If you do not know about these, the please take 15 minutes of your time and go through any one TED talk that interests you. Chances are, it will change the way you think, it will teach you how to dream.
Having just spent a whole Sunday going through these (and I normally feel guilty after these sessions) the only regret I had was that they had limited episodes. As I put it to a person who was watching it with me, the brilliance and innovative thoughts here make you wonder what you are doing with your life.
With topics ranging from Brain Science to AIDS in Africa, these speakers have left me in awe with the innovation, the rationale and the pure genius behind some of their work. And it has really made me wonder whether I want to do a PhD or not. Whether or not I do a PhD, I am now wondering how totally I am wasting my time in normal thought. If there was one thing these people had in common, they all thought outside the paradigm handed down to them through their ancestry.
What they did was to say 'Why?' and then follow it up with 'It isn't so'. Both are equally important really, and without either, neither would have meaning. There is a difference between a dream and an ambition. But to have an ambition, you first need to dream. Neither can be left out.
Of the many startling facts I was faced with today, this one struck me the most : In an agricultural society, the ratio of the productive to the not-producitve (agriculturally literate vs illiterate) was 5:1. In the knowledge based economy, it is 427:1!! This, to me is an alarming figure. Among other things, it means that the inequality in the society will continue to rise and this will definitely have social consequences that will continue to raise its ugly head in the form of crimes.
But it also means that our species will progress fater as a whole As Bill Gates said in an interview : 'Forty years ago, if I was givena choice between being a normal man in Poughkeepsie and a genius in China and India, I would have chosen Poughkeepsie, but today I wold rather be a genius in China or India.' Maybe H G Wells Time Machine will come true, maybe our species will divide. Ot maybe not, maybe the economics, if not social concerns will force us to take care of all humans across the world. After all, they are customers for large corporations too. But I also think social causes will triumph. Some people do seem to care about the por, though human thought is predominantly dictated by selfishness.
Anyway, coming back to TED, I think it was really wonderful! I think it now makes me question everything. I mean, why do I have such an operating system? And why is a MAC my best choice? Why should I have to watch low quality telivision? Would the experience be better if it were customized? Interactive? I just came across Pandora (one of the few good things I learnt from this internship) and though people tell me this technology has been there for long, I think it is truly amazing. Though I think it can be improved. I have written to them about it (mail included in a later post).
I think TED has taught me a very vital aspect of life.....to dream, and never to lose your dreams, never to sacrifice your vision for the future in your struggle with the present.
But there is another important part. Saying 'It isn't so'. Only, now that you have said it, you have to do something about it. It means that if you see your bathroom leaking, it isn't enough to complain about it, you also have to get your hands dirty and make the problem alright. Face it, people do not like problems, we have enough of them already. But they are interested in solving problems if you can find solutions. Finding, and more importantly "implementing" them is going to be a far bigger challenge than just dreaming. I do hope I am able to execute the difference, not just talk about it.
If you have read my blog till here, then take my advice, go watch a few TED talks. Believe me, the experience is life changing.
Having just spent a whole Sunday going through these (and I normally feel guilty after these sessions) the only regret I had was that they had limited episodes. As I put it to a person who was watching it with me, the brilliance and innovative thoughts here make you wonder what you are doing with your life.
With topics ranging from Brain Science to AIDS in Africa, these speakers have left me in awe with the innovation, the rationale and the pure genius behind some of their work. And it has really made me wonder whether I want to do a PhD or not. Whether or not I do a PhD, I am now wondering how totally I am wasting my time in normal thought. If there was one thing these people had in common, they all thought outside the paradigm handed down to them through their ancestry.
What they did was to say 'Why?' and then follow it up with 'It isn't so'. Both are equally important really, and without either, neither would have meaning. There is a difference between a dream and an ambition. But to have an ambition, you first need to dream. Neither can be left out.
Of the many startling facts I was faced with today, this one struck me the most : In an agricultural society, the ratio of the productive to the not-producitve (agriculturally literate vs illiterate) was 5:1. In the knowledge based economy, it is 427:1!! This, to me is an alarming figure. Among other things, it means that the inequality in the society will continue to rise and this will definitely have social consequences that will continue to raise its ugly head in the form of crimes.
But it also means that our species will progress fater as a whole As Bill Gates said in an interview : 'Forty years ago, if I was givena choice between being a normal man in Poughkeepsie and a genius in China and India, I would have chosen Poughkeepsie, but today I wold rather be a genius in China or India.' Maybe H G Wells Time Machine will come true, maybe our species will divide. Ot maybe not, maybe the economics, if not social concerns will force us to take care of all humans across the world. After all, they are customers for large corporations too. But I also think social causes will triumph. Some people do seem to care about the por, though human thought is predominantly dictated by selfishness.
Anyway, coming back to TED, I think it was really wonderful! I think it now makes me question everything. I mean, why do I have such an operating system? And why is a MAC my best choice? Why should I have to watch low quality telivision? Would the experience be better if it were customized? Interactive? I just came across Pandora (one of the few good things I learnt from this internship) and though people tell me this technology has been there for long, I think it is truly amazing. Though I think it can be improved. I have written to them about it (mail included in a later post).
I think TED has taught me a very vital aspect of life.....to dream, and never to lose your dreams, never to sacrifice your vision for the future in your struggle with the present.
But there is another important part. Saying 'It isn't so'. Only, now that you have said it, you have to do something about it. It means that if you see your bathroom leaking, it isn't enough to complain about it, you also have to get your hands dirty and make the problem alright. Face it, people do not like problems, we have enough of them already. But they are interested in solving problems if you can find solutions. Finding, and more importantly "implementing" them is going to be a far bigger challenge than just dreaming. I do hope I am able to execute the difference, not just talk about it.
If you have read my blog till here, then take my advice, go watch a few TED talks. Believe me, the experience is life changing.
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