Mentally finding out the day of the week for any date is a skill you can easily learn. You don't need to be an autistic genius – all it takes is basic memorization effort and some trivial math.

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily ...

How, exactly, does one go about interviewing a man who has dedicated his life's work to the art of mind control? Are difficult questions going to be swept under a carpet of charm? Can his answers be trusted? Will this piece, mysteriously, write itself as a glowing appraisal?

Here you will find the best talks and performances from the TED conference available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week.