TED Community » Edward Caruana Galizia

More About Me

I'm passionate about

fairness

An idea worth spreading

Political leaders should not come up with ideas and then implement them. They should get what already exists in life and put it down on paper. That way they frame it and give it dignity. Why is "The Big Society" not working in the UK? Because it doesn't exist in the UK to begin with.

Talk to me about

Gay issues, human rights, art, creativity, hope, learning, teaching, connecting, absorbing, nurturing and lot's of other random stuff. If I don't know much about it, teach me....I love learning.

People don't know that I'm good at

playing

My TED Story

After I moved to the UK from Malta, got my heart broken and came out to my friends and family while being bashed about on the internet by a bunch of idiots trying to blackmail members of my family with the grand discovery of my sexuality, I felt that I had been exhausted and needed some grounding, stability and nurturing. I was having a terrible time at Uni and needed to understand what was going on in my head and my life. I stumbled upon a TED video and I instantly got sucked in by the accuracy and specificity of the words that were spoken. I felt that finally I had found a place to be. I was instantly drawn in by the loving and altruistic intentions behind every topic, every speaker, indeed the idea of the whole event. I was in total free fall, and TED was my landing pad.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What's your TED habit?

  Sep 21 2011: I first started watching TED on youtube. I immediately started to go from one video to another and then came to ted.com. I watch a number of talks every evening. I also read some of the debates and comments on the sight too. I also have TED on my itouch and phone so I can watch some stuff whenever I want.

• A comment on Talk: What we learned from 5 million books

  Sep 20 2011: Just went on Ngram and typed in "me, myself, I,you, yourself". All of them are pretty low, with "yourself" way at the bottom all the time. However "I" is way at the top. Could this mean anything or is it just a statistic?

• A reply on Conversation: How do you measure passion?

  Sep 20 2011: That seems like a very fair thing to do.

• A reply on Conversation: How do you measure passion?

  Sep 20 2011: "Most normal people are not passionate about their jobs"-That's true, but I see that as a problem. Those who are passionate about their jobs seem to generate more wealth, have a more fulfilled life and are generally happier. As someone pointed out lower down, those who are passionate about their jobs don't have the " can't wait till the end of the week" attitude. I would hate to live my life waiting for the weekend only.
  
  Yes, people like a job that pays them so that they can make the money to enjoy other things, but what are these other things? And why aren't they making them their job instead? That would be a lot more fulfilling for them.
  
  I am an actor fresh out of drama school, but as my day job I teach English to Foreigners. Yes, I wish I could spend every day I had working on scripts and performing. Not because of the attention I get, not for any prestige, but because it s what gives my mind momentum, drives me to be better and ignites life into my whole personality. As a teacher of English I get to connect with people, listen to their perspectives and gain better understanding of the world we live in and its people. I use this to enrich my imagination, and that also gives my mind momentum which I love.
  
  And incidentally, yes I do see architects drawing when they are out having a coffee, and let's not give accountants such a bad rep- some really do enjoy their job. Everyone has to relax and have fun from time to time, but that doesn't mean they love what they do any less.

• A reply on Conversation: How do you measure passion?

  Sep 18 2011: Agreed. The suggestions mentioned below are all valid in their own right. However, none of them can be used.
  You can lie about what sacrifices you have made, you can magnify any action you have taken, so that in an interview you sound passionate. Once again people are simply ticking boxes.
  
  Sometimes I wonder how many people are actually doing a job they want to do. Apart from those underdogs who are stuck in a job to make ends meet, there are also those in jobs just for the money, blocking the way for those who really want to do the job.
  
  Is it just me or is that a real problem?

• A reply on Conversation: What skills should future graduates possess ?

  Sep 16 2011: That is so true. However, from the way I see things, with so much choice available employers have to be as empirical as possible. What are you going to say in an interview-" I want the job because I am passionate about it"? Sure, anyone can say that.
  
