The simple concept of "ideas worth spreading" lies at the heart of the global phenomenon known as TED. From green roofs, to building a better robot, to more effective methods of disaster relief, TED speakers have connected with a passionate, enthusiastic audience hungry to explore. TED-X takes that same experience to a local level, employing TED's basic format -- a suite of short,carefully prepared talks and demonstrations which run the gamut from science and the humanities to art, technology and business. Kansas City was an early and avid TED-X adopter, drawing sizable crowds from the very beginning.