Ted Talks and Some Ideas Worth Spreading

I had a very leisurely day and as a consequence, somehow, the day escaped my blogging motivation until late in the day.  Can't say I did much, although some time was spent doing the normal Saturday chores such as cleaning and shopping.  I have my son Eric living with me at the moment and so having someone else around uses time as well ...  chit chat and socializing on a Saturday is a nice change to my usual solitary pursuits.

In addition, I was internet challenged until the afternoon.   My wonderful Bell Entertainment Service, which I blogged about last week, went on the fritz on Wednesday night and I was without both my internet and my TV since then!  The price of being on the bleeding edge of technology, I guess.  When the guy came to fix it today he said that a wire had been dislodged in the telephone service room in our building and he suspected it was as a consequence of some work some other service man had done on Wednesday.

In any event, I ended up browsing the net and in reading some travel blogs I bumped into a recommendation for a TED talk which really appealed to my tug of travel urges I have been having lately.  As a result I spent a few hours watching this one and and a few others I found to view before I decided I should attack my Saturday blog. 


In any case, it is time I talked about Ted Talks again. It has been quite a while since I have gone on about some of the great videos I watch on this very informative web site.  
 TED is a small nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. It started out as a conference bringing people together from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (thus, the TED). During the annual conference, attendees get to hear riveting talks (18 minutes in length) by more than 50 remarkable people.  The site TED Talks grew out of the idea to give everyone on-demand access to these most inspiring voices.

The TED content has expanded to include talks on business, science, culture, arts, and global issues.

Stefan Sagmeister: Graphic designer - The Power of Time Off

Sagmeister is a notable designer based in NYC who has 3 TED talks under his belt.  His clients include the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed.  He is a genuine maverick whose intimate approach and sincere thoughtfulness elevate his design. According to I.D. Magazine:

"Sagmeister's CD package designs are what poetry is to prose: distilled, intense, cunning, evocative and utterly complete. His intentions have set a new standard."

I have been toying with the idea of an extended travel time sometime in the next number of years.  I am thinking that I could start taking extended "time off" anywhere from 1 to 5 years from now, depending on my mood and the strength of the stock market at the moment I am dreaming of it.   His talk, "The Power of Time Off"  was music to my ears!   Sagmeister has taken several 1 year sabbaticals - he is known for shutting down his shop every seven years for a full year!   His reasoning is that we spend the first 25 years of our lives learning, the next 40 years working, and the final 15 in retirement. He wanted to intersperse some of the retirement years within the working years.  My thinking has been along those lines - keep working longer, but take extended time off over the next ten years, interspersed between work.  I am not sure if I would do a full year, as Sagmeister did, maybe 6 months might be enough for my first go, but it would be a long sabbatical none the less.

So his talk was extremely interesting to me.  If you dream of taking extended periods of time off and want some good justification you should listen to his talk!

The value of of time off is to rejuvenate and refresh, in his case, his creative outlook which is essential to his career. After his first sabbatical, he found that:

* His interest in his work was rejuvinated,
* Over the long term the sabattical paid for itself since his "recharge" allowed him to produce superior work and charge a higher fee when he returned to work,
* And everything his shop designed in the seven years following the first sabbatical was originated in that year.

Anthony Atala:

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Growing new organs:

The second TED talk grabbed me because it relates to something I am doing right now (but no, I am not growing new organs LOL) .  I am interested in organ regeneration because I am (as you might recall), writing a futuristic novel and am steeling myself to start my 2nd draft in the very near future.  Growing new organs is something that plays a role in my novel.

Anthony Atala's state-of-the-art lab grows human organs -- from muscles to blood vessels to bladders, and more. At TEDMED, he shows footage of his bio-engineers working with some of its sci-fi gizmos, including an oven-like bioreactor, which "exercises new muscle" and a machine that "prints" human tissue.   The picture on the top right is an ear which was bioengineered for transplant. 

