It's been a long slog that began at the end of 2014, but I've finally completed a longer goal from The List!
062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx Talks
I started off picking them at random, moved into watching selections on similar themes, and these final ten are once again a mixed bag!
Johanna Blakley: Social media and the end of gender
Media researcher Johanna Blakley discusses how traditional demographics are still being used by media companies to understand their audiences, when online, with the ever-growing use of social media, women are outnumbering men--and these means changes are afoot.
Didn't know what to expect from this talk (because I never read the info section) but this was really enlightening!
Courtney Martin: Reinventing feminism
In this talk, blogger Courtney Martin talks about her upbringing by radical parents, and discusses how loaded the word 'feminism' is, presenting three paradoxes in attempting to define it.
I found this talk really interesting, as feminism is a word so muddied by negativity (on both sides).
After watching a bunch of inspiring, creative TED talks, which I wrote about recently, I decided that with twenty more talks to go, I should grab the bull by the horns and watch talks about something a lot more serious. Something more personal, something closer to home and therefore, potentially a little uncomfortable, a little harder to watch: talks about mental health.
I ended up watching a variety of talks, some about intervention and serious mental health issues, some about dealing with stress (and we all know that stress can lead to more serious health issues, so it's better to nip it in the bud at the start, right?)
So here goes. Ten TED talks about mental health.
Andres Lozano: Parkinson's depression, and the switch that might turn them off.
A talk about deep brain stimulation, a technique in which electrodes implanted in specific areas of the brain can be used to suppress or enhance that area's activity, leading to incredible physical and mental results.
I had no idea that deep brain stimulation even existed - it sounds like something out of science fiction - but the video clips and examples in this talk really showcase what the procedure can do.
What's so funny about mental illness? | Ruby Wax
A short and entertaining talk in which comedian Ruby Wax reveals her experiences with depression, and calls for an end to the stigma surrounding mental illness.
I feel I've been on a roll when it comes to watching TED talks, and can't believe it's taken me so long to get on with my goal of watching 100.
Well...I'm definitely going to reach that goal. I still have 100-odd talks on my 'watch later' list on YouTube!
After all the talks on learning, I ended up watching a bunch of talks on creativity. This includes art, design, and ideas!
How to build your creative confidence | David Kelley
In a talk pretty much summed up by its title, David Kelley explains how anyone can be creative, and how people can come to think themselves creative through a few tiny steps, giving some anecdotes and examples along the way.
If there's one thing I'm always up for, it's learning about things that interest me. Sometimes, that includes discovering the existence of things that interest me, finding out more about them, how to learn better.
Or trying to understand the how and the why of things that are completely beyond me, like computer programming--which I studied at uni, and passed by sheer fluke.
Anyway, it turns out that there are a ton of TED talks on learning, both in general and in respect to different subjects.
So with my 'Watch 100 TED/TEDx Talks' goal in mind, I watched a few...
How learning German taught me the link between maths and poetry | Harry Baker | TEDxVienna
Poet, Mathematician and World Slam Poetry champion Harry Baker discusses how he discovered a link between maths, in which there are right and wrong answers, and poetry, which has no wrong ones, and demonstrates his skill through an entertaining bilingual poem.
Falafellöffel is my favourite new word.
Quantum Physics for 7 Year Olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan
Through this easy to digest talk, quantum physicist Dominic Walliman discusses simple ways to improve communication in science, revealing that quantum physics isn't difficult to understand, it just needs to be explained better.
I still think quantum physics is one of those things you work with when you're a super brainy person, but I did have a few "Oh!!!" moments whilst watching, in which everything was suddenly clear!
How I taught myself to code | Litha Soyizwapi | TEDxSoweto
In this talk, graphic designer and app developer Litha Soyizwapi tells the story of how he learned to draw after initially failing his course, and then how through curiosity, determination, and process, he taught himself how to program apps, eventually creating one of the most popular app in South Africa.
This is a really inspiring talk, and shows how with the right tools and information, and of course dedication, self-learning really is possible, with incredible results.
The first 20 hours-- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU
Author and teacher Josh Kaufman uses this talk to explain that it takes just 20 hours to learn absolutely anything. He proves it by playing the ukelele. It's a bit more in-depth than 'it takes 20 hours to learn something' but is an interesting talk!
I want a ukelele now.
5 techniques to speak any language | Sid Efromovich | TEDxUpperEastSide
In this talk, hyperpolyglot Sid Efromovich talks language learning, presenting five different techniques that can be used to learn a language. Within this talk is an explanation of how we have a 'language database' which we tend to refer to when trying to learn foreign languages, the importance of making mistakes, of practise, of scrapping the foreign alphabet and more.
As someone with an interest in languages, I found this talk really interesting, and definitely gained a couple of good tips!
