The Mystique of War

This insightful TED Talk by Sebastian Junger, a journalist who has covered many war zones is well worth watching.  This is why our politicians need to stop sending our young people off to far corners of the world on ill-designed quests for the politician's satisfaction of some abstract ideology, and then assuming that everything is going to be just fine and there will be no after-effects from the experience.

A Look At the Unseen World

An excellent and enjoyable TED Talk. 

Throw Out Your Physics Texts

Well...maybe not quite yet, but as theoretical physicist Allan Adams explains in this 'improvised' TED Talk, you need to be ready to accept some pretty radical ideas if you are a true thinker!  Depending on where this discovery goes, it is not only very important (and mind-boggling), but it could obsolete more than a few textbooks....



(Sorry religions of the world...science has left most of you behind long ago.  The Pope better get to work on whether the Earth MIGHT just be older than 6000 years after all....).

Do You Think Facebook and Twitter are Examples of Innovation That Matters? Think Again!

Watch, learn what innovation and the human intellect can do.  (And do NOT stop before the end!).

Out There

If you have not run into his work previously, Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who fulfilled his childhood dream with two shuttle missions and has the talent and more importantly the personal insight to share with us what it is like.  If you are not among the 21 million plus viewers, here is his cover of David  Bowie's Space Oddity - it was filmed on a shuttle mission, then the music track added after he returned.



There is another video though that shows his real thoughts and values to us.  It is a TED Talk and he goes into a lot of what it is like to perform this unnatural act of space flight, enjoy the unusual splendor of it all  --- and then have a potentially catastrophic event happen "up there".

I dare you not to get chills during the launch sequence at 3:10, or to not think just a bit differently about things (like the universe) when he describes "looking down at the rest of everything" at 7:40.

Quiet !

Just simply...Quiet.

This book review has been a long time in coming...for reasons I outline in the review. (From Goodreads):

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh crap...now I have actually finished this book, and I have to write a review...but I am not sure how exactly. Let's try this:

Wow
Double Wow...even Triple Wow occasionally

It took me an extraordinarily long time to read this book given my usual pace. But that is because of the work that it is. It is subtitled "The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking". I could have almost stopped there and savored that alone...but I am glad I didn't.

I was introduced to Susan Cain (as were many others) through her TED Talk. I bought this book immediately after seeing it and coincidentally at the end of a very bad experience for me of being a 'pseudo-extrovert', not so much to please others but because I do have a somewhat adventurous spirit when it comes to new challenges. Although I came out of it OK, this time it almost cost me.

So reading this book, there were many times where I simply had to set it aside for awhile (sometimes a few weeks) and let my subconscious mind work over what I had read.

It is that kind of book...full of what probably seems in hindsight like common sense...but it escaped us who were living the life of introverts in a world that for most of the last 30 years or so has valued noise, glamour, and extroversion.

The book gets a bit technical in the middle - Susan did her research, but even there I found a lot of very interesting and valuable nuggets to mull over. Her concluding chapters bring it all together into a combination message of "here is who you really are...and don't be ashamed of it" and "here is how you can learn to live".

The devilish part of me wants to add to that last "or if you are one of the inferior extrovert caste....read this to see who really rules the world". (Sorry Ms. Cain if you read this -- too many public school incidents welling up!).

This is NOT Susan's message at all. She points out repeatedly throughout the book that we need both types to make a living, functioning society, and that indeed there may not be very many pure "types" at all in reality. This is something I agree with very strongly, as I am certainly a hybrid of the two, though leaning heavily toward the "intro" side and much more comfortable with it particularly now that I have read this book.

View all my reviews

Thank you, Susan Cain!

Thank Your Chef For Your Intelligence!

One of the things about being something of a "polymath wannabe" is that your mind is free to wander among all your interests and see what is new or strikes your fancy at the moment.  Sometimes you happen upon a truly engrossing and fascinating item about one of those areas.  This TED Talk by  Suzana Herculano-Houzel is one of those. 

Of all the sciences, I am probably less attracted to the 'green squishy sciences' like biology, zoology, etc. but there is one area in which I do maintain a fascination and that is the human brain.  It is in many ways still the most unexplored, unknown part of the human experience and it is easy to see how we might begin to feel it is 'special'.  There is no denying that humans have accomplished some astonishing things (like surviving) for a long time, going into space, questioning their own origins and those of the universe, etc. which I am pretty sure the average dog or lab rat does not. 

Suzana's talk addresses this, in a very informative (and scientific) way, and I found it fascinating, humbling, and thought-provoking all at the same time.  Happy thinking!!!



   

Technology That Matters

It seems like those of us who work in the technology sector only hear about the bad side of our labors.  NSA, identity theft, anonymous bullying, distracted driving, Facebook lies, Twitter bulimia, etc..  

Every once in awhile it is nice to realize that yes, technology has and does move our lives forward in a positive way.

