TEDxGreenville: TEDxGreenville – Ideas worth Spreading

TEDxGreenville Open Blog post by Maxim Williams.

I recognize this video may not be for everyone who visits this blog. I recognize that some of her words challenge the realities, walls, and assumptions people have set up for themselves. However, if it challenges you, then that’s a good thing and you should embrace that journey and see where it leads within you. I hope it unsettles some and unhinges them from whatever stranglehold their self-deception may hold upon them. I watch this video to remind me of my own wrestle with “self” and “otherness.”

I was raised in Canada. My parents were raised in Jamaica. Our relationship to “race” and “otherness” has not been a linear journey and easy for me to figure out to this day. My “programming” refuses to let me just settle in and do what might be convenient because when I dig deeper into that line of reasoning, I realize settling into one ascribed identity would be more convenient for others, not for me. I have a colorful family, with parents who are beautifully mixed with native Jamaican (similar to Native American); Scottish; Maroon (African); and Lebanese heritage. What then is race? I have family, friends, God parents who love us who are from here to India. What then is “otherness?”

My struggle with self and otherness usually is triggered by people attempting to hurriedly try to identify me; place me into their box or category rather than allow me to exist as Maxim. Having been exposed both from my family background and the places around the world I’ve traveled and lived, I empathize with many “others” I encounter. My work in Greenville, SC requires me to have a level of empathy with an African American community. Upon learning of the history of that community, I discover our shared human connection as I relate their historic struggle and rise to overcome to my family’s “immigrants” struggle that my parents and their parents had to overcome from Jamaica to Canada.

Our shared human stories are echoed throughout my biological family and friendships from around the globe yet it creates a level of local empathy for me to identify with those here who have had to overcome strife, discrimination, or hardship based on their perceived race or class. I say perceived because like Thandie, I have studied the topic exhaustively and know full well that race is a social construction that we treat as “real” and thus create near impenetrable (albeit psychological) walls that burn deep into our psyche and keep us from the conversations we should be having and the relationships we could be enjoying. I feel empathy to all who cross my path in town, whether they be from Mexico, Honduras, Iran, or Aiken, SCJ. I have had the honor of serving, working with, or learning from almost every culture in the world since living in Greenville and each story holds some shelf space within my “self.”

I believe when you can quiet your “self” you make space to hear and have true compassion for another. You start to listen for that shared story and shared humanity. Your actions may even become a little more conscientious, collaborative, and community oriented. This by no means makes me a “perfect” human being. Far from it. I gave up on the fight for perfection a few years ago. If anything, I may be overly sensitive to the pain of others and hypersensitive when I may have caused pain for another. However, in a world full of division; violence; war; and apathy towards our neighbor and the planet; I wish more would have the courage to be a little more sensitive and more “selfless.”

This is Maxim Williams‘ favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog post by Jay Spivey.

There is something peculiarly intoxicating about watching an animation as someone talks.  It involves the senses in a way that makes you watch, think and listen all at once.  To me these are the most rewarding of TED videos for they stay on my mind for long periods of time.  I can imagine this talk on empathy in my daydreams – quite a wonderful thing, really.  If politicians, history teachers and ministers could use this method of describing their points – I think we’d all be just a bit wiser.

TEDxGreenville Open Blog post by Jake Knight.

Polish off your senses ‘cause those crazy kids at MIT have done it again.

Everyday of our modern lives, we interact with relatively static technology. While we push around our ergonomic desktop mice or swipe, pinch, and tap away at our fancy new mobile phones, our devices generally define what movements and behaviors are acceptable.

Independently the devices themselves are largely unaware of their surroundings. One iPhone set next to another, doesn’t generally create a stage of interactivity or an exchange of mood, color or storyboarding.

Introducing Siftables, an product idea that combines complicated communication, gyroscopic technology and the simple notion that technology can be reduced to the most basic element — the building block.

Remember back to a younger, more simplistic time when your imagination could run wild with a set of simple blocks. You might have stacked them, sorted them, built cities for yourself, or even smashed them together as warriors in battle. Your blocks were the characters in your story.

The Siftables project from MIT Labs brings its latest BREAKTHROUGH to the TED stage in the corresponding video. They show how these interactive cubes are fully in tune, not only with each other, but with the behaviors and input of us as the end user.

Combine our own input and creativity, with the self aware nature of these little smart blocks, and suddenly our creativity can once again run wild. We build stories, lay down electronic beats, and create dynamic interactions.

In a day where over sized screens, complex options, and data management rule our vernacular, the sophisticated simplicity of these little blocks can take us back to our own. childhood creativity.

