that only a reduction in choice will solve the problem... Hench my previous statement.

  • Guys,

    whatever that she said may it be the TRUTH or not is not important. What important is whether it is USEFUL or not.

    Now we choose.

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  • this lady has 2 lazy eyes

  • After watching this brilliant talk, it sheds new light on the Rolex commercial that immediately plays at the end of this video. Hey, Rolex is a great watch, but come on. Rolex discusses their many, many "extraordinary" "innovations", such as spelling out "Wednesday" on the watchface. Hmmmm, so many choices involced with being a conspicuous consumer... :)

  • @WadeBlazingame34 That's what I thought. A commercial after that video is probably more of a disservice to the company in question...

  • Wow her train of thought just rolled over me like a tsunami :-D

  • celestial

  • Really interesting talk.

  • This woman is more annoying that Tom Snyder with the way she laughs at herself. Her voice reminds me of the dwarf lady in Poltergeist

  • @candlertower -- then don´t watch. And do the world a favor and keep your stupid responses to yourself.

  • I liked this video so much that I chose (without the influence of my mother, or anyone else) to add it to my favorites. :)

    It's interesting that people in the United States choose bad, burned, stale, overpriced coffee over diner coffee that used to cost a quarter. It's equally perplexing to me that one store (Walmart) has gotten exclusive license for certain music CDs (AC/DC, KISS, etc), thereby negating a choice of getting them elsewhere. Where's the choice there?

    Henrik

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  • Communities divide themselves from others based on cultural values just as individuals do, it's just a different scale of the same dynamic. Independence from "other" operates in the choices of both the individual and the cultural community.

  • this woman looks like shes stoned out of her mind

  • @xerophiLIEs She's blind...

  • @xerophiLIEs --or maybe she´s blind???

  • What could be worth to BELIEVE is it to follow the INTUITION ..LOL I really don't know for 101% but I guess the closest explanation would be your your 6th sense - or - a "THIRD EYE" for that OPTION :)

    ALSO trying to rethink and RE-FEEL the choices at the same time over and over - DON"T use your COLD JUDGEMENT based on YOUR BRAIN ..

  • Choice is based on learnt VALUES - which are dependable on environmental growing up and believes based on told us values - WAKE UP PEOPLE - all that as well many dreams could play all as ILLUSION

  • Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed- interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday... Etcetera

  • Wonderful! I wish she had addressed just how manipulation can and does occur when the number if choices is either increased or decreased. It was hinted at toward the end with the nail polish story. Maybe I put that awkwardly. Too, maybe we ought to make a differentiation between significant choice and non-significant choice? I loved this talk! I have go watch again.

  • @098anne there is a book called the paradox of choice

  • I have bad Internet connection in Iraq, why do u upload it in a huge size????

  • does she open her eyes?

  • @BrettDunbar jump to @21:33 and OPEN YOUR EARS

  • @BrettDunbar

    She's blind, but yes.

  • the only reason those pegions are there is because......, they are Nailed to their perch....

  • Just realized she is blind when the cam panned to her fingers on the braille.

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  • did anyone else laugh when, at the end of this video about the reprecussions and differences in choice, there was an advertisement for rolex?

  • would you chose Rolex?

  • i'm going to choose to not watch the rest of this video because her voice is very annoying

  • @shoemanroyale Idiot.

  • @HumanistWikitopian I see your point, but to her credit i have experience the illusion of choice as being beneficial...I loath the cereal isle (way to many options, i often spend most of my time in any supermarket on the cereal isle) tho i absolutely love cereal!

  • @baburator

    Although, none of what you have written here undermines my original point.

    Mutual consensus is still possible between groups of people, irrespective of those groups having perfect shared understanding and awareness.

    Solutions to problems still can be reached that are above and beyond decisions being made in isolation.

  • @baburator

    iii) That "third possibility" is: Mutual Consensus.

  • @baburator

    ii) In consultation with the doctors a synergy of knowledge, understanding, experience, evidence and wisdom can occur that is even greater than the sum of either side in achieving an optimum solution given clearly defined mutual goals, objectives, parameters and acceptable losses. When a mutual understanding and awareness of the facts occurs, a consensus can emerge that represents a solution that neither party may have considered in strict isolation.

  • @baburator

    i) My comments were directly relevant to the point that I was trying make, otherwise I simply wouldn't have written them. I also fail to find where I have made any "ad hominem" attacks.

    Nonetheless, I am perfectly prepared to answer your question. It is a fallacy to believe that either the parents or doctors have to make their decision in isolation based purely upon their own existing knowledge, prejudices and preconceptions.