So I was thrilled to hear about the specific techniques being used to grow organs for transplant and that they are doing this today.  Most of the things being talked about are  just in the lab at this point, however he did make a point of saying that they do have some engineered organ transplants which have been in use for over 10 years.  So it won't be long - in my lifetime for sure - before we will be able to re-grow some types of damaged organs - which fits into my novel's timelines just right.  You might be surprised how far along this science is.  Watch his video and start thinking about the implications.  It is quite extraordinary!







If you missed my blogs on the other TED Talks I have particularly enjoyed go here to read them.

Rule No. 1 of playing hooky: Just call in sick

I had to laugh at a news item I read today which reinforced the belief that I have.   People who are not smart should not try and get away with a lie.    Apparently, the chap had called his boss and left a message that he wouldn’t be into work because he had fallen in a hole.  So the boss called 911…  and the rest  you can read about at:   Rule No. 1 of playing hooky: Just call in sick

I was once involved with a guy who embellished everything and lied about most things.  It was a rude awakening for me to discover this as I had until that point never come across anyone who lied so blatantly.  We once went on a holiday together and he told this Paul Bunyan tale about our background together to the couple we ended up hanging out with.  It was so weird, I didn’t know how to react as he just came out with these tall tales while we were sitting and having a drink with the couple.  Once I realized that he was a compulsive liar, I always verified anything he told me if it was important.  

The funny thing was that this guy lied so much and so often that I came to believe that it was ok for him to lie to me – I just got so used to it – and I just got into the habit of checking up on him.  I just came to understand that there was very little that this guy said which actually would be true.  He was a very charismatic and interesting guy, so he held my interest for a while.  But when it comes down to the short strokes you need to share the same moral values.  I guess no surprise that he and I are no longer together, eh?

 I mentioned in a previous blog about the TED talk “Why we think it's OK to cheat and steal (sometimes)”  by Dan Ariely.  At the time I didn’t go into the main point of the talk – which was what makes us more or less likely to lie and cheat.  If you haven’t listened to the talk as yet, I would suggest it and offer the following tidbits from the talk to entice you:   Dan has done extensive experiments to draw conclusive answers to the following:

-Are you more inclined to lie if you thought you would not get caught?

- Are you influenced by the gain to be made? Would more people cheat if the reward was higher? 

- Might you be more inclined if you knew that one in your midst was cheating?

He believes there are a few forces at work.

• Firstly, we want to feel good about ourselves, we all have this invisible line which gives us a little bit of latitude that allows us to cheat a little bit but we try not to cross that line because if we keep to our definition of “honest enough” we still feel good about ourselves.   
• Another force at work is our social circle.  If we know that others in our group are cheating we will then cheat more because we think it is ok.  It becomes the social norm and we think it is appropriate.  He makes some good points.
• The last factor which makes it easier to lie and cheat is if we are dealing with something which is not money, but which represents money – like chips at a casino or stocks in the stock market. 

 

Dan relates his research to the stock market and what motivates those involved in the stock market to behave in less than an ethical way.   It is an interesting talk.

 Another short blog… And back to my bookkeeping.

To Rip or Go Slowly?

There were a few things I wanted to blog about today.  I must be firm with myself.  I am doing another time limited blog and whatever draft I produce in 30 minutes will get final edit, pictures and posted without additional thoughts added!  It is 7:20 p.m. now. 

Last night I listened to another TED talk that grabbed my attention.  The TED talks are organized by theme and I traced a trail along the theme “Unconventional Explanations”  and found “Why we think it's OK to cheat and steal (sometimes)” which sounded intriguing.  The talk was presented by Dan Ariely, who was billed as a “social economist”, however from listening to his talk I would say he was a social scientist.  I will not now comment on the main subject of his talk (that is a much longer conversation than I have time for at present), but instead will focus on one small piece of his pre-amble. 