This is Jake Knight’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Wendy Morris

*Originally shared by Marketing Profs – TEDxPeachtree Talk with Ekaterina Walter – Social Media Strategist at Intel

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Despina Yeargin

The power of music to integrate and cure. . . is quite fundamental. It is the profoundest non-
chemical medication. — Oliver Sacks

I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are
all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. — Billy Joel

Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting
to drive wedges between people, it’s important to preserve those things that help us experience
our common humanity. — Ted Turner

——————————————————————————————————————
I’ve always found music to be healing. It can help when I’m feeling blue, when I need to relax,
when I’m looking for energy and it helps when I’m looking for inspiration. I’ve seen music
calm a crying baby, I’ve seen it bring people together in difficult times and I’ve experienced it at
almost every important celebration in my life. Music is a magnetic force!

In this TED talk, L.A. Philharmonic first violin, Robert Gupta, shares his story of how music
connected him to the now well-known schizophrenic musician, Nathaniel Ayers. Nathaniel
is the gifted cellist and former Juilliard student found homeless on the streets of Los Angeles
by LA Times columnist, Steve Lopez. Lopez wrote many of his columns about Nathaniel and
eventually a book (The Soloist) about their friendship and how it healed them both. Steve tells
us in the book, that the one thing that kept Nathaniel Ayers motivated during his most troubled
times was music. It helped him escape and it kept him alive. Music is sanity!

Robert Gupta, a graduate of Juilliard and TED Senior Fellow, was introduced to Nathaniel to
give him violin lessons. Coincidentally, Gupta’s undergraduate degree is in biology. During
his undergrad studies, he worked on several research projects in neuro- and neurodegenerative
biology. Besides his LA Philharmonic work, Gupta also serves as director of a non-profit that
brings live music performances to homeless and disadvantages audiences. Music is medicine!

If you watch this to the end, you’ll see Gupta’s beautiful performance of his own transcription of
the prelude from a popular Bach cello sonata.

Related Links:
• For a little more healing, you can watch another Robert Gupta TED performance with
Joshua Roman on the cello.
• Renowned neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks, talks about his book, Musicophilia. In
the short video, he discusses the neurological condition, Synesthesia, which is close to

home in the work of Greenville artist, Ric Standridge. Ric has Synesthesia and uses it in
his work as a visual artist.

This is Despina Yeargin’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Claudia Wise

I feel so many of us have great ideas but what is key is cultivating those ideas for greatest impact.

I believe in always expanding your network, always participating in life experiences and always taking the time to brainstorm in order to obtain this end result. Open,  unpredictable and shared experiences give us  material for the greatest of ideas!

Steven Johnson details a great understanding of this.

This is Claudia Wise’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Ann Marquette 

Tan Le, founder and president of Emotiv systems, an electronics company focused on brain-computer interfaces which “learns how to use you.”  She demonstrates how this is done and the various applications.  It is phenomenal and an exciting technology.  It can be used for fun and for the benefit of those physically challenged… which seems the best use yet for it.  I love learning new things and could imagine myself in Tan Le’s lab playing with it, and learning more about it.

This is Ann Marquette’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Ben Riddle

My favorite class? Recess. Why? Because my elementary school playground was home to a time machine, a grocery store, a skyscraper-construction site and a medieval village where valiant lords and ladies guarded their treasures from the fire-breathing 5^thgrade-dragons that escaped from their secret lair every time the bell rang.

Years passed. Middle School. Coloring books were replaced with lined composition books; worn carpet squares were replaced by identical blue chairs. What ever happened to sitting on the floor and reading in a comfortable position? What do you mean I can’t draw that way in middle school? Why do I get a 90 for my picture while she got a 100 and hers doesn’t look as good as mine? Where’s the creativity?

Years passed. High School. Personal desks became lab benches and lecture halls. Pencil and paper work isn’t good enough anymore. Graphing calculators, GPAs, class rank. What do you mean the answer can’t change? I memorized your notes like you said but that answer choice wasn’t on the test.  Where’s the creativity?

Years pass. Office park. Cubicles, board rooms, blank walls. Empty pages become empty word documents; painted halls fade to shades of grey. What do you mean these shoes aren’t suitable office attire? Clock in. Clock out. Repeat. Where’s the creativity?

Children explore, build and play without fear of judgment, fear of failure. As we grow older, big dreams become “bad ideas”.  We fear failure. We fear judgement. What if we changed this? What if we went back to the playground in search of the big thoughts and bold dreams that we had as children?

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown, founder of IDEO, shares his thoughts about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play. Years have passed, but you’re never too old for recess.

