TED Community » Brittney Stewart

More About Me

I'm passionate about

The debate! Talking about issues that matter and how they will affect our futures! Philosophy, psycholog, and especially behavioral economics!

An idea worth spreading

That no government should be free from criticism, the moment a government is free from criticism is the moment it ceases to uplift the human condition. Satire for the win!

Talk to me about

POLITICS! Satire, economics, and history!

People don't know that I'm good at

utilizing politics and pop culture to point out the government's inadequacies.

My TED Story

Randy Pausch, notable because of his Last Lecture prompted me to look at the way I live my life. He reminds me of Steve Jobs, just because of the utter promise and potential that they lived with until their last day, being envious and striving to live with that kind of conviction.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +4.70 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +2

  A reply on Conversation: Should the Girl Scouts Allow Transgender Students to Join the Organization?

  Jan 16 2012: I think you presume the gender someone is rests solely on their sexual organs, when there is plenty of scientific evidence to the contrary.
  
  It strikes me as unfortunately common that it is not a child's first inclination to discriminate against someone on account of their genitals, but it is an adult's.
  
  Honestly, when you say girl with a penis, you seem to think that she will be flaunting her penis in people's faces. You seem to imply that her gender will be a constant threat to her fellow girl scouts as opposed to the real reason for your animosity. The fact that you are uncomfortable with it, for reasons that you have every reason to believe, but not every right to express as it interferes with the rights of others.
  
  Simply because it makes you uncomfortable is not enough, the fact that it could "hypothetically," make others uncomfortable is not enough. The fact of the matter is the Girl Scout Mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place, then we must build girls of courage to accept those who share this common goal, the confidence to not let divisive points of view undermine this belief, and to instill a character that does not discriminate against others simply because of a biological incongruity.

• A comment on Conversation: Should the Girl Scouts Allow Transgender Students to Join the Organization?

  Jan 16 2012: I have a cousin that's transgender. And if the child truly identifies with that gender, I see no reason to penalize them for their biology.

• A reply on Conversation: Does your face really make a difference? What is it?

  Jan 16 2012: Your conjecture is part of the reason, in Paul Bloom's book, How Pleasure Works he goes in depth about why we as people prefer such faces and that even babies prefer symmetrical faces. Another one of his conclusions is that symmetrical faces indicate health and youth which is what we seek in mates perhaps as another facet of natural selection, because things like poor nutrition, parasites, and the ravages of time will eat away at our symmetry and thus be less attractive.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Was the universe created by God, or by the Big Bang Theory?

  Jan 14 2012: Neither are definitive answers, that is the beauty of it. To be constantly enraptured in the wonder of the universe is what is unique to the human condition.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Does your face really make a difference? What is it?

  Jan 14 2012: We are genetically inclined to find symmetrical faces beautiful and subconsciously treat them likewise. Damn biology. :)

• A comment on Conversation: In your opinion, what was the worst decision made by US government that didn't benefit people?

  Jan 14 2012: Japanese internment

• A reply on Conversation: Bad vs Evil

  Jan 14 2012: I've read How We Decide, and really liked it. I'm going to have to reread it. :)

• A reply on Conversation: Bad vs Evil

  Jan 14 2012: Bad seems to be any defect of character, while evil is like a tumor of wrong that if unchecked will envelop the character.
  
  I like the way you synthesized nature and nurture, it's hard to truly assign credit to one more than the other.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Philosophers should replace politicians as the primary decision makers of the world.

  Jan 2 2012: I loved that talk. I don't know if philosophers should be in charge, or whether politics should simply be infused with philosophy. Philosophy is very ambiguous at times and even with issues like abortion the best they can do is give the argument for each side. Even if philosophy can't always give us the right answers, it sure gives us the right questions to consider.

• A comment on Conversation: If you did not have religion or never exposed to religion; how easy would it be for you to believe in a heaven and hell?

  Jan 2 2012: This reminds me of Voltaire, who said if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. So perhaps it's not if we believe, but why.
  
  One of the reasons I like Mother Theresa so much is because of how much doubt she had. Doubt is the essence of Faith, not its opposite. For those who claim absolute faith have nothing of the sort.