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Maria Georgescu

TEDCRED 50+

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What is the power behind a shared experience?

In my Bioelectricity class this week, We learned that it is the low resistance pathways between the billions of myocardial cells in the heart that allow this amazing organ to beat in synchrony. We also learned that in a particular study, one subject's EKG could be measured on another person's EEG simply through touch (http://www.reiki.org/Download/electricity_of_touch1.pdf). It's incredible to think that a signal we are not consciously aware of can have a measurable impact on another person's mind and even heart.

Thinking more broadly: Who hasn't felt an urge to yawn within a few minutes of being in the presence of other yawning people? Or burst out laughing over an absurd happening that might not really have been funny? We encounter these types of shared experiences throughout our everyday lives.

Low resistance enables heart cells work together in synchrony. How can we
as species, work together taking advantage of our connected world?

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Topics: Bioelectricity EKG TEDinClass
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    Roy Bourque 20+

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    Mar 24 2012: Jesus said the second greatest commandment is that we love one another. I think we need to learn to apply the lesson.

    I like Jewel's song "hands"; In the end, only kindness matters.

    Good deeds are contagious; if only we could keep a positive attitude even when the chips are down. I have found that people will come to your aid in crisis when they know that you help others.
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      Yu-An Chen 50+

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      Mar 26 2012: Hi Roy,

      I totally agree with you that '' Good deeds are contagious." Here is a paper (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908235/pdf/main.pdf) that gives experimental supports about how behaviors of an individual human can be affected by observing the people around through social conformity. having positive attitude as a group can have amazing effect to others.
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        Roy Bourque 20+

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        Mar 26 2012: Thanks for the link Yu-An. I will read it when I get time to reflect on it.
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        Steven Nikolidakis 50+

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        Mar 27 2012: I definitely also agree that good deeds are contagious. However, I also see sharing experiences with other people and sharing love as another important factor in this question. By being around a certain group of people and experiencing similar circumstances, whether it being food, scenery, etc., feedback which is shared by this group of people is sent back to the brain. The more shared experiences there are, the more comfortable you will feel around these people. By sharing experiences, ideas can be spread and propagated between a group, which can be beneficial to all parties involved.
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          Matthew Wieder 50+

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          Mar 27 2012: I also agree with the whole power of the shared experience. What comes to mind is a class I was in where the teacher described individuals as having two types of friends: friends of personality and friends of circumstance. He went on to say how in general people have way more friends of circumstance than personality which is understandable because everyone is different in his or her own way making very similar personalities a rare occurrence. However, the fact that people are able to surround themselves with friends of circumstance shows how strong a shared experience can be. It is something to bond over, to laugh about and to increase the strength of an interpersonal relationship.
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      Ariel Habshush 50+

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      Mar 27 2012: Hi Roy,
      I also believe good deeds are contagious. On the same note, bad deeds are also contagious. There is an ancient Hebrew phrase: “mitzvah goreret mitzvah, averah goreret averah.” In English this translates to "one good deed will bring another good deed; one transgression will bring another transgression." If a person witnesses another doing acts of kindness, he will be inspired and continue to follow in their footsteps and do good. However, if we act badly, others might be influenced to do the same. They might reason that the action is not as terrible as they originally thought. Therefore, we must be careful with our actions because they have can have an impact on others.
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        Roy Bourque 20+

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        Mar 27 2012: The question in this is how do we learn to refrain from repaying evil for evil? Is there a way that we can revert evil for Good? I choose to live on faith and I will not return an evil deed. I will try to defuse the situation rather than resort to revenge. I see so many people that simply react to situations. Can this mindset be changed?

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