ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ze Frank - Humorist, web artist
Ze Frank rose to fame on a viral video -- in 2001! He has been making online comedy, web toys and massively shared experiences (like the addictive Young Me Now Me) ever since.

Why you should listen

Ever since his "How to Dance Properly" viral video -- born as a party invite for 17 friends -- hit the Web in 2001, Ze Frank has been making people giggle, guffaw and gasp out loud whilst procrastinating at work. He defines, in many ways, the genre of online comedy, and continues to innovate madly on the form. 

In 2006 he launched a year-long daily video blog called The Show with Ze Frank, which Slate.com called "the best sustained comedy run in the history of the Web." His rapid-fire delivery and absurd explorations in audience participation (like Earth Sandwich) has influenced a generation of digital native YouTubers. Perhap his most brilliant move: calling on fans to write the show for him. Using collaborative tools, online viewers collectively put words in his mouth (and props in his lap); he faithfully performed this wiki-comedy each week for his "Fabuloso Friday" show.

In 2008, along with Erik Kastner, Frank launched Colowars, the first massively multiplayer game on Twitter, which featured two months of sponsored online events and competitions. Recently he has worked with his audience to create a series of projects based on shared emotions such as pain, fear and the pang of nostalgia. Frank works as a consultant to range of industries on audience engagement and is a public speaker on the subject of the virtual life.

In 2012 he returned to the internet airwaves with "A Show." About which a MetaFilter commenter wrote:

If this were a cult, I would join.

If this were a religion, I would attend services.

If this were a band, I would not torrent the albums, but buy them, full price, from a local independent record store.

If this were a telethon, I would buy multiple tote bags.

Welcome back, Ze.

More profile about the speaker
Ze Frank | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Ze Frank: Are you human?

Ze Frank: Sei umano?

