Stephen Downes

This is what you get when you ask TED attendees what were their secrets for success. The list that results isn't so bad, but it's a fiction - had they been honest they would have answered with their real secrets for success: contacts at Yale, income from phreaking, management-level position at Daddy's company, a large start-up loan from Aunt Mae, and the like. But this is TED, so the message is, if you haven't succeeded, it's your own fault. Here, then, is a list of the eight flaws you have. Personally, I think it would be more useful to redefine success. We can still keep the same values, but stop attributing them to people who have not earned them.