TEDxFIU was so insanely fun that I have to dedicate two posts to it! Consider this to be a more behind the scenes kind of deal, well…behind the scenes from my perspective. I’d like to share with you my adventure around the FIU campus as well as the cool stuff before and after the TEDxFIU event!
For those who may remember,I recently perchased my ticket to go to this year’s TEDxFIU Reimagine Possible event! The tickets to which sold out in a matter of minutes, and I was able to get my hands on one. The ticket camp-out processes is one that I had never done before and provoked a family value-sized amount of anxiety. The sweat on my palms alone could have filled the Red Sea.
Words cannot describe how excited I am to go to my FIRST EVER TED talk. Seriously. Like, the words…I don’t have any.
Innovation and new ideas are something that everyone can use.
Even better is taking negative stigmas and turning them into positives.
Take for example, this supernatural shark phenomenon. So I don’t know if you’ve heard about Sharknado…but its basically showcasing the already feared shark as a diabolical, flying death machine. WHAT?
There’s also Ghost Shark, which I caught on the Sy-Fi channel… It’s about a shark so evil that it kills you after it’s already died. And yes, this shark also flies at you in the land. Really???
What I’m trying to say is that if we are going to make sharks do stuff that they normally don’t do – why do we have to make their tasks things that are violent – and always flying? Why not have sharks save the world?
TED has inspired me to reimagine new innovative ways that we can use sharks that relieves them from this flying death trap stigma.
I present to you, Shartato. This shark is half potato, and grows back its body parts – so infinite potatoes for the world to feast on!
I got another idea: Sharktenna. Sharktenna is a new, innovative way to improve your cellphone reception.
I know that I could definitely use this next invention: Shark.S.B. The USB that swims your way when you’ve lost your own USB or desperately need to back up some documents!
But lets think on a global scale, how about repairing our OZONE LAYER? Thanks to sharks, we can. Its a little idea that I call SHARKZONING.
I even have an idea to help local communities get more into physical fitness! Just institute the EXSHARKCISE program!
Help give scientists around the world a new perspective on their research, a shark’s perspective. That’s what the SHARKINEERING is for:
Is your government shut down because of irrational convoluted political drama? Send in the GOVERNMENT SHARKDOWN! All problems will be solved within hours, or no one leaves Washington alive.
So with that last one I seem to have failed at providing a non-violent representation of sharks…sorry. I think I’ve just made my whole argument invalid at this point.
Guess I’ll end it here.
What kind of shark innovation would you invent to better the world?
More specifically, today (October 10th) is National Depression Screening Day! So if you, or someone you know, has had an inkling that something is a bit off in their lives and that feeling doesn’t seem to resolve, there’s free screenings offered through the website “Help yourself. Help others.”
I’m not sure why there is such a stigma about depression, although no one can deny that it exists. People go through so much in their life times, its no wonder that the statistics for depression are so high.
I’d like to leave some of these statistics with you all so that you can become more aware of how problematic this health issue is, and why it needs to be talked about.
3 million men are affected by depression in the United States
Men are 4 times as likely to die by suicide
Women 18 to 45 years of age account for the largest proportion of people suffering from depression
10 percent to 15 percent of women experience a clinical depression during pregnancy or after the birth of a baby
Latinos are more likely to present “somatic” symptoms of depression, like body aches and nervousness
One out of four young adults will experience a depressive episode by age 24
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for those aged 15-24 and the second leading cause of death of college students
Depression affects more than 6.5 million of the 35 million Americans who are 65 years or older
Depression can be caused by a variety or combination of different factors. No one chooses to be depressed. Start talking about it. Seek out resources about depression, especially those in your local community.
I recommend that you give Kevin Breel’s TED talk, “Confessions of a depressed comic” a listen as well.
I have gotten super picky about my reading material over the last couple of years. Maybe its because I’ve been forced to read so much content in nursing school that I’ve kind of lost touch with what it means to “read for pleasure.” Or maybe my taste in books has changed without me realizing it. Either way, I just don’t pick up books like I used to.
These days, when I pick up books, I’m looking to learn something. I’m not looking to be lectured. I repeat – NO LECTURES! I’ve gotten enough of those from my college education… I’m just searching for that text out there that will inspire discussion and even stir up my emotions. Books with a message, research texts about a topic that interests me, something that makes me question myself to better understand who I am. I realize, reading this back, that this sounds like a huuuuuuge feat, but truthfully for all of the content out there all it really takes is for me to read one thought provoking sentence to completely change the way I think.
TEDTalks are a great example of what I mean. I’m looking to learn something new, hear the point of view of different people, see a topic in a light that I hadn’t even thought of before. I actually own a couple of books written by authors who were TEDTalk speakers.
My selection process goes a little something like this:
Basically I’ve been guilty of the following:
Selecting one book over another because of its price
Selecting no books because of their price…
Selecting one book over another because of how it looks
Disregarding all books from a particular author that I have previously read and disliked; regardless of any change in writing style/topic selection that the author may have undergone
I feel guilty that these are incorporated in my selection process, but its the honest truth.
The even more honest truth is that I go to Barnes and Noble to read books for free while drinking coffee at their little café. I’m a full on moocher.
