Kit Clemente
Opinions Editor
8:30 at night: the time is dripping by, the midnight oil is reserved for the moment when studying derivatives and the inner workings of evolution becomes of a crucial nature. And like any other typical high schooler, what first is thought to be a few minutes of browsing becomes at least a solid 45 minutes of SNL videos, Facebook chatting, and perusing of StumbleUpon. In this unproductive haze, one may come across one of the newest intrigues of the world wide web: TED Talks.
These lectures are based on “ideas worth spreading,” and their breakthrough integration via the web has allowed the original purpose of bringing people of technology, entertainment, and design together to permeate the minds of stressed and too-busy-to-care teens in order to reintroduce a thing of brilliance: intellectual curiosity.
The focus of TED Talks ranges from vultures to deep sea diving in a wheelchair to life lessons of the fiscal cliff. Although this list of topics seems random, it is beautifully random. Why? Maybe because TED Talks uses witty titles, seemingly trivial premises and colloquial lecturers to delve into deeper inferences, provoke ideas on broader and pressing issues, and awaken the individual in a way that is not so in-your-face.
In fact, many of you may be familiar with one of TED’s recent lecturers, Sarah Kay. Ms. Kay came to our school for an assembly on spoken word poetry and performed one of the very same poems she used while giving her TED Talk, “B.” Ms. Kay’s TED Talk was similar to the assembly that many students attended, but with one major difference–she was reaching millions of people. The YouTube link of her talk alone shows 2,269,164 hits (and counting). And with 1,418 videos like Ms. Kaye’s on TED’s website, countless professionals, intellectuals and intriguing individuals are breaking through the usual drudge of videos of cats, people falling, and music videos to introduce themselves to the population on a personal level, and share their stories or insights.
For instance, watching “Sue Austin: Deep Sea Diving … In a Wheelchair,” the viewer literally becomes a part of Ms. Austin’s journey in transforming the thought processes of people when viewing seemingly limiting objects or obstacles. By listening to her story of attempting to transcend the negative relationships people associate with wheelchairs by creating an underwater wheelchair, which is foreign to viewers, one realizes the potential of the idiosyncrasies of others. And more than that, one may even realize the opportunity within limitations, and the brilliance and wonder found in perserverance.
To me, TED Talks like Ms. Austin’s, which are shared through media that break through the overwhelming dominance of pop culture media, are a gift — they are a way to take a moment, a pause, and get lost in meaningful thought without doing homework or taking part in about a million other activities. But overall, these talks present all viewers with the ability to learn in a user-friendly and fresh way. So whether you’re interested in neuroscience, drama, mediation, or just want to get lost in the wonder of a truly great story or idea, take a moment from the cats and One Direction videos that clog YouTube these days and push your mind along with the experiences of others through TED. You won’t be sorry, I promise.
