How to make hard choices

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This week on TED.com June 21, 2014

Talk of the week Ruth Chang: How to make hard choices 14:41 minutes · Filmed May 2014 · Posted Jun 2014 · TEDSalon NY2014 Here's a talk that could literally change your life. Which career should I pursue? Should I break up -- or get married?! Where should I live? Big decisions like these can be agonizingly difficult. But that's because we think about hard choices the wrong way, says philosopher Ruth Chang. She offers a powerful new framework for shaping who we truly are. Watch now »

Playlist of the week 7 TED Talks on how we make choices Inspired by the talk above? Keep exploring, with the selected talks in this playlist. Explore why some choices are so hard to make -- and learn how we can choose to make better ones. (Or are we in control of our own choices at all?) Watch » Total run time 2:16:47

More from TED.com Jamila Lyiscott is a “tri-tongued orator;” in her powerful spoken-word essay “Broken English” she celebrates — and challenges — the three distinct flavors of English she speaks with her friends, in the classroom and with her parents. As she explores the complicated history and identity each language represents, she unpacks what it means to be “articulate.” Watch » What must our dogs be thinking when they look at us? Poet Billy Collins imagines the inner lives of two very different companions. It’s a charming short talk, perfect for taking a break … Watch » One could argue that slang words like ‘hangry,’ ‘defriend’ and ‘adorkable’ fill crucial meaning gaps in the English language, even if they don't appear in the dictionary. After all, who actually decides which words make it into those pages? Language historian Anne Curzan gives a charming look at the humans behind dictionaries, and the choices they make. Watch » Plenty of good things are done in the name of religion, and plenty of bad things too. But what is religion, exactly — is it good or bad, in and of itself? Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah offers a generous, surprising view. Watch »

ideas.ted.com, fresh every day On ideas.ted.com: Hey word nerds! Meet 20 English words that once meant something very different. And a must-read letter from 1855.  Plus: Are kids getting worse at creative writing? 6 sci-fi books to share and inspire wilder thinking.

Quote of the Week “ We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interesting that we don't have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money NOT helping other people." Dan Pallotta Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong

Join the Conversation   100 days away: Learn more about the speakers and ideas of TEDGlobal 2014 in Rio, happening in October »   We asked Henry Evans: What's next for the Snowdenbot? The robots-for-the-disabled activist has surprising answers »   “ Julie Leon on Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question)   Imagination is what enables our developed brains to reconcile the facts of life, long enough to survive and perpetuate the species. There have always been those that harness and organize the superstitious part of our imagination. Religion has its roots in the beauty of imagination. Beauty is a powerful thing."

why we lie Let's face it: people lie. We lie to each other and to ourselves. Is there a deeper reason why we do it? TED speakers take on the hard truths of deception in the latest TED Radio Hour »

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