In a comical effort to reverse-engineer the ultimate TED Talk, bioinformatics expert Sebastian Wernicke recently analyzed over 500 TED transcripts, comments and presentations. His deduction? The best possible subject for a TED Talk is French coffee’s effect on happiness in the brain. (Other tidbits: TED presenters would do well to go over the time limit, but not to cite the New York Times.) Though not officiated by TED, this weekend’s TED-style TEDx Sonoma County boasts an impressive lineup, including former astronaut Joseph Allen, YouTube sensations Pomplamoose, Pepperwood Preserve’s Ben Benson, poet and former National Endowment for the Arts chairman Dana Gioia, Healdsburg author and farmer Dan Imhoff and many others. Hear from the experts on Saturday, June 16, at the Jackson Theater. 440 Day School Place, Santa Rosa. $25–$40. 1pm. 707.284.3200.
