There was once a time when being a geek or a nerd wasn’t cool until you bought your first Porsche. Today, thanks in part to a heightened awareness of intellectual necessities mixed with the onslaught of the internet, smart is chic and the wildly popular TED conferences and their Talks series are leading the charge to make it even more socially acceptable.

Part of the revolution has been social media. In the early days, it was better to be frivolous than brainy on social. Today, the funny cat pictures are still popular, but there is a growing sentiment of more refined sensibilities and contributions that has been building up like a tidal wave on sites like Facebook and Twitter. We find things that amaze us and we share them. With TED, getting amazed is just a bit easier than with other content options.

They’ve had Presidents, CEOs, scientists, military leaders, and just about any profession of note fill the stage to create “the ultimate dinner party atmosphere” with their 18-minute monologues. Check out the infographic below that goes into the TED phenomenon followed by the most popular TED Talk currently showing on their YouTube channel.

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Infographic via OnlineClasses.org.