TED Community » Emily Whitney

More About Me

I'm passionate about

The future, new ideas, and cats

An idea worth spreading

I believe if science and literature, is exposed to children at a very young age, instead of television and toys, their immediate and instinctual curiosities will be a lot more advanced than those who were raised using pure pleasure. If young minds are exposed to wonderful questions and are dusted with the striking words of good literature, the child will not make narcissistic goals of pleasure but will aim to create and mold their world answering the questions that were presented to them from the early stages of their existence

Talk to me about

Science, books, people, public figures, ice cream, The Higgs Boson; anything really. The possibilities are infinite and I'm always up for a good well thought out conversation.

People don't know that I'm good at

Learning new languages, arguing, writing, playing lacrosse, being a twin sister, hiking, procrastinating

Comments

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• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 22 2012: Thank you Mark! I am very grateful to be raised in a world where the adults around me are so supportive and willing to mentor. I completely understand what you are saying, and I think children SHOULD look up to adults, and learn from their mistakes and victories. The point I was trying to get across, however, was that young Americans have a hard time even contributing ideas! As I stated before, "I am speaking on a more general scale of contributing to their society. Sometimes even the most ignorant people can contribute the most, and ideas worth spreading don't necessarily have to be filled with fact and experience!". Children, and young people do not necessarily have to run mega corporations, but their contributions could be something out of reach to adults.
  
  Thank you again Mark!

• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 22 2012: Thank you very much David! My sister and I are in fact planting cherry trees around our neighborhood, so that's a start, right?
  
  Also going back to the first point made in the comment, I really think you hit the nail right on the head. Everyone I had approached in search of a job, or even asking to do volunteer work, had turned me down because of my age. I've found the key to getting around this is independent work, but being a member of young America makes it very hard to acquire investments or help. Anyway, you are spot on with the fact that people don't need a handful of skills to accomplish something. People need to be more trusting!
  
  Thank you again!

• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: Thank you Robert! I really liked this response, and especially the last section. I do truly appreciate the freedoms I have in the States, for making an impact would be a lot harder elsewhere, even as an adult! I do not believe my brain has reached its peak, and I will thrive and grow as the years go on, learning from the adults and the experienced around me.
  
  I think I will wait, and prepare for the window of opportunity that will open after University to tackle big projects and ideas. As for the original mission, I was speaking on a more general scale. The fact that an ignorant child's ideas will be questioned rather than accepted as apposed to an ignorant adult's. Children have many hidden thoughts inside that many adults would never realize. Sometimes their innocence and ignorance can help a community with innovations that someone with all of the factual knowldedge in the world would never be able to see from behind all the "knowledge clutter"
  
  Thank you again Bob! I think your point was very truthful and straightforward, and I can totally appreciate that. The world needs more people like that. :-)

• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: Thank you! What a wonderful idea!

• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: Yes I do understand the fact that consequence comes with everything, and I really do believe that I have a lot more maturing to do, intellectually and physically, before I should take on big projects and decide the road to travel. Although I completely understand where you are coming from, that wasn't really the point I was trying to get across. I am speaking on a more general scale of contributing to their society. Sometimes even the most ignorant people can contribute the most, and ideas worth spreading don't necessarily have to be filled with fact and experience!
  
  Thank you for the response! It made me rethink my words, and that's how you know you've presented a good question!

• A comment on Conversation: Friendly Free-For-All Question: If You Were Stranded on a Deserted Island....

  Aug 19 2012: Let's build a Goddamn Tesla Museum!
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: This is great! With so many restraints set by society, and ideals on how children must lead the lower portion of their lives, it's hard to see past it all and get going! I think you got it all down! Thanks again!
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: Thank you James, I feel that's how all young people should live :-)

• A reply on Conversation: How can young America make a difference?

  Aug 19 2012: Thank you very much! That's very true, my generation is very lucky to have all of the technological and social allowances. Good point!
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  A reply on Conversation: A college level course using TED as the driver for discussion, research, and learning.

  Aug 19 2012: Why not younger students as well? Being currently a highschool student myself, my English teacher uses talks to better explain the subject or topic at hand. Learning from the experience of others, and or researches and ideas help us, as in the students, wrap our heads around the concepts and see them from an experienced viewpoint. This method works on students that are a lot younger than the original audience it was aimed at, because these young people see the ideas from a more mature standpoint and they are presented with real world topics/knowledge/questions/ideas etc. Although I was already aware of the talks before they were used in our classroom, they really give a better understanding on the subject they are applied to. That's one of the benefits of being 14 :-) there's so much out there to learn and soooo much room to grow