Can Great Ideas Be Summed Up In A 20-Minute Video?

Which do you like better? 

1. An exciting presentation about an idea provided in a 20-minute animated video narrated by Anthony Hopkins? 
2. A spark to new ideas that lead to solutions to an even larger problem than the original? 
3. A complex read of several academic journals, which consumes your weekends and produces a potential idea that may lead to only one small step to resolving a longer-term solution? 

There is an excellent and thought-provoking blog topic from Harvard Business Review. The article details how TED and the thought-leadership industry is turning ideas into quick bursts, like shots from the bar at 5:00, instead of drinking a rich dark porter slowly and pondering each sip for texture and taste. So, #3 might be the better choice, but I encourage you to read the article I linked too... 

And I quote: 

"Ideas conferences" like TED present us with something like an ethical vacuum. There are no sources of evil in TED world — apart from a "lack." Insufficient Technology, Edutainment, and Design (or "innovation", "growth", "insights"): these are the only shortcomings the human world faces. There is no venality; no selfishness; no cruelty; no human weakness that is not readily amenable to the cure-all of Perfect Technology, Edutainment, and Design.

Now, I love TED, and so does the Harvard author... But he is arguing that ideas can't be boiled down to a "oh, well, good... I'm sure glad that is solved" kind of thing. Instead, he reference Einstein's theory of relativity. The theory didn't just solve a problem, it opened up a Pandora's box of ideas (and other problems). It made us think deeper... Again, TEDTalks is amazing, and keep watching for sure. But remember there needs to be deeper veins of thought here too.