Longtime Ann Arbor resident Linda Somers was horrified to learn last Sunday that not a single person had taken the time to watch the 10 minute TED talk on visioning that she recommended early last week.
According to friends, not a single 10 minute block of time in their 10,080 minute weeks could accommodate watching the TED talk.
“It sounds like a really great video,” remarked neighbor Anne Lawson, “and I’m sure watching it would be a considerably life- changing ten minutes, if I ever had ten free minutes to have my life changed.”
Somers had initially distributed the video link to her family members, including sister Sarah who promised to “definitely watch the video, as soon as the demands of a full-time job, 24 credit course load, a baby on the way, and serving as caretaker for our diabetic uncle subside a little bit.”
When asked to summarize the TED talk in question, Somers enthusiastically noted that she herself “hadn’t seen the video in entirety,” but “read the description box” and engaged in a lengthy YouTube comments discussion about the speaker’s unfortunate hairstyle.
“The parts I watched seemed really, really great, save for the doctor’s atrocious half- ponytail,” said Somers, “and I’m sure there was some super insightful stuff in the parts I fast-forwarded through too.”
Somers later forwarded the video to college classmate Jason Chu, who thought it sounded “fantastic,” but gave up on the talk after a Mucinex advertisement began playing before its start.
For Chu, despite the “undisputed” potential for the video to provide him with “earth- shatteringly new perspectives on life, the world around me, and the nature of human existence,” the 15 second nasal decongestant advert at the beginning proved to be “a bit much.”
“Honestly, even two minutes for a YouTube video is a bit much. I mean, what more can you say in two minutes that you can’t say in a wholesome and informative 59 seconds?” said Chu. “I could definitely potentially see myself watching a one minute video if Linda ever recommended me one, but 10 minutes? She’s being a little ambitious.”
Somers was later seen naively suggesting her friends take time out of their day to attend a “mind-blowing” hour-long seminar on self actualization.
