Ideas Worth Sharing: Why I Love TED Talks
Whenever I’m having a tough day, plugging through piles of e-mails and writing long proposals, I turn myself over to 20 minutes that nearly guarantee me to get inspired again.
I’m talking about TED talks. Amazing speakers (one of these days, Re-Vision Labs will be invited, I’m confident of this), inspiring ideas, and a great platform. Spectacular citizens of the world all asked to come together and talk about one thing: ideas. Ideas to share and to inspire others to get moving. TED talks are one simple example of why I am thrilled to be part of the age of information – there has never been another time when we could be so connected to one another and be so exposed to each others’ ideas.
After watching a TED talk, I nearly always step away from my computer, huge grin on my face, and run over to someone else at Office Nomads and tell them that they have to watch what I just watched.
Let me tell you about my most recent inspiration: a little talk by James Howard Kunstler on New Urbanism.
Take 20 minutes to watch, and then continue reading.
(it’s only 20 minutes – seriously. Take the time – it’s worth it.)
Awesome, right? An excellent, humorous account of urban (and suburban) environments as we have created them in the United States. I love his casual tone and frank, honest opinions about the world in which we have built for ourselves to live in. But mostly I appreciate that Kunstler doesn’t just complain (but yes, he does complain, as we all do from time to time), but he gives thoughtful feedback and poses a challenge for us to change the way we currently build and enjoy our urban centers.
If you didn’t have time to watch it let me tempt you into doing so by pulling out two points I found incredibly poignant.
- Kunstler challenges us to think of places as “living organisms,” which include “all the organs of our civic life and communal life.” This is the kind of thinking that drew me to working with Re-Vision Labs – this kind of thinking requires stepping back and looking at the communities around us as systems, as part of a whole. No one is alone in this idea of place – we are all dependent on and responsible to one another.
- The idea that we must stop referring to ourselves as consumers. “Consumers” limits our role in the greater system, taking away any sense of obligation or contribution to the overall process. Instead, Kunstler says we should be thinking of ourselves as citizens in every realm of our life, whether we are purchasing a car or voting for a city councilperson.
Now those are some ideas worth sharing.
