The annual TED conference is often the most interesting of the big national nerdfests, thanks to its bridging of the worlds of high-tech and the arts (the acronym stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design). Generally, the confab’s biggest buzz comes from some new wonder-device (Jeff Han’s touch-screen demonstration from TED 2006 is still a big hit on YouTube). This year, the Big Story is not one gizmo, but two ideas.

In yesterday’s keynote, Bill Gates broke down political economy for the assembled Masters of the Universe in a moving and (believe it or not) funny 18-minute speech titled “How I’m Trying to Change the World Now,” which has resulted in numerous news accounts and is already threatening to go viral.

“I think there are some very important problems that do not get worked on naturally, that is, the market does not drive the scientists, the communicators, the thinkers, the governments, to do the right things. And only by paying attention to these things, and by having brilliant people who care and draw other people in, can we make as much progress as we need to.” Gates focused the rest of his talk on two problems that his foundation has been pumping money into: malaria and education.

The humorous moment came when Gates told the audience, while discussing the discovery of the cause of malaria, that he had brought along some mosquitoes for a little show-and-tell.

“These will be circulating around the auditorium,” he said, opening a jar. “There’s no reason only poor people should experience this.”