The world's most boring TV (and why it's hilariously addictive)

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This week on TED.com December 13, 2014

Talk of the week Thomas Hellum: The world's most boring television ... and why it's hilariously addictive 18:06 minutes · Filmed Aug 2014 · Posted Dec 2014 · TEDxArendal You've heard about slow food. Now here's slow ... TV? In this very funny talk, Norwegian television producer Thomas Hellum reveals how he and his team began to broadcast long, boring events, often live -- and found a rapt audience. Shows include a 7-hour train journey, an 18-hour fishing expedition and a 5.5-day ferry voyage along the coast of Norway. The results are both beautiful and fascinating. Really. Watch now »

Playlist of the week Unsolved mysteries We love parsing the twists and folds of a good, old-fashioned mystery. "Serial" lovers, this playlist is for you. Watch » 8 TED Talks • Total run time 2:05:01

More from TED.com “Men fight wars, and women mourn them,” says documentary photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind. With stark, arresting images from the Maidan protests in Ukraine, the TED Fellow shows us intimate faces from the revolution. A grim and beautiful talk. Watch » “In my lifetime, I have never lived one day of peace in my country,” says Jose Miguel Sokoloff. This ad executive from Colombia saw a chance to help guerrilla fighters choose to come home -- with creative marketing. He shares how insightful, welcoming messages have helped thousands of guerrillas decide to put down their weapons. Watch » A very unsexy-sounding piece of technology could mean that the police know where you go, with whom, and when: the automatic license plate reader. These cameras are innocuously placed all across small-town America to catch known criminals, but as lawyer and TED Fellow Catherine Crump shows, the data they collect in aggregate could have disastrous consequences for everyone the world over. Watch » Every city has its neighborhoods, cliques and clubs, the hidden lines that join and divide people in the same town. What can we learn about cities by looking at who people follow online? Starting with his own hometown of Baltimore, Dave Troy has been visualizing what the social media connections of city dwellers reveal about who lives there, who they talk to — and who they don’t. Watch »

read more about ideas on ted.com Design special: The big ideas inside the new Cooper Hewitt design museum ... and we ask four design icons what they can't live without. Plus: Dive into more of Dave Troy's jawdropping PeopleMaps.

Quote of the Week “ Making sure all our students get a great education, find a career that's fulfilling and rewarding, and have a chance to live out their dreams … wouldn't just make us a more successful country — it would also make us a more fair and just one." Bill Gates Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback

Join the Conversation 7 more ways to watch TED Talks on your TV. Announcing TEDWomen 2015, coming up in May. “ tesser bliss on Jose Miguel Sokoloff: How Christmas lights helped guerrillas put down their guns   I love this. There is also a long-standing armed conflict in my country. It constantly bothers me when the default response of most people to the 'guerrilla' or 'rebel' forces is to simply seek and destroy. We've forgotten that they are people. We've forgotten that they are 'prisoners' as Ms. Sokoloff says. Completely understandable. But it would be difficult to achieve peace by waging war."

courage What does it mean to be courageous? TED speakers examine what it takes to risk everything to do the right thing -- on the latest TED Radio Hour »

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