Have you ever removed a bandage (perhaps as a parent of a child) and wondered if you should rip it off quickly or whether you should peel it off with careful and slow deliberation?  Which approach might offer the least distress given that each will result in some pain?  This man has the answer.  He tortured a great number of souls and studied their perception regarding the pain  to determine the following:

• It is better to go slowly
• It is better to start with the most painful area and move on to less painful area, if there is a large area of bandage to be removed
• It is better to take a break and let the patient “catch his/her breath” before continuing, if there is a large area of bandage to be removed.

The main talk was very interesting as well and if you want to understand why we are more apt to cheat and lie under some circumstances and not others you should listen to his talk.

I heard on the radio today that Toronto’s ROM “Crystal” was voted one of the seven new architectural wonders of the world.   I found this quite incredible as I could think of many more likely candidates for the award.  

I went on the web and could find no actual evidence that the magazine attributed to giving the award had in fact done so – although I found many news articles by other news sources stating this was the case.   I kind of doubt the accuracy of this report.  If anyone has a copy of April's  Condé Nast Traveler magazine I would be interested in knowing if this is true - their internet version has no such article!

In any event I have passed by it a few times and it is a wonderful sight.  The new museum building is just approaching its one year anniversary and I am sad to admit I have never been to see it.   The article prompted me to check out what is happening at the ROM and I have identified a whole bunch of activities which will lure  me there in the coming weeks.  I intend on acquainting myself with this (so called) wonder sitting right in my back yard.

National Post Article

A couple of last bits of news.   Firstly, I am really sitting up and taking notice of our dear friend Mr. Obama. God, that man impresses me.  Got to catch him on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.at 11:00  tonight!  It is the first time a President goes on the talk show circuit!   Wouldn't surprise me that he is on Oprah next!

Lastly, THANK GOD -today is the official last day of winter!

 My time is up!  It is 7:50 – time to edit and upload the blog and pictures!

Eat, Pray, Love and Creative Genius

Elizabeth Glbert is an interesting lady. I first made acquaintance with her through her book Eat, Pray, Love. The book is an autobiography – subtitled “One Woman’s Search for Everything, Across Italy, India and Indonesia”. It is a wonderful account – in some ways so wonderful I really wonder if all the facts haven’t been stretched.

It is the story recounting a year of her life when she travelled and spent 4 months in each of Italy, to learn Italian, to India, to spend time on an Ashram and pray and to Indonesia where she fell in love.

It is rather clever in its construction, arranged as a series of 108 stories, which symbolize the 109 beads on a string of Indian prayer beads called japa malas. On the bead necklace is 108 white beads and 1 black one. The number 108 represents supreme balance as the number is a perfect three digit multiple of three and its components add up to nine which is three threes. Three is a very auspicious number in quite a few religions. The last chapter, a thank you "story" makes the total 109 as in the necklace.

The stories are further divided into 3 sections, one for each country she lived in. Each section contains 36 tales of adventure, learnings and just plain good story telling.

I enjoyed the book immensely when I read it in the summer. It was what really got me started in believing that I could happily travel alone throughout the world in the coming years. Reading her story has fueled my wanderlust.

She is a compelling writer, with self depreciating humour and an easy, casual style. If I had any criticism of the book is that the wonderful tale seems not believable as it ends with such a positive outcome. That, and the fact that someone actually paid her to travel for a year and write this book. Some people have all the luck!

I liked the book so much I had to go out and buy my own copy (I had borrowed the first from a friend). I don't often re-read books, but I have a feeling that I will visit this one a few times in the years to come.

So it was with great glee that I saw that Elizabeth Gilbert was a speaker in the 2009 TED Talks. Her talk was released just a few days ago and it is no disappointment. In it she explores creative genius and how we expect the impossible from creative geniuses. She shares an idea borrowed from ancient Greece, that genius is not something we are, but something we have… Like an invisible partner who is responsible for how good (or not) the creative work turns out.