HOWEVER! When it comes to bloggers that I follow, all bets are off. Unlike books, I can enjoy following a blogger who has completely different interests than my own. I don’t even have to be blown away by their blog layout. Best of all, I don’t have to bring cash up front to view their posts. Books and blogs are like two different dimensions. I read several different blogs, and have done so for several years. Bloggers are great because although they are usually themed – style, cooking, technology, gaming – I get to indulge and share in the excitement of whatever they’re posting. And that’s something that a good majority of books can’t do, truly connect with their audience. I say majority, but I know there are plenty of books out there that completely tear through you and force you to see pieces of yourself that you may or may not have wanted to see. Bloggers more easily achieve this kind of reading catharsis for me, just because I get to know that person. I can interact with them. I can follow them through their own daily journeys and see their struggles as they parallel with my own. Some bloggers I use for an escape, since their lives are so different than mine. I don’t know if my blog does any of these things for other people…lol okay I know it doesn’t…but I do enjoy being a part of the blogging community. Even if it is just me ranting about things 90% of the time.
Okay so now I want to hear from you guys! This is a daily prompt, but I still want to know your answers.
How do you pick what blogs or books to read? What’s the one thing that will get you to pick up a book or click on a link every single time?
I’m not even sure who the guest speakers are going to be, but last year’s TEDxFIU was a huge success, and I didn’t even know it happened. To be honest, the fact that I get to participate as an audience member in any TEDTalk is mind-blowing. I have been a fan of TED and watched numerous speakers inspire and educate me on a variety of topics. I think I’ve even blogged about a few of my favorite speakers. I plan on continuing to do so as well. I will be periodically checking their webpage for updates. I am just so excited, you have no idea.
That being said. I just had the most terrible anxiety building up as I was refreshing the ticket page.
Has anyone ever done this before?
I have to admit, though I have in the past bought tickets the same day they were made available, I never had to camp out for tickets. I mean, I’ve camped out for various other things (Black Friday deals!), but never for an online purchase.
It’s kind of a nail biting experience. All you do is sit there and wait for the website to start selling the tickets, you’re compulsively clicking refresh again and again. Your palms get all sweaty. Your heart starts to pound like crazy within five minutes before the time they become available, mostly because you realize that maybe your computer or cell phone clock isn’t in sync with whatever the website’s clock is. Not to mention my crappy internet connection. Why do I pay so much money for below average connection speeds? I digress. So, around 9:55am I was in full refresh-click-mode.
But when my computer clock changed to 10am, a fiery motivation took over my body and right index finger. THIS IS IT. THE TIME IS NOW.
BUT NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN I CLICKED REFRESH! So, naturally, I panic. I focus all my energy on keeping my eye on the prize. I WILL CLICK THIS REFRESH BUTTON FOREVER. I WILL GET MY TED TALK TICKET!
Jenny Thomson, and a bunch of researchers from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, recently released findings from a study that say that people with dyslexia may start investing in e-readers!
Dylexic people, who weren’t reading for fun, started using smart phones and e-readers got them into reading! What started as word-of-mouth from different people with dyslexia ended up being seriously investigated.
Apparently, those who were involved in the study, were able to read faster and retain more information when reading off of an ipad as compared to traditional paper media. The researchers are saying that the text customization of the electronic devices may be the key. Users are able to enlarge text, allowing fewer, larger letters visible at a time.
Keep in mind though, not all dyslexia is the same! The study does make mention that dylexics who had high VA Span Scores did just fine with paper media.
If you are like me, and asked yourself “WTF is a VA Span Score?” then you probably just googled it. If you didnt, I’ll save you some time. VA stands for visual acuity, so basically, a VA Span is how well they can keep their “gaze” or “visual attention” on the text. Therefore a low VA Span score suggests that the person has issues keeping their eyes on the lines of text, while a high score means they can keep that level of focus.
Nevertheless, this is a great discovery!
“It’s great news… Our study shows that you don’t have to create a new device, you can use the technology many people already have to help people read better. It’s such an easy thing you could do.” – Jenny Thomson
Since I’ve seen several great TEDTalks who make mention of dyslexia, I thought I’d share some of them here as well, since we’re on the topic! Enjoy.
So, if you haven’t watched Apollo Robin’s TEDTalk, then the title of this post means nothing to you. I suggest you watch it, I have made it super easy and available for you down below, so you have no excuses!
Robins is the founder of Whizmob Incorporated, which is a company that educates military and law enforcement in fraud and scam tactics. The real kicker of his company is that it does include a bunch of “criminals” who have since decided to change sides and use their knowledge for good! You can’t make that up man. Robins himself is a pickpocket, and shows off these skills numerous times, but the core of his work surrounds manipulation. Manipulation in this particular case is misdirecting people’s attention.
This all immediately reminded me of Darren Brown. For those who may not know Brown, he is a pretty well known British…uh, I want to say trickster? But that may be downplaying his work. Brown has done numerous television specials on the topic of misdirection, illusions and “mentalism”. It’s easier for me to show you rather than continue explaining. Below are some clips.
If you have some time, there’s a great special he did called Darren Brown’s “The System”, its about 47 minutes so it is a bit lengthy. But, if you have some time, you should watch it.
I'm just Super Saiyan 