Elif Shafak 2: The revolutionary power of diverse thought

TED 2017

Elif Shafak 2: The revolutionary power of diverse thought (transcript)

Summary

We must taste words more freely.

The speaker tells us that she can taste words.

The taste of her motherland “Turkey” is a mixture of sweet and bitter and “Storyland” that writers write is the taste of freedom.

Then I wonder what the taste of my country “Japan” is.

I think that it's the taste of the white rice. Japanese rice is exceptional and it's different from other countries.

It's affected where it's made and which water is used.  

Sushi rice is used for vinegared rice and Onigiri is put on salt.

Some people say that it has no taste though it means the Japanese rice goes well with anything.

The Japanese white rice is pure and has innocent taste.  

Japanese people say that they want to eat the white rice when they remember motherland Japan or their mothers. After traveling overseas for a long time, they often say that.  

The speaker would seek freedom and diversity because there are no binaries in politics, emotions, and even our identities.  No one notices the devastation that loss of diversity brings.  

The truth is complicated, thus we would stop talking and shut down our minds.

However, she tells us that we should never, ever remain silent for fear of complexity.
Words have the revolutionary power of diverse thought.

Words in this story

innocence /noun/   innocent /adj/

purity /noun/           pure /adj/

freedom /noun/      free /adj/

diversity /noun/      diverse /adj/