MMTW

Massively Multiplayer Thumb Wrestling - this is just fun (and funny) but carries a few subtle ideas for thinkers too:

Trash Talkin'

Another interesting TED Talk - this time on trash/garbage whatever you call it.  The talk is actually more about "What I Discovered About New York City Trash", but it is interesting and well presented.

Ms. Nagle saves the best for the end,  but I won't spoil the surprise.  Let's just say garbage doesn't necessarily come from where you might think or expect.....
 

Math is Fun Too!

My last post talked about the "War on Math and Physics" in the US according to a book I am reading.  These (and their close siblings) just happen to be some of my favorite subjects.  I am fascinated by physics, astrophysics and particle physics and try to keep up on the latest developments as well as I can considering I don't have a degree in any of them - just a rabid interest.  

Math on the other hand I use, mostly in indirect ways in my work with computer software, but a good understanding of mathematical principles and techniques is behind a lot of what I do and think about every day, and leads directly to the related fields of logic and reasoning (another of my favorite areas of endeavor).

Here is a TED Talk concentrating on just one aspect of math - the Fibonacci numbers.  This is a good reintroduction to the magic of math if you have been away for awhile, and it is just plain .. fun!

Thanks A Lot Richard!

Richard Branson is by all accounts a genial, affable guy with a heck of a lot business smarts, filthy rich (and good looks too).  With all that going for him, why did he have to steal the only description I could think of for the spoken-word poet Sarah Kay? 

She introduced me and a lot of other people to spoken-word poetry with her "Point B" poem, delivered as part of this TED Talk in 2011:





And here she is again in a talk at the Bonnier Grid  2012 Conference (as reported on the Poets and Writers website).




Oh, and what did Richard Branson say anyway?

"Every time I see this girl she gives me goosebumps. As well as being absolutely beautiful, her poetry takes your breath away." 

I have to admit, I couldn't say it any better myself....(but c'mon Richard, I DID think of it first...sort of almost, didn't I?!).

One more...just in case your goosebumps aren't there yet...





In any case, if you have anything of a feeling, evenly faintly poetic receptor in you...you will appreciate this young woman for her wisdom beyond her years, and yes, she will be taking your breath away with her work. 

The Pursuit of Ignorance

"Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science."

- James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)

This is one of the best TED Talks I have send on the subject of science...what it actually is, and why we are teaching it all wrong (and perhaps why we have such an ignorant populace in the US in things scientific).  Scientific knowledge properly acquired should generate more questions...or else it is not science. 

Dogmatic institutions like politics and religions constantly "dead-end" themselves by declaring "truths" -- at least as they see them to their advantage at the moment.  True science follows the truth wherever it may lead, and is constantly pushing the frontier of inquiry forward while the dogmatic approach is constantly building or shoring up old stone walls around whatever they have chosen to be "truth".  

 

I particularly like his comment at the end about "bulimic education" --- this is one of the major flaws in our current education system that has to be rectified if we are ever going to join the "flat world" that we all live in. 
 

The BS Squad

Here is a TED Talk that should appeal to thinkers everywhere - the professional "bad ideas and just plain BS cops":






I have to say it...and then they voted!

Old McDonald's Farm is Getting Crowded!

I have been doing some research on this subject since I first heard about it a few months ago.  The simple statement of the problem is that there is not enough space on earth or resources left to support the number of farm animals required to support the earth's likely population in just a couple of decades.  It is partly driven by population growth, but also as societies around the world raise the standards of living and prosperity of their people, more people want to add meat to their diets.  (You don't think people eat rice-dominated diets by choice, do you???).

None other than Bill Gates has taken this up as one of his philanthropic causes, a natural fit since many of the Gates Foundation's efforts are in developing countries.  Here is an interesting interactive that explains his concern and offers the basic facts surrounding and defining the problem. 

Here is a TED Talk from someone who is advocating a high-tech, evolutionary approach to the problem.





I don't know what the final answer will be (but I hope to be around long enough to watch it evolve!).  I know I am not willing yet to give up my occasional 'treat' of a nice cut of prime rib or choice steak, but I have already moved away from the "red meats every night of the week" approach of my childhood and if enough of us do that maybe we can give the smart people working on the problem time to figure something out. 

I particularly like the tone of the comments at the end of Andras' talk -- maybe this is just the next step of mankind evolving and adapting to the environment and available resources.

It Was There...Really!

I first heard about Apollo Robbins when he made an appearance on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, which is one of my "don't-miss" NPR programs.  In his appearance he related several hilarious stories including the one about pickpocketing the Secret Service while they were guarding President Carter.

(If you haven't heard Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, I heartily recommend it. I usually listen to the podcast version at night -- it helps put a funny and upbeat end on any day.) 

But back to Apollo Robbins.  He was a professional pickpocket for quite awhile, but has made quite a business for himself as an entertainer, speaker and consultant. (His website is istealstuff.com !!!)

Here is his memorable appearance at TED Global 2013 - enjoy!: