TEDBlog May, 2009 Archive
11 May 2009
Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world: Seth Godin on TED.com
Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 17:23.)
Watch Seth Godin’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.
Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>
Subscribe to the TED Blog >>
09 May 2009
The week in comments
This week’s comment round-up is a tribute to TED.com’s spiffy new commenting system, that lets you rate others’ statements up or down and have threaded conversations! Rather than using our own editorial tastes to select comments, today we’ve let you, the community, pick your top 5. Here are the highest rated comments on each talk at the moment:
On Louise Fresco’s TEDTalk:How to feed the whole world (the case for white bread):
I am a fan of permaculture. However, I think the important thing to note is the shades of grey being discussed. Everyone has an axe to grind. she is not really promoting big agribusiness per se, (in fact she explicitly stated how destructive it is) but she is instead talking about the use of high and low tech. Most people only seem to listen for there own key words and hot buttons. Even though I actually had the privilege of learning about permaculture back in the early 90s by living and working on a collective farm and eating the incredible produce, I still think that saying RAH-RAH PERMACULTURE is still as pointless as saying GO GO AGRIBUSINESS. Think of it as mental monoculture. People are starving and that kind of narrowness is one of the main reasons. — Brock (+5)
On Al Gore’s TEDTalk: Alarming new slides depict a worsening climate crisis:
“I was simply pointing out that if the earth has been cooling for over 7 years, the term “global warming” is presently inaccurate.”
By that logic global warming is inaccurate every night and accurate every day. — Markku (+3)
On Tom Shannon’s TEDTalk: Gravity-defying sculpture inspired by the sun, the earth, the moon:
This guy is a genius, reminds me of a modern day da Vinci. I really like the idea of an artistic “conscious” orb. — Eli (+4)
On Mae Jemison’s TEDTalk: A bold vision for teaching arts and sciences — together:
Fabulous, my favorite quote from this, “Science provides an understanding of a universal experience, and arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.” Love it! — Nathalie (+7)
On Sean Gourley’s TEDTalk: The mathematics of war:
My only comment as a first time TED poster is that he is strictly rating effectiveness of an attack based upon the casualty figures. Would an attack on power substation that causes no casualties be ineffective? Furthermore, major news organizations tend to share source data so I am not sure how effective using multiple media outlets would be. Without access to the original source data you will have no real idea on how many sources are really producing your base data. — Jason (+4)
Here’s to a new system and more conversation!
08 May 2009
How to feed the whole world (the case for white bread): Louise Fresco on TED.com
Louise Fresco argues that a smart approach to large-scale, industrial farming and food production will feed our planet’s incoming population of nine billion. Only foods like (the scorned) supermarket white bread, she says, will nourish on a global scale. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 18:00.)
Watch Louise Fresco’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.
Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>
Subscribe to the TED Blog >>
07 May 2009
Alarming new slides depict a worsening climate crisis: Al Gore on TED.com
At TED2009, Al Gore presents updated slides from around the globe to make the case that worrying climate trends are even worse than scientists predicted, and to make clear his stance on “clean coal”. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 7:44.)
Watch Al Gore’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.
Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>
Subscribe to the TED Blog >>
06 May 2009
Pendulum paintings of Tom Shannon
I’m a huge fan of sculptor & painter Tom Shannon, a gentle genius who turns science into art and art into science. We just posted today his 2003 TED talk showing his gorgeous science-inspired sculptures and his vision for the Air Genie video airship. In the last few months he has returned to a form of painting he invented more than 20 years ago. He created a mechanized paint dispenser that is suspended on a giant pendulum over a canvas on the floor. Tom sets the pendulum in motion, typically on an oval pathway, and then uses a remote control device to select with careful precision which paints are streamed onto the canvas and in what quantity.
At his Manhattan studio the other evening, I watched him in action. The results are spectacular. He’s given me permission to share some of these images, none of which are up on his site yet. (Apart from the first two, these are details of larger paintings.) They are to be the subject of an exhibition in New York later this year. (Watch this space).
View the images in the Flickr set “New work from Tom Shannon” >>
or watch the slideshow:
06 May 2009
Gravity-defying sculpture inspired by the sun, the earth, the moon: Tom Shannon on TED.com
Watch Tom Shannon’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.
Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>
Subscribe to the TED Blog >>
05 May 2009
The incredible El Sistema music program is coming to the US
Three months ago, the visionary Venezuelan musician Dr. José Antonio Abreu made his TED Prize wish — to create and document a special training program for at least 50 gifted young musicians, passionate for their art and for social justice, and dedicated to developing El Sistema in the US and in other countries.
Today we are proud to introduce the Abreu Fellows Program at New England Conservatory of Music. It is a one-year postgraduate certificate program for accomplished young musicians who desire to become ambassadors of El Sistema and who are committed to developing it outside of Venezuela. Abreu Fellows will spend a year studying between Boston and Caracas, and leave with the tools to return to their communities to teach the El Sistema model.
Subject to funds raised, the program is ready to open this fall with spots for the first 18 fellows.
More detailed information on the program, the fellows and funding scholarships is online at a beautiful new website, elSistemaUSA.org.
el Sistema USA is a support and advocacy network for people and organizations inspired by Venezula’s monumental music education program. It will grow to provide comprehensive information on the El Sistema philosophy and methodology, and host a variety of resources that will aid those building, expanding and supporting El Sistema programs in the US and beyond.
Check out the site and be inspired. Help build the program by identifying or supporting a fellow. And if you haven’t already, watch the unforgettable youth orchestra performance from TED.
A huge thanks to Albertson Design, who did an amazing job branding the fellows program and designing and building the website.