  That is the problem: there is no way to measure passion without ticking boxes which will then be discovered by the applicants and then the game is back on.
  
  Hence my opinion stated lower down.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: What skills should future graduates possess ?

  Sep 15 2011: Agreed. The status quo will lead, or rather has lead, to having too many corrupt people at the top because they all felt they had to be corrupt. The system today has given us the situation today. I say bring down the bullies with more balls than brains and get the best people working!
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What skills should future graduates possess ?

  Sep 14 2011: I was about to write something very similar to what others have written below, but I felt something was wrong. I realized that I was being far too idealistic and not realistic at all. So I thought about this:
  
  The Situation.
  
  Today it doesn't matter how intelligent you are. That is not going to get you the job. Not because you can't think for yourself. The people who get the job nowadays are rarely those who are actually the best, but the ones who are the best competitors. In other words, unless you are willing to fight, claw, stab and be ruthlessly selfish you aren't going to get anywhere. These types of personality traits are rarely found in those who are "in it (the job) for the right reason".
  
  Employers have to be as empirical as possible when choosing who to hire since the competition is so high and they are so spoiled for choice that choosing is almost impossible. So they look at CVs and Cover Letters and references and tick the boxes. The people who know what boxes are being ticked just present their application that ticks the boxes- so no matter how intelligent you are,unless you know what boxes to tick for each employer you are not going to get anywhere with them.Not to mention the fact that you must also be aware of how the employer perceives things.
  
  What I think:
  
  I think graduates should be trained in how to play the politics in their industry, be given plenty of contacts, introduced to prospective employers, arrange a political base of people they can trust, and be taught how to research their prospective employers properly. All this so that in the end the best person can get the job and is not left by the waste side because of a personality issue like shyness. All the suggestions made below are useless if the chance to use them never comes along. I look around and all I see is a huge waste of potential in this world and it's all "the system"'s fault.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What subjects do you think you should be taught at school nowadays?

  Sep 13 2011: We should be teaching kids new languages from primary school. It is a lot easier for a child to learn a new language than it is for a teen or adult- so why do we take forever to get teaching children languages? As a child we had English and Maltese taught to us from kindergarten, and we also watched Italian television from time to time, so my generation of Maltese people, and those of the generations before me, can for the most part say they are tri-lingual.
  
  Knowing different languages is a huge plus, not only for the work place. It gives you a different identity, a different way of expression, a different outlook on life and the world.
  
  But more importantly, all these accumulate into one fundamental benefit- the ability to think more thoughts! And as Patricia Ryan said- "if you can't think a thought, they you are stuck".
  
  I can see the benefits of knowing more than just one language now that I live in the UK and spend a lot of time around people who only know English, and for who foreign languages are difficult things you had to do at school where they weren't even taught how to express themselves in a different language, only taught how to fill in the blanks and add words up to make sentences. I can see in the way they talk, that they are not aware of a different way of expressing themselves. And I am glad that I have the chance to identify feelings on more than just one level.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: What ingredients do you put into making a CHOICE / DECISION?

  Sep 13 2011: First I think about the "pull". Choosing a university, buying a house etc..- it has to have a pull. If there is no pull then I won't be happy with the choice.
  
  Secondly I think about the function it will have in my life, and if it fulfills that function properly.
  
  Afterwards, I think of what must be sacrificed in order to make the choice, and see if it is worth it.
  
  If these three boxes are ticked- I ll go for it.
  
  When it comes to moral choices my process is similar. I think of what I want to do, then of what I should do, then I think of the difference between the two. After that I think about what each choice means, what it will say about my character and how it defines me. This is the most important part for me, "Is this choice going to make me the person I want to be?". I then review my conclusions and always do my best to do the right thing. If I am having trouble choosing, or find my judgment clouded by negative motivations, I'll go to my allies ( friends, colleagues etc,) and ask them for advice Obviously this is a process used in complicated moral choices. Usually I just use my moral compass to guide me when it comes to obvious things like not stealing.