### *I have been passionately promoting TED almost since it started. It is a fantastic initiation that completely re-shaped public speaking and informative presentations by creating a very entertaining and unique formula for sharing information. In today's accelerated world it offers us full engagement in any contemporary subject in maximum 20 minutes. Speakers are carefully selected and well-prepared to meet the high standards, therefore it is a real privilege to give a TED-talk. There are thousands of great speeches in basically any topic that you could imagine, so it is not easy to choose the best ones. Still, in this series I would like to share with you a few personal favourites.*
<br>
![BarrySchwartz_2005G-embed.jpg](https://img.whaleshares.io/wls-img/ksolymosi/fcfb4b24c1c15616fcd0d28d8f6705b445ae65df.jpeg)
<sup>[Source](https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice)</sup>

We often say that ​Western society is the society of freedom and choice but is it really good for us? I often wonder about this when I go to a clothes​ store and cannot choose from the hundreds or maybe thousands of options... LOL
The wonderful [talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice) I would like to call your attention on today deals with this phenomenon. Psychologist **Barry Schwartz** estimates that choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied. His approach is a good mix of economics and psychology –another reason why I love his talks and fortunately he has a few more on top of the one mentioned above:
* In [this one](https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom) for example makes a passionate call for "practical wisdom" as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.
* In another great [talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_using_our_practical_wisdom) dives into the question "How do we do the right thing?" With help from collaborator Kenneth Sharpe, he shares stories that illustrate the difference between following the rules and truly choosing wisely.
* And finally in [this one](https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_way_we_think_about_work_is_broken),​ he asks some serious questions about work: What makes work satisfying? Apart from a paycheck, there are intangible values that, Barry Schwartz suggests, our current way of thinking about work simply ignores. It's time to stop thinking of workers as cogs on a wheel.

A wonderful lecturer, so listen to him if you didn't have a chance before!

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### *Do you have a favourite TED-talk? I would be interested to know. We can learn from each other... 😊 Stay tuned, soon I come back with another suggestion for you.*

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### Previous parts of this series:

[Simon Sinek](https://whaleshares.io/met/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-one) on leadership
[Ursus Wehrli](https://whaleshares.io/met/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-two) on tidying up arts
[Dan Ariely](https://whaleshares.io/met/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-three) on the irrationality of our "rational" decisions
[Julian Treasure](https://whaleshares.io/met/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-four) on listening
[Tim Urban](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-five) on procrastination
[Nicolas Christakis](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-six) on social networks
[Amy Cuddy](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-seven) on the power of body language
[Dan Pink](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-eight) on motivation 
[Kelly McGonigal](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-davourite-ted-talks-part-nine) on stress management
[Shawn Anchor](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-ten) on happiness at work
[Ron Gutman](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-eleven) on smiling
[Celeste Headlee](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-twelve) on good conversations
[Michael Shermer](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-thirteen) on myths, superstitions and urban legends
[Hans Rosling](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-fourteen) on interesting statistics
[Apollo Robbins](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-fifteen) on the art of misdirection
[Jill Bolte Taylor](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-sixteen) on an insider view of stroke
[Kai-Fu Lee](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-seventeen) on artificial intelligence
[Itay Talgam](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-eighteen) on lessons leaders can learn from conductors
[Emily Levine](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-nineteen) on the theory of everything
[Brian Little](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-twenty) on who we are really
[Al Gore](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-twenty-one) on climate change
[David Christian](https://whaleshares.io/@ksolymosi/my-favourite-ted-talks-part-twenty-two) on the history of humanity in 18 minutes