This Ted Talk is one of the top 100 Ted Talks there are, but my question is why? We were expected to give reasons as to why our Ted Talk should be watched and what it deserved to reach the top 100 list, but according to my observations, I would like to focus on something other. Ted Talks are meant to be highly orchestrated and planned out that inform the general public. Instead, I was watching something that left me even more confused than when I had started.

First, I would like to ask Keith Barry, the host, why he would show us a magic trick without an explanation to them? The only kind of “explanation” he does give us is how variations of linguistic deceptions, non-verbal communication, and the power of words to create the illusion of a sixth sense are what makes it so special. What he means by that, I don’t know?. Barry proceeded to tell a story of a 75 year old, completely blind woman who was able to sense and read printed letters through pure touch. I have to say, that did sound fascinating, leaving me intrigued. He then showed us a demonstration where he was in a car with a blindfold on and had an assistant try it on to confirm the fact that he couldn’t see anything through the blindfold. The next thing you know he started driving with the blindfold still on and drove through a winding road filled with obstacles. He calls this the “second sight” and claims that he was able to see through Kathryn, his assistant’s eyes, all while she was screaming her head off.

With no explanation or clear science behind any of Barry’s tricks, it was up to me to scroll down to the comment section and read what other people’s views were. Thanks to other people’s help, I was able to notice a small flaw within one of his tricks. He chose two people from the audience, a woman named Nicole and a man who we’ll call John Doe since his name was failed to be mentioned. Barry sat Doe at a round table with a floor length cover and had Nicole stand over to the side, both of them with their eyes closed. They were both told to focus on having a connection so whenever Nicole would raise up her hand, Doe would do the same. Little did Barry know, that I, and a bunch of other vigilante teens, were able to notice that as Barry monitored Nicole’s movements, he would send cues to Doe by slightly tapping on his foot.

Elements that are needed to make a good Ted Talk were missing and in the end, it wasn’t even a good magic trick, leaving me in awe as to why this would even make the top 100 list.

Zainab Alnajim

Middle School Journalist