See, that right there is a tip-off …

June 14, 2016 12:10 PM

“In 2005, [Pat Kelly] met another 'thought leader' and I asked him how he became a 'thought leader' and he said 'I don't know.'
It was then that I knew I could be one too.” (Alternate Link)

(tip of the blazer lapel/earnest finger-steeple for the title inspiration to schroedinger.)

posted by scruss (37 comments total)

Related: The New Yorker on the tightly scripted theater of the TED Talk.
posted by bassomatic at 12:19 PM on June 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Really makes you think.
posted by bondcliff at 12:29 PM on June 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

Discussion wouldn't be complete without Ducks Go Quack, on a similar subject.

(Are we saying that TED talks are the Nickelback of thoughtful presentations?)
posted by clawsoon at 12:36 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

We should really call them Denkführer instead.
posted by RogerB at 12:41 PM on June 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

(And I have to share my favourite bit from This is That, too.)
posted by clawsoon at 12:42 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Very good, though my favorite Thought Leader is still Reggie Watts.
posted by edheil at 12:54 PM on June 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

This is That is pretty spectacular. This one is particularly delightful, airing as it did around when my Dad retired.
posted by selenized at 1:09 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

That's the best TED talk I've never seen.
posted by doctor_negative at 1:22 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I liked the TED talk about tying your shoes better, though I found it easier for me to learn to reverse the initial crossing step rather than the subsequent wrapping step as recommended in the video.
posted by clawsoon at 1:31 PM on June 14, 2016

And like so so many TTalks it got just a bit handwavy about the 2/3rds mark, it will in it's own special way contribute to changing the world, well, for some approximation of "world".
posted by sammyo at 2:13 PM on June 14, 2016

Well, you have to work your way up through the ranks: Thinkellectual - Thinkfluencer - Thought Adminithinker - Thought Leader
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:15 PM on June 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

My sister works with someone who ends every email with, "Your thoughts." Yes, the declarative (or maybe the imperative), and no question mark. You can just hear the one squinting nod, then the raised eyebrow, and finally the self-satisfied settling-back-in-the-chair.
posted by wenestvedt at 2:39 PM on June 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

I'm more impressed with the audience (who I realize is in on the gag) for not laughing at the funny parts and then laughing at the not-funny parts...
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:42 PM on June 14, 2016

THAT IS A WORLD I WANT TO LIVE IN
posted by Joseph Gurl at 3:18 PM on June 14, 2016

Something similar from Will Stephen at TEDx New York.

The audience doesn't play along quite as well though.
posted by murphy slaw at 3:33 PM on June 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

'This is base to Thought Leader One, Thought Leader One come in. You are cleared to innovate.
posted by quinndexter at 3:48 PM on June 14, 2016

Well, you have to work your way up through the ranks: Thinkellectual - Thinkfluencer - Thought Adminithinker - Thought Leader"

Then maybe you can aspire to Thought Lord like Jon Hendren
posted by lumpenprole at 4:01 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

> My sister works with someone who ends every email with, "Your thoughts."

Just as well your sister doesn't have any of my people working with them, as this would engender the response:

"Your arse."
posted by scruss at 4:03 PM on June 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm going to be an absentee thought lord over an empire of intellectual property.
posted by ardgedee at 4:12 PM on June 14, 2016

Now someone do this for all the NPR and Gimlet media shows that sound like Radiolab (waypoints: fakey banter, including part of the soundcheck in each speaker's introduction, awful affectless voices, MOMENTOUS PAUSES, etc.)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:15 PM on June 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

So, this Thought Leader is a white man? Bit on-the-nose, don't you think?
posted by amanda at 4:25 PM on June 14, 2016

"This video is private." :(
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:36 PM on June 14, 2016

Same for me.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:39 PM on June 14, 2016

Seems to work from FB.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:44 PM on June 14, 2016

My ego won't let me be a thought leader, so I've had to settle for being a thought provider.
posted by rhizome at 5:47 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seems to work from FB.

Which is cool if you're on FB....
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:55 PM on June 14, 2016

Non-FB CBC link: Thought Leader

It worked fine earlier with no FB login …
posted by scruss at 5:58 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Mod note: Added alternate link to post at poster's request.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 6:13 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks, scruss!
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:13 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is why we have pull chords instead of curtain sticks.
posted by clavdivs at 6:22 PM on June 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

'Any sufficiently advanced thought leader is indistinguishable from a clever troll'
posted by Sebmojo at 7:06 PM on June 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

"Thought leader" is one of those buzzwords that provokes a visceral "oh, fuck you" reaction in me. I would rather hang out with a guy wearing a Bluetooth earpiece and vaping conspicuously while ordering his latte at a precise temperature than a guy who wants to talk to me about "thought leadership".
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:01 PM on June 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Unfortunately they're usually the same guy
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:02 PM on June 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Thought leaders...those are just those dipshits who post long pointless posts on LinkedIn, right? They have that pay-for-play 'INfluencer' account and right painfully trite and obvious motivational workblurbs?

Thought bleater
Thlord
Screaming buzzwords into the uncaring void
Won't someone pay attention to me
posted by Existential Dread at 8:05 PM on June 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

You're a
Thought leader
Dream maker
Love taker
Introduce me to VCs
posted by rhizome at 11:49 PM on June 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

Thoughtcrime is so insidious.

Remember: Thought Leader Loves You!
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 3:59 AM on June 16, 2016

I'm aiming to be a tronc leader instead.
posted by clawsoon at 5:16 AM on June 16, 2016