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Why the Best Ideas Come from Play | Maxwell Pearce | TED

Coaches kept telling Maxwell Pearce to stick to the fundamentals. Good thing he didn’t listen. A Harlem Globetrotter and artist, he went on to build a global reputation for gravity-defying dunks and a theory that the same playful rule-breaking is what powers progress in every field. In this joyful talk, he makes the case that…

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Coaches kept telling Maxwell Pearce to stick to the fundamentals. Good thing he didn’t listen. A Harlem Globetrotter and artist, he went on to build a global reputation for gravity-defying dunks and a theory that the same playful rule-breaking is what powers progress in every field. In this joyful talk, he makes the case that play isn’t the opposite of serious work — it’s the secret ingredient behind it. (Recorded at Play@TED on May 14, 2026)

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#TED #TEDTalks #Creativity

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8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. @jackfrostcm108

    June 11, 2026 at 12:54 pm

    Where is the dog 🐕?

  2. @ApexLegacyFilms

    June 11, 2026 at 3:26 pm

    🥰🥰🥰🥰

  3. @maxinedowns8013

    June 11, 2026 at 4:43 pm

    Pistol Pete Maravich would have been right at home on the Globetrotters because of his ball handling skills.

  4. @worldbrotherhoodglobal

    June 11, 2026 at 5:24 pm

    The corporate world forces you into rigid compliance grids, ignoring that true evolutionary power belongs to those who dare to break the pre-programmed loops and treat reality as a playground rather than a cage.

  5. @olgalatypova2300

    June 11, 2026 at 11:28 pm

  6. @CenturyWisdom-q5w

    June 12, 2026 at 12:28 am

    Maxwell Pearce’s journey from a stifled kid to a celebrated athlete and artist is profoundly moving. He boldly shatters the rigid, hyperserious culture that crushes human creativity. His story proves that embracing joyful rebellion and trusting our playful instincts sparks brilliant innovation.

  7. @urbanstrencan

    June 12, 2026 at 1:43 am

    Great talk 😊

  8. @sinnceer_era

    June 13, 2026 at 11:37 am

    🙏🏾✌🏾🐜mahalo

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Have we optimized our way out of being part of communities? Introducing Corner Piece — a new podcast from TED, hosted by Answer in Progress, that asks the questions we don’t usually say out loud, starting with something that so many of us are struggling with: Loneliness. Visithttps://link.mgln.ai/GvM43a to listen to episode 1 and catch new episodes every other Thursday wherever you listen to podcasts.

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By 2030, nearly half the world’s young people will be African. Yet for decades, the continent’s learning crisis was treated with systems unfit for reality on the ground. Social entrepreneur Rapelang Rabana shows how homegrown leadership and technology designed for African classrooms can deliver foundational skills to millions of children — and shape a new…

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By 2030, nearly half the world’s young people will be African. Yet for decades, the continent’s learning crisis was treated with systems unfit for reality on the ground. Social entrepreneur Rapelang Rabana shows how homegrown leadership and technology designed for African classrooms can deliver foundational skills to millions of children — and shape a new future of education across the continent. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED’s initiative to inspire and fund global change.) (Recorded at TED2026 on April 14, 2026)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more:

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Education

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Hip-hop gets blamed for being a bad influence — but the data shows a different story #TEDTalks

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Hip-hop often gets blamed for its controversial lyrics. What if there was a way to actually measure its impact on people’s lives? Analyzing 40 years’ worth of radio station data and lyrics from rappers like Tupac, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar, economist Roland Fryer puts one of culture’s most notorious debates on trial.

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