Filmed:
4,872,033 views

Vi siete mai chiesti: sono un essere umano? Ze Frank suggerisce una serie di semplici domande che lo stabiliranno. Vi invitiamo a rilassarvi e a seguire le sue indicazioni. Cominciamo...
- Humorist, web artist
Ze Frank rose to fame on a viral video -- in 2001! He has been making online comedy, web toys and massively shared experiences (like the addictive Young Me Now Me) ever since. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
(MusicMusica) This is the humanumano testTest,
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(Musica) Questo è lo "human test",
00:15
a testTest to see if you are a humanumano.
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un test per stabilire se siete umani.
00:19
Please raiseaumentare your handmano if something appliessi applica to you.
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Per favore alzate la mano
se vi riconoscete in quello che dirò.
00:23
Are we agreedconcordato? Yes?
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Siamo d'accordo? Sì?
00:27
Then let's begininizio.
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Allora cominciamo.
00:29
Have you ever eatenmangiato a boogerBooger
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Avete mai mangiato
una caccola del naso
00:31
long pastpassato your childhoodinfanzia?
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durante la vostra infanzia?
00:34
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
00:36
It's okay, it's safesicuro here.
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Va tutto bene, qui siamo tra di noi.
00:40
Have you ever madefatto a smallpiccolo, weirdstrano soundsuono
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Avete mai emesso
un suono piccolo e strano
00:43
when you rememberedricordato something embarrassingimbarazzante?
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quando vi siete ricordati
di una cosa imbarazzante?
00:49
Have you ever purposelydi proposito lowercasedcaratteri minuscoli
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Avete mai scritto di proposito
00:51
the first letterlettera of a texttesto
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la prima lettera di un messaggio
in minuscolo
00:53
in orderordine to come acrossattraverso as sadtriste or disappointeddeluso?
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per dare l'impressione di essere
tristi o delusi?
00:57
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
00:59
Okay.
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Okay.
01:02
Have you ever endedconclusa a texttesto with a periodperiodo
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Avete mai concluso un messaggio
con un punto
01:05
as a signsegno of aggressionaggressione? Okay. PeriodPeriodo.
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come segno di aggressività?
Okay. Punto.
01:11
Have you ever laughedriso or smiledsorrise
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Avete mai riso o sorriso
01:14
when someonequalcuno said something shittymerdoso to you
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quando qualcuno vi ha detto una cattiveria
01:16
and then spentspeso the restriposo of the day
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e poi avete passato il resto del giorno
01:18
wonderingchiedendosi why you reactedha reagito that way?
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a chiedervi perché avete reagito
in quel modo?
01:22
Yes.
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Sì.
01:24
Have you ever seemedsembrava to loseperdere your airplaneaereo ticketbiglietto
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Vi è mai sembrato di aver perso
il vostro biglietto aereo
01:27
a thousandmille timesvolte as you walkedcamminava
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un migliaio di volte
mentre passavate
01:29
from the check-inil check-in to the gatecancello?
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dal check-in al gate?
01:32
Yes.
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Sì.
01:34
Have you ever put on a pairpaio of pantsPantaloni
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Avete mai indossato un paio di pantaloni
01:37
and then much laterdopo realizedrealizzato that there was
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e poi molto più tardi
vi siete accorti che c'era
01:38
a loosesciolto sockcalzino smushedsmushed up againstcontro your thighcoscia?
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un calzino spaiato che vi premeva
contro la coscia?
01:41
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
01:43
Good.
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Bene.
01:46
Have you ever triedprovato to guessindovina
someonequalcuno else'sdi qualcun'altro passwordpassword
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Avete mai provato a indovinare
la password di qualcun'altro
01:48
so manymolti timesvolte that it lockedbloccato theirloro accountaccount?
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così tante volte
da far chiudere l'account?
01:53
MmmMmm.
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Mmm.
01:54
Have you ever had a naggingfastidioso feelingsensazione that one day
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Avete mai avuto l'opprimente
presentimento che un giorno
01:58
you will be discoveredscoperto as a fraudfrode?
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sarete scoperti come truffatori?
02:02
Yes, it's safesicuro here.
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Sì, qui siamo al sicuro.
02:05
Have you ever hopedsperato that there was some abilitycapacità
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Avete mai sperato che ci fosse
una disciplina
02:08
you hadn'tnon aveva discoveredscoperto yetancora
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che non avevate ancora scoperto
02:10
that you were just naturallynaturalmente great at?
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e per cui eravate portati per natura?
02:13
MmmMmm.
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Mmm.
02:15
Have you ever brokenrotto something in realvero life,
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Avete mai rotto qualcosa nella vita reale,
02:18
and then foundtrovato yourselfte stesso looking
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e poi vi siete sorpresi a cercare
02:20
for an "undodisfare" buttonpulsante in realvero life?
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il tasto "cancella" nella vita reale?
02:25
Have you ever misplacedfuori luogo your TEDTED badgeDistintivo
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Avete mai perso il badge di TED
02:27
and then immediatelysubito startediniziato imaginingimmaginando
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e avete iniziato subito
a immaginare
02:29
what a three-daytre giorni VancouverVancouver
vacationVacanze mightpotrebbe look like?
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come sarebbe stata una vacanza
di tre giorni a Vancouver?
02:35
Have you ever marveledsi meravigliò
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Vi siete mai meravigliati
02:37
at how someonequalcuno you thought was so ordinaryordinario
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di come qualcuno
che pensavate insignificante
02:40
could suddenlyad un tratto becomediventare so beautifulbellissimo?
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sia diventato improvvisamente
bellissimo?
02:45
Have you ever staredfissò at your phoneTelefono
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Avete mai fissato il telefono
02:47
smilingsorridente like an idiotidiota while textingtexting with someonequalcuno?
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sorridendo come degli idioti
mentre mandavate SMS a qualcuno?
02:52
Have you ever subsequentlysuccessivamente textedha mandato un messaggio that personpersona
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Avete mai scritto a quella persona
02:55
the phrasefrase "I'm staringfissando at the phoneTelefono
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la frase: "sto fissando il telefono
02:57
smilingsorridente like an idiotidiota"?
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sorridendo come un idiota"?
03:01
Have you ever been temptedtentazione to,
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Avete mai avuto la tentazione,
03:03
and then gaveha dato in to the temptationtentazione,
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e poi avete ceduto alla tentazione,
03:05
of looking throughattraverso someonequalcuno else'sdi qualcun'altro phoneTelefono?
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di guardare nel telefono di qualcun altro?
03:09
Have you ever had a conversationconversazione with yourselfte stesso
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Avete mai avuto una conversazione
con voi stessi
03:11
and then suddenlyad un tratto realizedrealizzato
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e poi all'improvviso vi siete accorti
03:13
you're a realvero assholeStronzo to yourselfte stesso?
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che siete davvero stronzi
con voi stessi?
03:16
(LaughterRisate)
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(Risate)
03:19
Has your phoneTelefono ever runcorrere out of batterybatteria
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Vi si è mai scaricato il telefonino
03:22
in the middlein mezzo of an argumentdiscussione,
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nel bel mezzo di un litigio,
03:24
and it sortordinare of feltprovato like the phoneTelefono
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e vi siete sentiti come se il telefonino
03:26
was breakingrottura up with bothentrambi of you?
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stesse lasciando tutti e due?
03:30
Have you ever thought
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Avete mai pensato
03:31
that workinglavoro on an issueproblema betweenfra you was futileinutile
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che lavorare da soli su un problema
fosse inutile
03:34
because it should just be easierPiù facile than this,
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perché sarebbe dovuto essere
più facile di così,
03:37
or this is supposedipotetico to happenaccadere just naturallynaturalmente?
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o dovrebbe essere una cosa naturale?
03:42
Have you ever realizedrealizzato that very little, in the long runcorrere,
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Vi siete mai resi conto
che, a lungo andare, sono poche le cose
03:45
just happensaccade naturallynaturalmente?
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che accadono in modo naturale?
03:48
Have you ever wokenSvegliati up blissfullybeatamente
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Vi siete mai svegliati felici
03:51
and suddenlyad un tratto been floodedallagato
by the awfulterribile remembrancericordo
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e all'improvviso siete stati inondati
dall'orribile ricordo
03:54
that someonequalcuno had left you?
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di qualcuno che vi ha lasciati?
03:57
Have you ever lostperduto the abilitycapacità to imagineimmaginare a futurefuturo
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Avete mai perso la capacità
di immaginare un futuro
04:00
withoutsenza a personpersona
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senza una persona
04:01
that no longerpiù a lungo was in your life?
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che non faceva più parte
della vostra vita?
04:06
Have you ever lookedguardato back on that eventevento
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Avete mai ripensato a quella volta
04:08
with the sadtriste smileSorriso of autumnautunno
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con il triste sorriso dell'autunno
04:10
and the realizationrealizzazione that futuresFutures will happenaccadere
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e la consapevolezza
che il futuro giungerà
04:13
regardlessindipendentemente?
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comunque?
04:17
CongratulationsComplimenti.
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Complimenti.
04:19
You have now completedcompletato the testTest.
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Ora avete completato il test.
04:21
You are all humanumano.
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Siete tutti umani.
04:24
(ApplauseApplausi)
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(Applausi)
Translated by Elisa Magni
Reviewed by Ana María Pérez