This is Ben Riddle’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

TEDxGreenville Open Blog Post by: Adela Mendoza

We often think about vulnerability as a weakness, as something that we must hide from others so as not to affect the self images that we so carefully craft throughout our lives, and that we may believe have a better chance to be liked and accepted than our true selves. However, in reality, vulnerability is what helps us connect with others and, as Brene Brown describes in this talk, it is the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging and love.

The sense of worthiness, belonging, and connection is something we instinctively seek out. Yet, in order to achieve it, we need to expose ourselves. And rejection is painful. What if we actually do show who we are and nobody likes us?

I love the way Brene describes “excruciating vulnerability: the idea that in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen. Really seen.” I wonder how many of us truly allow others to see us? How many times have we actually let the world in and allowed it to take a tour of our messy places as well as the neat ones? Ok, maybe not the world, but what about those that we love?  What if we were to actually let go of the need to build and mold the story we want others to tell about us?

It sounds like a good idea, but how can we actually commit to being true to ourselves and resist the urge to change at the smallest hint of rejection? For most people it is virtually impossible to remain who we are, unchanged in the core, when we fear we may not be accepted. Of course we need to adapt and learn to compromise so that we can interact with others, but how do we find the balance between being respectful and considerate to others and not letting the outside world change who we intrinsically are, regardless of what that may entail? The answer is simple and lies in the original definition of courage: “Tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” What a concept! As I reflect upon the people that have truly made an impact in my life, and those who have defined the moments when I have felt truly connected, all involved vulnerability. The people that I hold the closest to my heart are not those who appear to be perfect, but rather the few that I’ve seen unedited. Magic never happens when our guards are up.  Love can’t grow and flourish in the midst of deceit or the infertility of indifference.

A good example of this is my Dad. He is probably the strongest, most reliable man I have ever met, but he was also the sweetest, most caring dad any kid can have. Growing up we were always certain that he would never leave, and he would always protect us, and I deeply valued that. But it was in my father’s most vulnerable moments, when he was very ill, that I felt the closest to him. I had the certainty that nothing, absolutely nothing could stand in between us.  Nothing else mattered. Work, commitments, deadlines. Only the love I knew he had for me, and the indescribable gift that it was to care for him during his most vulnerable moments.  It was natural because he showed me how to do it throughout our lives together.

I believe that in our quest to care for those we love, we often put on a brave face and hide our vulnerability. But just imagine what a wonderful gift we can give to our children by showing them all aspects of us and teaching them that the sum of it all is what makes us full, wholehearted and able to relate to and connect with each other. And what a priceless contribution we can give to the world if we teach our kids to be kind and compassionate to those who share their vulnerability. Like Brene, I can’t think of a greater legacy we can leave to the next generation than the power of compassion, empathy and true connection.

So, be kind to yourself, be open to be seen and let go of who you are not. Embrace the lovely, unique and courageously vulnerable person you are. Then, go out, love with your whole heart and build that bond to something or someone that brings you back to yourself.

This is Adela Mendoza’s favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment. What’s yours? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!

Every now and then an idea comes along that is completely disruptive- transforming an entire industry or way of thinking seemingly overnight. Telephone vs telegraph, Ford’s mass produced Model T vs the horse & buggy, Greenville vs every other city on earth.

Let’s skip on over to our K-12 education system: a Gordian knot that would make Alexander the Great weep like a baby. How do you fix one of the most politically charged, complex, interwoven, dysfunctional problems on planet earth? A trazillion dollars? An adderall IV for every American child (and their teachers)?

Enter Salman Khan: a former hedge fund analyst who made a couple of YouTube videos to help teach his young family members back home how to solve some math problems. They watched his simple videos, paused and replayed them when they needed, and in their own time and at their own pace mastered the subject. Simple enough. And completely free.

Light bulb.

Why not do more videos for more subjects, organize them sequentially, and make them available for free to every kid and teacher who wanted to use them? In fact, why not flip our whole education model on its head by ending the “teach to the middle” problem that educators have under the current paradigm by having students get self-paced instruction via Khan Academy online and receive 1-on-1 help from their teacher (or their peers who achieved mastery before them) in the classroom? Piece o’ cake.

Simply ad some Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding, a sparkling new website with cutting edge analytics combined with game dynamics for the kids & teachers, and then voilà: you have the recipe for something that may just put an end to the antiquated and barbaric smart/dumb linear intelligence paradigm that has ravaged generations of innocent children since Western Civilization first began its ill-fated attempt to mass-produce Industrial Age brains.

There’s no such thing as a silver bullet, but this looks like an Idea Worth Spreading that is going to change the world, or at least our education system. Take ~20 minutes to have your mind blown and then let’s get this in schools here, now.

What’s your favorite TED or TEDx video of the moment? Click here to find out how to share it on the TEDxGreenville Open Blog!