Loved this lecture. Brilliant.

One of the best lectures ever. Ironically (and unfortunately) it didn't leave me sad.

To hear someone telling you that it's ok to feel sad and that you are not stupid if you do, is fantastic. Thanks Alain.

great!

I really connected with this weird idea de Botton talks about, that its comforting and uplifting to listen to sad songs or look at dark things. That talking about terrible things can often brighten our spirits. It sounds counter-intuitive, but its not.

Sometimes its frustrating as a designer to engage in design culture for the exact reverse phenomenon: most design magazines, conferences and books are so busy smiling, being happy and positively visionary, they often bring me to feelings of sadness or anger; design culture's hyper-optimism makes me miserable.

There are reasons for this. Design is very close to commerce, and so design culture and designers are eager to put on a business-friendly face.

Which is a pity, because there is no historical precedent for this in relation to design success. Some of the most successful designers and interesting parts of design culture are dark: Tibor Kalman's "Fuck Committees" article, or when Philip Starck finally admitted he was just making useless plastic trinkets. These were fantastic design culture moments: dark as hell, uplifting and inspiring.

ohho you've said so many things while speaking :))
confessions to the skull on the desk :) donnerwetter !

this is coming at a perfect time. still very applicable in 2011, go figure.

Here is one of those very rare people he talks about - she loves her job. ted.com/talks/cheryl_hayashi_the_magnificence_of_spider_silk.html