ere are the reasons why I watch them:
TED talks are a great way to improve your general knowledge. They will not make you knowledgeable in any specific field, but you will have contact with content from a huge diversity of subjects, directly from the insiders. Think of it like the news, but not trying too much to get attention (like clickbaiting) and replacing reporters with people from the disclosed fields;
They are a constructive form of entertainment. With accessible content you can relax and enjoy meaningful presentations while distracting yourself after a long day;
They boost creativity. This is probably the main reason why I watch them. If you like your field or profession you tend to focus a lot on your tasks or the subject you’re learning, researching or working on. Creativity exists only within diversity, so too much focus tends to undermine it with time. Watching successful or inspired ideas, projects and solutions from the people that created or executed them, in very different fields, gives you different perspectives that you can apply within your own knowledge or experience, in your own projects. It helps you make connections, and that’s basically what creativity is. It’s like eating interdisciplinary candy. That’s how I best identify with their “Ideas worth spreading” slogan;
They broaden your perspectives. This is also one of my favorite reasons, and highly linked with the first topic I mentioned. By watching presentations on topics you never imagined existed or had any attention, you start to compare you own problems and solutions to what exists out there and question yourself about what you really know. And if you get really interested you can go after the knowledge yourself.
They are free and publicly accessible. And you don’t even have to log in if you don’t want.