A few minutes ago a friend called. Seems that Sir Ken Robinson will be speaking in Dallas. I’ve previously blogged about him at http://www.myephemerae.com/do-schools-kill-creativity. So being interested I Googled him  and “Dallas Museum of Arts” and found this page: http://snipurl.com/9bo6m.

(The actual URL is WAY too long to type … http://dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/Experience/Arts___Letters_Live/ID_008546 … but let’s just ignore that for now.)

Ignoring the length of the URL for a minute, take a look at the page. Now start the stopwatch. Try to buy a ticket. See how long it takes you to buy a ticket. I haven’t yet figured it out yet. Should be a one-click process … as in “click here to buy a ticket”.

In addition, notice that the page mentions his TED presentation. Why doesn’t it link to it? (See http://snipurl.com/9bo1l and http://snipurl.com/9bo2o) . Doesn’t seem to link to his website either. (http://www.sirkenrobinson.com) Wonder why. It does show a picture of his new book: The Element. But it doesn’t link to that either (http://snipurl.com/9bo46).

But that isn’t all. See here on the same site: http://snipurl.com/9bomo. Look at Jan 20. A nice description. But no link to the other promotional page and no other links either. And still no link to buy a ticket.

No easy way to buy a ticket. No link to the TED talk that might inspire attendance. No link to the book. No cross links within the site. Is it just me, or does that seem wrong?

I’m rarely short on opinions.

One of my opinions is that the law “No Child Left Behind” is really about “No Child Gets Ahead”.

For me, the law seeks to repeal with the brush of a pen the fact of the bell curve.

That said, I truly like this presentation.

(Depending on your browser security settings, may need to click twice to start the video. If you are receiving this via email, or want to open the TED site with the video, just click here:  http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html)

Bio of Sir Ken Robinson
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/69

More of my posts about TED
http://www.myephemerae.com/category/ted

Tomorrow, I will be flying to Colorado to help a friend go back to California
(see http://JSH.us/helen)

Just a month ago I had helped her come from California to Colorado to try to start something new. That effort did not work. And now, I am working to undo what I did.

Lots of people ask me why.

Is it that I feel responsible? No. It is not.

Then, if not, why. Why take these actions? Why spend this money? Why do these things?

The answers are relatively simple.

1. Because she is a friend … someone I have known on the internet for 10 years … who I have corresponded with a lot, and helped a little, through many ups and downs.

2. Because I believe what I do might help (though I admit that I have been incredibly wrong before).

3. And because I feel compassion.

I’ve written previously about TED. (To see those prior posts, just go to http://www.myephemerae.com/category/ted/).

Today, as I prepare to travel, I wound this most recent TED video about compassion.

It seemed appropriate to share it today.

(Depending on your browser security settings, may need to click twice to start the video. If you are receiving this via email, or want to open the TED site with the video, just click here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/234)

Bio of Karen Armstrong
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/208

Transcript of the talk
http://blog.ted.com/2008/03/karen_armstrong_1.php

While clicking around the TED website (TED.com) looking for information on the brain, another presentation I found was by Helen Fisher. Helen is an anthropologist who studies love. She looks at how it evolved, the underlying brain biochemistry and what it means to human society.

(Depending on your browser security settings, may need to click twice to start the video. If you are receiving this via email, or want to open the TED site with the video, just click here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html)

(PS: I’ve written before about TED.)

In this presentation, …

She outlines the three stages of love (lust, infatuation and long-term attachment), shedding light on eternal questions like why we love, and why we cheat. She also discusses the natural talents of women, and their new significance in the modern world. She ends with a warning about the widespread use of antidepressants — and a truly hilarious story of romantic pursuit.

Recently I was exploring the TED website (TED.com) looking for information on the brain.

(I’ve written before about TED.)

One item I found was a presentation by Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness.

(Depending on your browser security settings, may need to click twice to start the video. If you are receiving this via email, or want to open the TED site with the video, just click here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html)

Dan explains in his presentation a bit about how our brain simulates situations without having to actually experience them (e.g., would you want liver and onions ice cream?), how we artificially create happiness, how we change our mind about what will make us happy and how we can be very wrong about what will make us happy.

I think it is worth the time (21:28) to view it.

Recently, I stumbled upon TED. TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design”. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The TED Conference, held annually in Monterey, is the heart of TED. More than a thousand people attend. The event sells out a year in advance. And the content has expanded beyond Technology, Entertainment and Design to include Science, Business, the Arts and all the Big Global Issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot – only 18 minutes! – to give their presentation.

There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience.

The TED site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 100 talks with more added each week.

Not only that, these videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.

TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation, a 501(c)3 organization (USofA). It was created in 1996 by Chris Anderson, at that time a magazine publishing entrepreneur.

“The goal of the foundation is to foster the spread of great ideas. It aims to provide a platform for the world’s smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries and most-inspiring teachers, so that millions of people can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and a desire to help create a better future. Core to this goal is a belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than a powerful idea. Consider:

• An idea can be created out of nothing except an inspired imagination.
   
• An idea weighs nothing.
   
• It can be transferred across the world at the speed of light for virtually zero cost.
   
• And yet an idea, when received by a prepared mind, can have extraordinary impact.
   
• It can reshape that mind’s view of the world.
   
• It can dramatically alter the behavior of the mind’s owner.
   
• It can cause the mind to pass on the idea to others.”

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the video that first brought me into TED.

TED:
http://www.ted.com

About TED:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/5

Who Owns TED:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/42