TED Community » Cleo Abram

More About Me

I'm passionate about

curiosity for curiosity's sake, international health equality, poetry and prose, mountains, bringing people together, silence.

An idea worth spreading

When it is genuine, when it is borne of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice. When denied a mouth, it speaks with the hands or the eyes, or the pores, or anything at all. Because every single one of us has something to say that deserves to be celebrated or forgiven by others. ---- Eduardo Galeano

Talk to me about

Global health policy and practice, religion (or non-), community organizing, comics, running, radical tax reform, higher education, sailing, spoken word poetry, new places and interesting ideas.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +2257.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Nov 21 2011: Thanks Sanket.
  On your interpretation: I think you're absolutely right.

• A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Nov 21 2011: Thank you! I never expected the conversation to be as amazing as it has been-- everyone's answers are so interesting!
• +2

  A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 24 2011: Peter and Debra,
  
  I love this idea. To quote Sarah Kay, "I see the impossible every day. Impossible is trying to connect in this world, trying to hold onto others... knowing that while you're speaking, they aren't just waiting for their turn to talk-- they hear you." I know I still need to work on that: truly hearing everyone I listen to. "Listening them into existence" (what an incredible phrase. Thank you.) But I'll never stop trying, because every time I manage to really do it, I learn something amazing.
  
  I grew up going to a Quaker school. We had a weekly mandatory Meeting for Worship which every student, teacher, and administrator sat together in complete silence and periodically listened to short messages people were spontaneously inspired to share. I often learned more about myself and the world around me in that hour and a half than in any class; I wasn't talking, I was sitting in silence. I miss the structure for listening that the meetings offered, but I hope to apply the lessons learned there to the rest of my life.
  
  Thanks for listening,
  Cleo

• A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 23 2011: Gabs, numbers 8-10 are stunning.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 23 2011: I received a wonderful suggestion from Henrik Martenzon:
  Right before this conversation closes, I will compile a list of the ten most frequently cited "truths."
  Also, if their opposites appear in the conversation or someone strongly disagrees, I'll note that too.
  Can't wait to see what the list will look like!

• A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 23 2011: I especially like #7. It makes me wonder what mine is!
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: An atheist is still in a theist paradigm.

  Oct 23 2011: I think your ideas are great, but would like to offer another, related to the statement that questions of religion "have little bearing" and "are not applicable to one's self concept":
  Atheism as a 'religion' itself. It seems to me that agnosticism (although I am not agnostic) is the only viewpoint that can be considered "factually correct" and devoid of any "belief," because while we are alive we cannot possibly know for sure whether or not God exists. So, in the same way that religions take leaps of faith into the unknown to assert that God exists, atheists also take "leaps of faith" in order to say that God affirmatively does not. I think that atheists and the religious both rely upon faith, to opposite extremes. Because of this, I don't think I agree with your statement that atheists should remove themselves from a theistic paradigm.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: What place does creativity have in education?

  Oct 22 2011: I disagree with the general statement that in our education system "there is no room for creativity, critical thinking, or usage of the brain other than for memorization," but I do think that our system is flawed in that it does not prioritize these things.
  Take the college application process as an example. The purpose of the process is inherently to determine which students merit entrance to a given institution. This is of course not a bad thing in and of itself, but I feel that our definition of "merit" is wrong. Journalist for the New Yorker Louis Menand says in his essay "The Thin Envelope" that we define "merit" as "quantifiable aptitude and achievement." I think this concept is the crux of the problem; By upholding this limited definition, we ignore the need for creativity and passion. And, honestly, those are the more important aspects of "merit."
  In short, I think that by focusing on the quantifiable, we form an education system that ignores the qualities that make for success. We choose the best test-takers, but not the best students.
  The question that I have though is: How can we change this system?
  I don't know. I'd love to hear another's thoughts.

• A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 22 2011: I really love your list. Especially:
  Education is the most empowering tool
  The goal of being happy is good enough
  The questions you ask can be more telling of your character than the answers you give
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: We can learn by exchanging and discussing our own lists of "10 Things I Know to be True."

  Oct 22 2011: Thanks Phillip! Your answers definitely made me think about mine more critically. I especially love #s 3 and 4.