  • @baburator

    2) Dismissing my subsequent comments highlighting this misrepresentation and the flawed assumptions that you made as "off-topic" is nothing other than evasive, or wilfully ignorant. 

  • @baburator

    1) There was no such "flaw" in my logic, your initial response to my original statement and the assumptions that you made were shown here to be inherently false by my comments a) thru (d.

    You created what is known as a "Straw man" argument. A type of informal fallacy based upon a misrepresentation of an opponent's position.

  • I did not choose to watch this video: my curiosity held a gun to my head!

  • I think she could of said all that in ten minutes

  • @baburator

    d) Such examples clearly demonstrate why strict cultural relativism is largely a fundamentally flawed concept from an epistemological point of view.

    I think it was Richard Dawkins in "The Genius of Charles Darwin" that said:

    "There really is something special about scientific evidence. Science works, planes fly, magic carpets and broom sticks don’t. Gravity is not a version of the truth, it is the truth. Anybody who doubts it is invited to jump out of a 10 story window."

  • @pinkuteddy

    There is so much wrong with your comment above that I find it difficult to know where to begin educating you within the limited space of a few 500 character snippets.

    "Science itself involves faith"

    Google: "League of Reason: 'Atheism can't..."

    or Watch: watch?v=eTZsK8jzi24

    "Science can never solve issues with regard to values and dilemmas."

    Google: "Sam Harris"

    or Watch: watch?v=Hj9oB4zpHww

  • @pinkuteddy

    Search YouTube for the following videos:

    "Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions" by TEDtalksDirector

    "League of Reason: 'Atheism can't..." by Thunderf00t

  • @HumanistWikitopian Google runaway-train-dilemma and tell me a scientific way to solve the problem such as everyone will agree with your scientific answer.

  • @pinkuteddy

    Did you actually bother to watch the YouTube video, "Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions" by TEDtalksDirector, that provides a counter-argument to your original assertion?

    If you didn't, then the conversation cannot progress if you wilfully ignore each point being made only to make a new point of your own.

  • @HumanistWikitopian I did..and his talk is not scientific..and as to the second video...come on, science does not mean atheism..now, your turn to answer the problem! hoho goodluck with that! and goodluck trying to hide that you can't give a scientific solution. =p END

  • @pinkuteddy

    Unfortunately for you this is not the "END".

    If you actually bothered to watch the "League of Reason" video you would realise that the question it addresses is directly related to your misconception about science involving "faith" and obtaining objective truths about the universe.

    Why do you believe that Sam Harris' talk is "not scientific"? The conversation can then progress once you have given a logically valid reason for your outright dismissal of its assertions.

  • @HumanistWikitopian Point is you have not answered the dilemma yet. No point saying science can solve dilemma when you are still unable to solve the dilemma. You have to "apply" what you believe.

  • @baburator

    c) Ask yourself, do you believe that the world isn't flat because you merely choose to do so, or because the external objective evidence demonstrates otherwise?

    Do you believe that the fact, say, that the Earth revolves around the Sun is a matter of personal opinion and that all thoughts on the issue are equally valid? I hope not...

  • @baburator

    b) Be very careful here not to confuse or conflate knowledge, understanding, experience, evidence, and wisdom with mere data collection or the gathering of "information". Cultural relativism isn't helpful in that regard.

    Human beings have the capacity to learn, communicate and infer OBJECTIVE facts about the universe. Knowledge synthesis is possible.

  • @baburator

    "I suspect you are an American..."

    a) Unfortunately, your own assumption here is wrong.

    Although, the inherent irony in your comment did make me smile. Applying cultural stereotypes to reach any conclusion is fatally flawed in itself.

  • @HumanistWikitopian Please, stop spreading your boring pseudo-intellectual thoughts. You're not educating anyone, just annoying.

  • I was terryfied and disgusted by her orwellian ideas about choice in culture and society. She pointed to asian and easter european choice patterns, oblivious to the fact that both those choice systems indirectly led to totalitarianism. It's critically important that people always make their own choices ESPECIALLY difficoult, life and death choices. She should try living in "limited choice" country, to know that even confusing choice is better than choice by governement or society.

  • I don't agree with this woman at all, but she is very intelligent

  • i love the paradox of choice because which soft drinks should we get rid of, do we legally prevent the people who enjoy that drink from manufacturing a replica, do we have a legal right to do that? it holds true or practical in a very few situations, Which is right? I believe that many of the nations under our sun need to chance their policies on choice. Today in Saudi Arabia Someone was likely stoned to death for their choices I think America Might not be the one with the most to change.

  • She's such a great speaker and story teller.

  • There is a difference, and Coke is better.

    One may not always decide what differences to perceive or value, but it doesn't follow that the differences do not exist or are never valuable.