How you can be good at math, and other surprising facts about learning | Jo Boaler | TEDxStanford
Mathematics education professor Jo Boaler shares research into teaching methods, which reveal how all of us - even those of us who consider ourselves 'not a maths person' - can be good at maths. Her talk questions the efficacy of how maths is currently taught, and confirms that even the most mathematically challenged can learn if taught in the right way.
I'm one of those 'not a maths person' types, but this talk made me think maybe that's not so true.
Learning how to learn | Barbara Oakley | TEDxOaklandUniversity
Barbara Oakley is a professor of Engineering who flunked maths and science all the way through high school. In this talk, she tells of how she enlisted in the army, and how through this, came into contact with algebra and engineering, which led to her returning to school and using specific methods to finally beat the subjects that she had struggled with in the past.
An inspiring talk, proving - like some of the others - that given the right methods and mindset, it's possible to learn even the subjects we struggled with in the past.
Learning styles & the importance of critical self-reflection | Tesia Marshik | TEDxUWLaCrosse
In this talk, Dr Tesia Marshik uses reseearch-based evidence to debunk the myth that we have 'learning styles'--and explores both why this belief is a problem, and why we still believe it despite there being so much evidence to the contrary.
When I started watching this talk, I was a little cynical, because I am (was) one of the people who thought there were definitely different kinds of learning styles. I stand corrected.
You Should Learn to Program: Christian Genco at TEDxSMU
With a mission to inspire the whole world to learn how to program, Christian Genco uses uses this talk to deliver such incredible facts as the number of Apollo 11 missions a modern smartphone has the processing power for and the future of computer processing power. He draws parallels between learning to today and learning to read in the 15th Century, and overall really states his case: you should learn to program.
If my comments at the start of this post didn't make it obvious already, I'm no programmer (and actively hated programming) but this talk almost convinced me to give it another try.
Can you learn the hardest language in the world? | Irina Pravet | TEDxOtaniemiED
Language coach Irina Pravet talks about learning Finnish as a foreign language, and gives examples of effective ways to learn what is considered to be 'the hardest language in the world'.
Before watching this talk, I didn't realise Finnish was meant to be the hardest in the world, but having seen Finnish, I can understand why it's perceived that way! And for the record, I think I probably could learn it. It would take at least 20 hours ;)
The poetry of programming | Linda Liukas | TEDxCERN
In this talk, programmer, storyteller and illustrator Linda Liukas discusses encouraging more people to engage in programming, especially the next generation, and how she wants to create a more diverse world of progamming and technology.
Having watched this, I'm still not going to run off and learn Java, but seeing some of her examples, it's good to see that programming is being made far more accessible and fun to kids than when I was at school!
That's it for this group of talks! I ended up watching the programming ones because YouTube suggested them and - as someone who struggled with it - I was curious about how to learn it. (Sitting in lectures and making 'Hello World' applications at university definitely wasn't the answer that worked for me). I watched the language ones because I'm interested in languages, and the ones generally about learning becaues I like learning!
This is probably one of the most academically useful batch of talks I've watched so far, and I may end up going back to some of them to watch them again!
You can see the other TED talks I've watched on my TED talks tag. This group of talks brings my total watched talks up to 70!
This month, I've made a couple of posts about the TED talks I've been watching for a goal on The List:
062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx Talks
After only watching 30 between November 2014 and November 2017, I watched another 29 across two months!
Thanks to YouTube's suggested videos, it's very easy to fall into a TED talk-watching hole. Last time I logged on, I intended to watch 'just one or two' to pass some time.
Eleven videos later, I have this post for you: talks (mostly) on the psychology smiles and gratitude.
Why you should talk to strangers | Aliya Dossa | TEDxTerryTalks
Economics major Aliya Dossa discusses her project, '101 Days, 101 Strangers, 101 Stories', in which she aimed to talk to 101 strangers in as many days, and discover their stories. In this talk, she retells some of her experiences with this project, and the things she learnt throughout, and what it reveals about our society.
After watching this, your brain will not be the same | Lara Boyd | TEDxVancouver
A fascinating talk about neuroplasticity, in which Dr Lara Boyd explains how research has shown we can shape our brains how we want, and what it means for the future of neuroscience, medicine and learning.
Last week, I wrote about some TED talks relating to identity, consciousness and perception. As I mentioned in that post, I've been watching quite a lot of these talks, so today I'd like to share eight more.
I watched these talks Just For Fun, but still gained something from them, whether it was insight, inspiration, or information.
A garden in my apartment | Britta Riley
In this talk, Britta Riley talks about how she and a friend created a system for growing plants in tiny spaces - namely an apartment window - using old plastic bottles. This DIY project grew to become a worldwide research and development project, with people from across the globe using social media to share their own tweaks and improvements on the original plans.
Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit
Artist Jae Rhim Lee reveals that our bodies create pollution even after death, and explains how the humble mushroom can be used to eradicate that pollution--all through a simple burial suit.
A few months have passed since I last blogged about the TED and TEDx talks that I've been watching for a goal (062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx talks).
Nevertheless, I've still been watching them! In fact, since November, I've doubled the number of talks I'd watched in the past three years!
This post covers a number of mind-blowing talks, on the subject of identity, consciousness, and perception
Electrical experiments with plants that count and communicate | Greg Gage
A talk by neuroscientist Greg Gage, who uses scientific equipment to hook up a venus fly trap and a mimosa plant, to demonstrate how - through electrical signals - these plants count and transmit information. Interesting, but also fun!
Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality | Anil Seth
Another talk by another neuroscientist! Anil Seth explains how we are all 'hallucinating' our conscious experience, and that when we all agree on the hallucination, it's called 'reality'. Sounds bizarre and is a little mind-boggling, but in a way makes a crazy amount of sense.
It's been a long time since I last wrote about any TED talks that I've watched...mostly because I haven't watched any in ages. I thought I'd reach my goal of watching 100 TED or TEDx talks fairly easily, but it kind of fell by the wayside along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
Anyway, I've been working through my 'watch later' playlist and found these ten great TED talks on the arts.
The Silent Drama of Photography | Sebastião Salgado
A talk by world-reknowned photographer Sebastião Salgado, of how his passion for photography nearly killed him, and how he came to photograph the world's forgotten people and places.
I'd heard of this photographer when I was studying for A-levels, so it was interesting to watch this talk, and truly staggering to see the difference he has made through his work.
You watch one video, and then another catches your eye, and
then another, and before you know it, the afternoon is gone?
We all do it, don't we!
The other day, I ended up doing this with TEDx talks, and
ended up watching enough that I can make another post relating to this goal:
062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx talks
This time the talks had an ongoing theme: speech.
I've always felt horribly inadequate when it comes to conversing with my fellow human beings, so these proved to be an interesting, eye-opening bunch of talks. Having watched them, I feel I've learnt something.
So here's my pick of five TEDx talks to improve your conversation...
The science of
analysing conversations, second by second | Elizabeth Stokoe | TEDxBermuda
This is where my YouTube Paper Trail began--after I clicked
on a Facebook link to this video!
Fascinating talk about how conversations can be analysed,
and how the study of recorded telephone conversations helps businesses to alter
the way their telemarketing schemes are carried out. The study of conversation
can help us to understand each other when we speak, and avoid problems in
communication!
Today I bring to you some more TED & TEDx talks. I
watched all five of these in one sitting, and some of them were mind-blowingly awesome.
Enjoy them!
A rich life with less
stuff | The Minimalists | TEDxWhitefish
This talk, by minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan
Nicodemus, was, as you may have guessed, about minimalism. During the talk,
Ryan explained how he came to find minimalism and the improvement it made in
his life.
An entertaining talk with a good introduction to what
minimalism is (and isn't). I found this talk via their blog,
theminimalists.com, along with a whole heap of articles which confirmed for me
that I could never be a minimalist, but reminded me I need to clear out some
stuff!
At the end of November, I made the first post for a
newly-begun goal:
062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx talks
As I decided to make a post for every five talks that I
watched, here comes post number two!
Shigeru Ban:
Emergency shelters made from paper
A fascinating talk by Shigeru Ban, an architect who has
experimented with building materials like cardboard tubes. His constructions
have come to help people in many disaster-struck areas including Rwanda, Japan
and Haiti--they're
quick to assemble, strong, and resilient. Watch the video to discover the full
extent of what he has designed with the humble cardboard tube, from cubicles to
churches.
This is definitely one to watch.
Steve Ramirez and Xu
Liu: A mouse. A laser beam. A manipulated memory.
Now the weather has turned colder, and I'm less inclined to go tramping around the countryside, I've turned my thoughts to some of the 'indoors' goals on The List.
Recently, I started on a new one:
062. Watch 100 TED/TEDx Talks
In the past, I've watched various TED and TEDx talks, courtesy of YouTube, and find them interesting, informative and inspiring.
As 100 is a lot of videos, I'll blog about them every five or so videos that I watch, and embed the videos where I can. So here goes!
Amanda Palmer: The art of asking
In this video, performer Amanda Palmer talks about her days as a street performer, the success of her crowd-funding attempt (which had around 25,000 backers!) and the belief that rather than making people pay for music, they should be asked.
Amanda Palmer is a very animated speaker and her talk left me with the impression that if, like Amanda, you have the balls (and trust in people) to ask for what you want, you'll eventually get it.
