Caroline Casey and How She Can See Without Sight

Caroline Casey is a legally blind woman who wasn't told this until the age of 17. Her family, specifically her father, decided that she wouldn't live with the labels of a disabled person, so they simply didn't tell her that she was blind. Caroline worked with many different careers until she had the epiphany that she wanted to live in the same was as a character from her favorite childhood book, Mowgli. So, she left her job and went on a thousand mile journey across India on the back of an elephant. This experience birthed in her the drive to help others to transcend labels. So she created an organization to help with people with "disabilities."

This TEDTalk by Caroline was incredible to watch. Her style of delivery was very natural as she couldn't see the clock which had dictated the other TED speakers. Ms. Casey's TEDTalk also made me think of what I had wanted to do when I was younger. I had aspired to become a street cleaner when I was youngest. This aspiration of mine was much different from the dreams of Ms. Casey, riding motorcycles, being Mowgli, and being a race car driver. When I think of that as a career path today it sounds nice in the same way that Ms. Casey's dream does; it involves driving away from all responsibility and being a free person. Ms. Casey truly achieved this through being present in a world of her own creation. That is the beauty of how being blind has affected her. She can live out her dream as she sees it, without the influence of a world determined by sight.

Harvey Fineberg and Adjustable Evolution in the Near Future.

Harvey Fineberg is a genetisist and doctor who can see the potential that is present in the alteration of genes. These guides to the creation of a human life are separated into millions of "phrases" which can be linked even further to human traits. There is a new potential for the creation of humans who are designed to be more beautiful, kinder, smarter, better people who can even be made to live longer. Mr. Fineberg explained this by first going over what humans have done as creatures of the Earth so far.

We have caused the world to adapt to us rather than let the world determine how we act as a species. This is really what separates people from the rest of the known organisms. We have an actual idea of what we have done as a race and know how to correct in the future the flaws we created in the past. This forward thinking and pre-planning is what allows people like Harvey Fineberg to do their work.

With the advent of scientists who can alter and better human life, the process will become even more available and less potentially taboo in the future, and when it is as simply explained as Mr. Fineberg is able to do that future seems even more possible. His TEDTalk inspired a confidence in me for a utopia that just is not possible today. There is so much potential in the world of science guided evolution.

Dave Eggers and The School System Makeover

Dave Eggers' TEDTalk was one which struck me as the story of a set of wonderful circumstances which culminated in an incredible new way to address reading and writing in the conceptual or creative age. His method of delivery and the subjects he talked about made it obvious that he was a creative person who's ideas had the potential to change the world, and already were.

The institutions he had set up for one on one instruction are notorious for their effectiveness in getting children to want to learn. It reminded me of the TEDTalk by Sir Ken Robinson in which he said that children are all creative and that adults are responsible for the squelching of that creativity. This became apparent based on the examples given by Mr. Eggers of the children's stories. They were bright and showed immense amount of care and passion.

They future of reading and writing education is with creative outlets like the pirate store front and tutoring office of Dave Eggers. It is only when adults embrace the uniqueness of children and play towards that uniqueness that the children will embrace the adults teachings. This has been mastered by Dave Eggers.

The FEED project and Ellen Gustafson's TEDTalk

The TED Talk that I most recently watched was by a young woman who obviously was an entreprenuer. She has worked in the food business which I personally find interesting. She spoke on the problems that are occuring in the world when millions of people can be starving while simultaniously millions are obese. She has worked with a program called FEED which gives 25 meals to a child in need while still rewarding the purchaser with a stylish bag.

I can see how both being starved and being obese are just inappropriate relationship to food, be it forced upon somone through poverty, or because of how a person approaches the dinner table.

I think that the way to tell if someone is obese, starving, or on the path toward either one of these extremes is to look at the way they view food. If they are merely using it for fuel, if they are replacing a relationship with the temporary pleasure of eating, or if they fear the results from possibly eating too much.

Additionally, this boistrous speaking lectured on how healthy organic food can maintain a middle ground in the spectrum of food dependence. Through the maintaining of important crops healthily, people will remain and become healthy instead of bouncing between excess and dereliction.

This is truely a problem of the future. One which can only be solved through the cooperation of those who are in charge of farming, economic development in new nations, and the average person, who can alter their relationship to the nourishment they take in.

