You Tube Finds: RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment -- Since 1754!

Today's blog is brought to you from my Collingwood Shangri-La, where I am hiding away for some well deserved R&R, trying to get back some mental capability after having worked my brain to the bone for far too many months...

I guesss it is no surprise to anyone that I fairly regularly bumble around in the internet to find interesting stuff.  Actually, I do not methodically go looking for things to blog about, but instead, follow my nose as clues are dropped which lead me on a merry chase, like a blood hound following the trail of an animal, I follow links hither and thither - a blog, news article or email receive often leads me to some bit of information that calls out to be "re-tweeted".  Today I want to share with you something I bumbled across on You Tube. 

RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment

I am not actually sure how I found myself viewing an RSA Animated Talk on You Tube - but it grabbed my attention by subject matter and then when I noticed that it was delivered via a graphic artist doing a white board session with homour as well as with excellently put together and informative content, I was hooked.  I listened to the first RSA-nimate Video with great interest and then went searching for the source of this great format for delivery of informative ideas.   From the RSA Website:

For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress. Our approach is multi-disciplinary, politically independent and combines cutting edge research and policy development with practical action.

Wow! Since 1754, you say!

On their website is a very intersting interactive graphic which provides a historical account.  Go here if you want to play around with it a bit and discover facts like this one:  In 1770 RSA started to provide awards to industry for reducing smoke emissions.
If you want to know more about the RSA go to their website here to check out their "about RSA" video in which  Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, introduces the RSA in this short video "about who we are: our history, our work, our Fellowship and our future Purpose, vision & strategy."

From the video, you can see that this organization is much more than the TED Talks or Idea City of the UK.  I must apologize to my UK visitors if I seem to be quite ignorant of the role the RSA has been playing over the past 250+ years, but with a bit of internet viral publicity it will become as well known globally as it so rightfully deserves.

I am going to feature two You Tube Videos I found (of the many originating from the RSA) which particularly grabbed me.  The first talk was adapted from a talk by Dan Pink which illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace. In it there are some interesting results on studies of the value of reward/punishment and what really motivates folks to work harder in jobs which are mentally challenging.  Apparently, we have evolved beyond the carrot and stick.  Listening (and watching) this talk was very enlightening and explained lots to me about this topic.





The 2nd You Tube Video I would like to share with you is one by Professor Philip Zimbardo which  conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being.  He explains how time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.   For those folks out there who are parents, he also explains the implications of the immersion in digital technology on the next generation and quite frankly it made me sit up and take notice, wonder and worry.  Well worth viewing.

The picture at the top of the blog and immediately above were taken last evening as the sun was coming down. I can't say often enough how lucky I am to be able to get away to such wonderful surroundings and walk out on the sea wall into Georgian Bay and bask in glorious sunsets and sunrises.