And thanks to The Rackspace Cloud for hosting the site.
05 May 2009
Q&A with TEDFellow Erik Hersman: When technology goes African
In his 2009 TEDTalk, techno-blogger Erik Hersman breaks down the framework of and uses for Ushahidi, a crisis reporting platform that emerged to help Kenyans avoid violence during riots after the 2008 elections. During this follow-up interview with the TEDBlog, he talks about his African ties, how the TEDFellows program has impacted him and the very beginnings of Ushahidi.
How did Ushahidi begin? We know it began during the aftermath of the 2008 Kenyan elections, but who were the key players and how did they come to contact each other and form this system?
It was very, very fast and loose. We quickly combined our thoughts around the basic idea via Skype and then got the whole thing going in a couple days. Ory, Juliana, Daudi and I knew each other from the Kenyan blogosphere, and as past TEDAfrica Fellows. I knew David Kobia, our lead developer from an interview I had done of him on my WhiteAfrican blog.
Could you give some examples, from your recollections, of the most successful moments of Ushahidi — moments where you knew you were part of an important structure?
The first week was the first indicator. To us, the system was rudimentary, but it worked. To outsiders, especially those in the humanitarian field, it was the first time they had really seen a technology tool used to bypass the establishment and go directly to ordinary people on the ground to get information. It seemed like the only thing to do to us, but it was revolutionary to them.
The other big moments were when we started to get approached by people and organizations from the rest of the world asking us to create one for them. Needless to say, we couldn’t due to our having our own full-time jobs, but it proved there was a need.
Finally, having Al Jazeera pick the tool up for use to collect and monitor the Gaza situation back in January was big. It was the first time an established media organization had used our tool.
What are the elements of the system that contribute most to its success? Anonymity of reports, ability of the population to vote credibility of reports — which to you are the most important or essential?
Well, I think the biggest thing is that Ushahidi fills the gap. It makes it easy for the traditionally unconnected, those in developing world countries and in rural areas, to start sending information in and getting alerts of things that happen around them — all from a simple SMS only enabled mobile phone.
Beyond that there are two very important issues. First, the need for anonymity in environments where you can’t trust the governing bodies. Second, a way to verify information as it comes in.
Just to probe, it seems that Al Jazeera is the only non-grassroots media group using Ushahidi? Why do you think this is? What makes Al Jazeera and Ushahidi a good fit?
There are some other NGOs using Ushahidi, but Al Jazeera is the largest organization using it to date. I happened to be in Qatar last week and had the chance to visit Al Jazeera’s new media team in person. We spent a good portion of the day talking about what they’re trying to do and why Ushahidi makes sense for them. It turns out that they’re really trying to stretch the traditional news in new ways. Ushahidi isn’t the only tool in their repertoire as they get into ways to both gather and disseminate news via mobiles. Finally, because Al Jazeera is largely focused on the parts of the world that most other large media organizations are not, it’s a good fit since that’s where Ushahidi works best as well.
READ MORE: Erik talks about his connection to Africa, attending TED2009, the TEDFellows program and more. (more…)
03 May 2009
The week in comments
This was an especially lively week on the TED commenting front, as our community tackled debates on swine flu, race and politics, and globalization. These amazing discussions can get a little heated — so we appreciate that there always seems to be a voice of reason that emerges from the group to soothe frazzled nerves and streamline the discussion with a nod to both sides.
This one’s for the peace-makers:
On Alex Tabarrok’s interview with the TEDBlog:
TED talks are supposed to create debate, not end them.. Seems this one was a success then? — Oli
On Nathan Wolfe’s interview with the TEDBlog:
Bird flu is essentially a veterinary problem. Swine Flu is essentially a human health problem, and so is alarmism and fear. But not information and prevention, those are on our side and also on our side is the augmentation of average temperatures in the coming months and…wash your hands! — Manel via facebook
On Laurie Garrett’s TEDTalk: What can we learn from the 1918 flu pandemic?:
I thought this was particularly insightful given the evolution of the H1n1 virus in Mexico this past week. I heard people are reusing masks even those found in the trash cans. They wash and re-sell them, this is one case where ignorance kills and spreads a flu — Juan via facebook
On Nate Silver’s interview with the TEDBlog:
But yes, he is not pinheaded nor racist. He _is_ a nerdy dude who is big on analyzing and finding relationships within information… public speaking is not his forte. — Toby via facebook
And, sometimes, the community glue is the speaker themselves:
On Brian Cox’s TEDTalk: What went wrong (and what’s next) at the Large Hadron Collider:
If the Higgs bosun particle (God particle), when found, is as congenial as Brian Cox, I think we can all agree to presuppose why the elementary particles cohere. — Adrian
Thanks for keeping the debate alive.
01 May 2009
What went wrong (and what's next) at the Large Hadron Collider: Brian Cox's update on TED.com
Yesterday, CERN announced that the Large Hadron Collider (which spectacularly failed last September) could be turned on again as soon as this August. In this short talk from TED U 2009, physicist Brian Cox shares what’s new with CERN’s supercollider. He covers the repairs now underway and what the future holds for the largest science experiment ever attempted. (Recorded at TED U 2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 3:30.)
Watch Brian Cox’s 2008 TEDTalk, “An inside tour of the world’s biggest supercollider” >>
Watch Brian Cox’s talk from TED U 2009 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.
Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>
Subscribe to the TED Blog >>
Find stories on the TED Blog about:
Become a Fan of TED
on Facebook
Follow TED on Twitter:
@TEDNews | @TEDTalks
Subscribe to TED RSS feeds:
TED Blog | More RSS Options