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ze Frank - Humorist, web artist
Ze Frank rose to fame on a viral video -- in 2001! He has been making online comedy, web toys and massively shared experiences (like the addictive Young Me Now Me) ever since.

Why you should listen

Ever since his "How to Dance Properly" viral video -- born as a party invite for 17 friends -- hit the Web in 2001, Ze Frank has been making people giggle, guffaw and gasp out loud whilst procrastinating at work. He defines, in many ways, the genre of online comedy, and continues to innovate madly on the form. 

In 2006 he launched a year-long daily video blog called The Show with Ze Frank, which Slate.com called "the best sustained comedy run in the history of the Web." His rapid-fire delivery and absurd explorations in audience participation (like Earth Sandwich) has influenced a generation of digital native YouTubers. Perhap his most brilliant move: calling on fans to write the show for him. Using collaborative tools, online viewers collectively put words in his mouth (and props in his lap); he faithfully performed this wiki-comedy each week for his "Fabuloso Friday" show.

In 2008, along with Erik Kastner, Frank launched Colowars, the first massively multiplayer game on Twitter, which featured two months of sponsored online events and competitions. Recently he has worked with his audience to create a series of projects based on shared emotions such as pain, fear and the pang of nostalgia. Frank works as a consultant to range of industries on audience engagement and is a public speaker on the subject of the virtual life.

In 2012 he returned to the internet airwaves with "A Show." About which a MetaFilter commenter wrote:

If this were a cult, I would join.

If this were a religion, I would attend services.

If this were a band, I would not torrent the albums, but buy them, full price, from a local independent record store.

If this were a telethon, I would buy multiple tote bags.

Welcome back, Ze.

More profile about the speaker
Ze Frank | Speaker | TED.com

THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM

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