Clay Shirky and Cognitive Surplus

The TEDTalk by Clay Shirky was one that I found incredibly interesting. This is because it uses entirely tangible concepts to look into the future. There is an attitude throughout the video that whatever is produced through cognitive surplus will be a good thing, as it will further develop an open source economy and will change the structure of how humans operate. His presentation went along with some of the ideas discussed by Daniel Pink when it comes to intrinsic motivation and the change towards an open source economy. He additionally spoke on the usefulness of societal values. He used a study of day care pick up times as a way to exemplify this.

The way Mr. Shirky delivered his speech was indicative of his supreme knowledge of his subject. After watching it several times it made me think of the ways I spend my time. So for one day, Saturday to be specific, I kept a log of all of my activities to see how much free time I would have to contribute to the world that is larger than my small microcosmic existence.

• I spent 30 minutes showering and preparing in general
• 2 hours of dance and 15 minutes of biking back and forth from the studio
• 5 hours of hanging out with my friend Elaine and roughly 20 minutes of driving
• 40 minutes of running on my treadmill
• 1 hour for a relaxing bath
• a few hours of miscellaneous activity and homework
• sleeping after starting on homework and then stopping

Keeping this log allowed me to really see what Mr. Shirky was talking about when he said that we have an immense amount of time on our hands and at least some of that should be spent for the betterment of all people, not just ourselves. I myself could have probably done 8 hours of something just as rewarding as any of the other things I chose to do, and have made a better impact on the world. The same is probably true for many other people, my age and older, at least twice a week. It is not difficult to envision a world, which through the use of technology and human generosity, is better for everyone, because of everyone.

Daniel Pink's TEDTalk: Breaking ground with Self Motivation.

My take away from the TEDTalk by Daniel pink is much the same as what I gather from Mr. Pink’s Book A Whole New Mind and from the excerpts we have read from his other book; times are changing in ways previously unforeseen. His studies on motivation are obviously credible and show that there is an internal drive that is very separate, but equally as valid, as external drives. Humans derive pleasure from completing tasks that better themselves or by merely completing the task. The speaking techniques used by Mr. Pink somewhat muddle this original point. In the many ways he finds to say the original statement, he makes the message seem less valid. Despite this, Mr. Pink is very dedicated to his studies and it reads in how he presents all which he does.

When he told what really mattered in the video and expanded on it, it became apparent that what was being discussed was irrefutably fact. I noticed how what really drives me to succeed isn’t just some letter grade or advancement in a field of academia, but rather how I was motivated by the feeling of success. This however, is a personal knowledge about my learner type and would be that same way for many children in the schooling process. When it comes to business, whole new ideas of leadership, and its role, are blossoming due to this principle of self imposed goals. There are already quite a few companies worldwide that are using this principle to guide their employees’ creative process. Including several which use only self governed work. So already the seeds of change in the workplace are taking root and breaking ground.

Aimee Mullins's Incredible Excess of Legs

My first time watching Aimee Mullins's TEDTalk was just not enough. I immediately replayed her presentation titled "Accessible design in Prosthetics". During the lecture she told about her personal experience with teaching children how prosthetics could not only improve people beyond the realm of human capability, but beautify them beyond that boundary as well. What she considers something that matters is Poetry, or as some would put it, beauty. The speaker showed several of the marvelous legs she had, which served only as mediums for fashion and beauty. Including a pair of carved ash legs designed by Alexander McQueen. The legs she was wearing during the presentation augmented her height to five inches over her regular 5'8".

After my first watching of the video my thought was that she was so lucky, and then I was a little upset with myself for thinking that someone with a disability was luckier than I. However, in truth, she is rather lucky. Due to the disability she has, she is able to become what I and many others cannot. She has the unlimited potential to interchange the form and/or function she wants to employ daily. After my second watching, the thought of what I would do without my legs sent shivers up and down my spine. Though the improvements to Ms. Mullins quality of life are incredible, I would never be able to continue with the things I had recently started loving to do; dance, running, and building my calves. Though they seem trivial it is these things that separate empathy from jealousy, but TED has increased technology's influence so much that one day I may move from empathizing to really wanting prosthetics.

Aimee Mullins's TEDTalk Inspired me to look into the monetary cost of prosthetics and I found that the average cost of a prosthetic limb is about 10000 dollars. Though it seems a staggering amount, this is partially covered by insurance, and with advancements like those Aimee has been behind, prosthetics may become even cheaper in the same way advanced technology does. There may soon be a world where the disabled are hyper-abled.