TED is a large conference where lots of the best, brightest, or at least the most notorious, minds in the world gather in order to present interesting ideas to a large audience. It costs a lot of money to attend and more to be a speaker. For the rest of us, there's a massive online video archive that we all can watch for free.

Most of my close friends already know about TED, but to my "weak ties" out there: I'd encourage you to dip into their online archive and listen to a few. At their worst, they can be pedantic, but at their best, they're extremely inspirational and make you see the world a different way. All of them are guaranteed to teach you something.

Here are some of my favorites; you mileage may vary:

The Child-Driven Education - Ten years ago, a researcher puts a computer with the Internet in a wall in a city in India otherwise devoid of technology. The kids figure out how to use the computer (without any instructions) and teach themselves more than I've probably forgotten from first grade.

When Ideas Have Sex - Genome author Matt Ridley talks about how members of society combine their ideas.

J.J. Abrams and the Mystery Box - "Sometimes mystery is more important than knowledge." It's a few years old, but still worth a watch. Based on what he says, nobody should have been surprised that "Lost" ended with so many unanswered questions.

Go, now, fan them on Facebook...it's a worthwhile addition to your News Feed.