An interesting concept, which she builds upon in her second message: work hard and if you don’t succeed, you at least did your part. If you fail to produce a great creative work – it is not your fault and not a reflection on you – it is a reflection on your invisible partner who just didn’t do his job to supply the creative genius. A nice thought for those instances where you worked really hard on something and still, somehow it didn't measure up.

I am now in my 2nd month of writing these blogs. Some days it is easy and some days not so much. If my “muse” fails me and I end up writing something less than creatively wonderful – remember, it is not my fault. I guess my creative genius had gone out drinking that night.

Elizabeth is an exciting speaker who conveys her message with both humour and confidence. I enjoyed her talk and I hope you will too.

TED - No, not the Guy Next Door

TED Talks – Ideas Worth Spreading

I have been stealing time to listen to podcasts lately. There is a new source of interesting audio and video podcasts which has captivated me. These “TED Talks” are recorded during the annual TED Conferences. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design and this is not your ordinary You Tube where anyone can upload a video.

The folks at the TED Brain Trust make sure that only the most fascinating, brightest, funniest; most inspiring or innovative speakers appear on their site. You will find such folks as Bill Gates (his latest released yesterday talks about how he is trying to change the world), Al Gore and Bill Clinton and Jane Goodall but aside from the rich and famous, you will also relatively unknowns - inventors, explorers, scientists and anyone who can pitch a interesting idea, thought or belief. If you have a cold winter day that you want to cocoon at home and surf the net, it is well worth exploring the site and listening to a selection of speakers from TED.

Anyone can send in a podcast to the folks at TED and they will follow up with you it if they think it has merit. If you are really good, you might be invited to present at the next annual TED Conference. The 2009 TED Conferences are happening this week

Some examples of Ted Talks I have listened to:

->“Life on Mars?...” Penelope Boston talks about why she thinks that they may find evidence in Martian caves.

->“Who is General Tso?” Reporter Jennifer B. Lee is on the hunt for the origins of this famous dish.

->“Exploring the frontiers of happiness” Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness

->“Second Life where anything is possible” Philip Rosedale talks about the virtual society he founded. (I happen to have an avatar on second life!)

->“The powerful link between creativity and play” designer Tim Brown talks about the relationship between creative thinking and play using examples you can try from home.

Everything is nicely tagged and indexed by interest area and rating (e.g. the most courageous, jaw dropping, funny, etc) and by date – so you can browse to suit your fancy.

To see the list of talks go to:

www.ted.com/index.php/talks

Oh, and by the way, if you want to go to the TED Conference and listen to these speakers in person it is by invitation only. You submit your application and they decide, based on your application and CV whether they want to invite you to attend and pay the $60,000 ticket price! There are over 1,000 attendees listening to 50 speakers and it sells out well over a year in advance. For $1,000 you can video conference in to see and hear the talks live.

On a more do-able scale, the site suggests hosting a “TED Party” or “TED Salon” as an interesting way to host a party. (Wiki defines “Salon” as a social gathering of intellectuals who meet to discuss ideas and watch artistic performances.) All you need to do is:

- Invite half a dozen people around for an evening
- Plan a series of three talks from a theme that interests you
- Curate the conversation that follows, to encourage genuine discussion as opposed to insistent opinion

Hmm, maybe I should host a TED Party – might be fun and an interesting way to perk up a party!

Yesterday’s Blog:

Readers from yesterday’s blog are looking for a conclusion to “Running Late in the Morning…” What happened when I was 45 minutes later than usual leaving the office? Sorry if you were expecting something more, but I promise that you will find a more interesting version (a fictional account) of what might have happened, once I get a bit more time to work on the story line. Blogs aren’t meant as a medium for stories, short or otherwise, however, maybe I can serialize this one and give you a bit of it every week or so. Stay tuned.

So what really happened at the point I left off yesterday?

Well for one, I discovered a whole new set of people who live in my building who normally I never see. They leave for work at 8:00 and I discovered that there are quite a few folks in that set. Some looked quite interesting. And that is where my imagination starts to gear up!