About
Contrary to popular belief, "The Thinker" sculpture isn’t just a universal symbol of eternal contemplation. French sculptor Auguste Rodin intended it to represent a specific person— and fit into a much larger piece featuring the fiery pits of Hell. So, who was "The Thinker," and what was he actually thinking? Noah Charney digs into the secrets of this infamous work of art. [Directed by Avi Ofer, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott, music by Stephen LaRosa, Wonder Boy Audio].
The talk
Credits and licence
- Institution
- TED
- Department
- TED-Ed
- Speaker
- Noah Charney
- Year
- 2026
- Level
- For everyone
- Language
- English
- Subjects
- History, Art, architecture and design, Teaching and learning
- Source
- TED
- Licence
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
- Attribution
- TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
- Who can watch
- TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed
More like this
TED
Talk
Do schools kill creativity?
Source's player
TED
Talk
Why people believe they can't draw
Source's player
TED
Talk
Grit: The power of passion and perseverance
Source's player
TED
Talk
The art of misdirection
Source's player
TED
Talk
The future we're building -- and boring
Source's player
TED
Talk
Questions no one knows the answers to
Source's player
TED
Talk
Can you solve the bridge riddle?
Source's player
TED
Talk
The language of lying
Source's player
TED
Talk
A brie(f) history of cheese
Source's player
TED
Talk
The benefits of a bilingual brain
Source's player
TED
Talk
The secrets of learning a new language
Source's player
TED
Talk
How does anesthesia work?
Source's player