Olivia Arthur : Meditations on the intersection of humanity and technology

 Olivia Arthur·TED@BCG

Meditations in the intersection of humanity and technology 

Summary 

Actually, we must have thought that the intersection of humans and technology has a clear line, though, it changed to the blurring line by evolutions. 

The speaker is a photographer who takes gait pictures of humans and amputees. Now, creating a set of legs can walk, run and even jump without seeming to be mechanical at all. Of course, the prostheses don’t move on their own. The sensors read pulses from the amputee’s muscle to tell the limp how to move. We can see Ibuki, a Japanese word, that is to breathe new life into it, and feel more human. 

When the blurring lines are erased, is it by humans or technology, and what happens?

Lorenzo García-Amaya : Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak?

Lorenzo García-Amaya·TED-Ed

Why do we, like, hesitate, when we um, speak?

Summary 

In the article, l was happy somehow because Japanese hesitation words, “eto” and “ano” appeared. “Um” and “uh” are American’s and it’s called a kind of hesitation phenomenon. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be just a habit. This is a sign for others to start speaking, a signal that you’re not finished, a time for your speech to catch up with your thoughts, or to find out the right words. And then, listers are more likely to remember a word after your hesitation and they can follow, interpret and predict what you’re trying to say easily.  

Furthermore, the second-language learner can signal their new found fluency by using the appropriate hesitation phenomenon, I think so too because I who am learning the second-language feel that to be able to use it well means to speak well!!

A conclusion is that seemingly, we think that  “eto” “ano” “Um” and “uh”  are senseless sounds, however, it can convey a world of meaning. 

Amanda Gorman : "The Hill We Climb"

Amanda Gorman·2021 US Presidential Inauguration

"The Hill We Climb" transcript

Using your voice is a political choice

Summary 

The speaker is the youngest inaugural poet in US history. She who was asked from the wife of Biden delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. 

When Biden’s wife met the speaker for the first time, she wore a yellow shirt. Thus they thought that yellow must bring them luck, and chose a yellow coat this time.

Now, she is thought by many people that she might be President of the US in 2037. 

The speaker never reached here easily. She had a speech impediment, she is the daughter of black writers who broke their chain and changed the world, and she was asked by a white man that doesn’t make her poems political. It’s because people are terrified of her poems that have the phenomenal potential to connect the beliefs of the private individual with the cause of change of the public, the population, the policy, and the political movement. It’s especially her poems. Thus, she writes a story right, no matter what anyone says. 

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya : How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism

 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya·TEDWomen 2020

How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism 

Summary 

This was a powerful story. In the last of the article, you should watch the speaker's yell: “You become invincible”. It moved me. 

Authoritarianism is a belief to claim the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. Defeating it is difficult, furthermore, the speaker was a normal mother and wife in the small country, Belarus. When she had a little courage to help her husband, citizens realized a lot of injustice. It created solidarity, it made her fearless, and next, it appeared for them. Their courage was born from unity and their solidarity was their strength. It grows in progression and they are tens of thousands, and they become invincible. 

To create a justice world, normal people can fight. 

Patty McCord : 4 lessons the pandemic taught us about work, life and balance

 Patty McCord·TED Salon: DWEN

4 lessons the pandemic taught us about work, life and balance 

Summary 

We are suffering because of the pandemic, and we always ask about when we could go back and if we want to go back soon. Working from home is especially tough for not only employees but also employers. 

The speaker asked us if we didn't go back to the office. Her answer was surprising. The answer is that we can go forward and rethink the way we work and it’s good to become better. 

The way we learned during the pandemic were really great things that we didn’t realize for a long time. 

The keys are that employers have to understand that employees are the members of the company like the family and employees’ families become also the members of the company. We have to work as a team. 1)

Those members have responsibilities as family members and they should be adults. 2)

The team needs to practice. The result doesn’t appear soon, though, it should be clear. 3)

Working well needs to have conversations. 4)

Think about what worked and what didn’t work at the end of the day. 

You know what?

We don’t need to go back to the office. The way we used to do it not only is not the way of the future but we’re discovering so many wonderful things right now. 

Per Espen Stoknes : How to transform apocalypse fatigue into action on global warming

 Per Espen Stoknes·TEDGlobal>NYC
How to transform apocalypse fatigue into action on global warming
Summary 

Solving global warming must be the complete final destruction of the world, and the biggest obstacles to dealing with climate disruptions lie in our brains. Thus the word “Apocalypse” will be used. 

There are five inner defenses when we think about it. 

Distance: when we hear about climate change, we hear about something far away in space. 
Doom: we feel it doom. 
Dissonance: Dissonance occurred because we couldn’t agree on it. 
Denali: thus we want to deny it. 
iDentity: we try to deny even identity. 

And then the speaker explained how to flip these five defenses. 

Social: we have to think about the problem of global warming as the things that we feel near. 
Supportive: we have to think that we can support it. 
Simple: We can start even a small and simple thing. 
Signal: make sure of signals of your results. 
Story: we love stories that we want to go and it leads to doing something easily. 

Our small actions can change the world. It’s just our thoughts. We can protect our earth and we have to do it. 

Shi Heng YI : 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery: Shi Heng YI

Shi Heng YI  TEDxVitosha
5 Hindrances to Self Mastery (transcript)

Summary 

The speaker is not a native speaker of English, though, everyone must listen to his English easily. It was a slowly impressive low voice. Furthermore, the TED was held at Vitosha which is a mountain massif on the outskirts of Sofia and is one of the symbols of Sofia where the capital of Bulgaria, so the language of Bulgaria is not English. 

When the speaker thought that what was important in this lifetime, the answer was to learn something about himself. It’s to train and develop yourself. To enjoy your time even doing nothing, to find a way and to do the things you like to do.  

There was a man who listened carefully to travelers on how to travel well, though the man never went on a journey, unfortunately. It must be impossible to understand all by only listening, no one tells you which way to go, there is no need to believe anyone or anything. Just, investing the right effort and avoiding hindrances to see clearly and to have the right decisions.  

5 Hindrances that you have to avoid are sensual desires, Ill-will, loss and torpor, restlessness, and skeptical doubt. The speaker hopes that those hindrances don't stop you and you have practiced.