TED Community » Johan Oakes

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• A comment on Conversation: Do you think marriage, as a social commitment device, still works? Or did it ever work?

  Dec 25 2011: Marriage does not work anymore. It can't. At least, at a young age, we are taught now to believe in the idea of marriage which is "come together and build a nice life together and be patient, and all that.." Now, we are taught to be self-reliant, go one one's desired path, and do not let anyone mess you up. We are taught to look only for ourselves, so the idea of marriage totally contrasts our functioning.

• A reply on Conversation: Is the ease of retrieving information minimizing growth in our young population?

  Dec 21 2011: Very true, but the problem is that a loss of memory is a loss of time. If we always have to look up things, because we couldn't remember how to do them, then time would be lost. Time is also the most valuable commodity. In turn, a loss of memorization power and ability has led to great losses in intellect and speed.

• A reply on Conversation: Why aren't kids (+ young adults) given more credit?

  Dec 21 2011: Scott, I am saying this as a AP high school senior as well:
  
  The main difference between our generation and theirs is action. It is the impulse to act and the knowledge to turn facts into results. The thing is, perfect ACT's do not translate into success, even now, Ivy League does not translate into guaranteed job (just ask OWS). Their generation might have had few learning materials and programs, but they utilized a lot of what they knew because of their experience as WORKING men and women. The problem now is that perfect students now have no idea what is is like to be hired. Thus a lot, not all, go to college with out work experience. Consider Steve Jobs ("or the guy that you pick on because he walks a different route to regular English everyday"), the man did not have a perfect ACT, nor did he have a perfect moral record. He was also probably the kid that "forgot their homework on the desk." Yet, don't we all have to pay some respect to the Man. Steve Jobs knew the relationship between knowledge and action. Our kids today do not. This is why college graduates often have to be told what to do.
  
  (My AP English teacher would kill this essay. It is so off-track.)

• A comment on Conversation: Winds of change in North Korea?

  Dec 20 2011: This question is a great debate question because everyone knows a possible result, but no one knows the exact result. This is because of the anonymity of Kim Jong-Un. He has barely stepped onto a platform of leadership, and no one knows what his thought, intentions, or motivations are. He may follow his father out of pressure from surrounding leaders, or he may well have gotten sick of his father's authority and he may spread love and peace (and freedom) to other North Koreans. It is totally unpredictable.

• A comment on Conversation: Do you think that Brazil is prepared to host the World Cup? What do you think important for a country to host the World Cup?

  Dec 20 2011: If South Africa can do it, Brazil can can do it. For me, the most unpredictable thing is, the fan base. Will there be riots or will celebrations grow too big for self control. South Africa, whether you like it or not, does not have a deep history in soccer, so fans were not too much of a worry (of course, in any country, visiting fans are a definite worry. But, on the other hand, Brazil has one of the deepest roots in soccer. Fans will play a huge part in this world cup. The other is safety - drugs and violence. This is self-explanatory.

• A reply on Conversation: Why aren't kids (+ young adults) given more credit?

  Dec 20 2011: 1. EVERYONE has to defend their idea from scrutiny. Its called a competitive market!
  2. "Jaboc Ferragamo" The one in ten children (young adults) should have the responsibility to promote and capture interest in their own. We should not have to plead with young adults to give us credit.
  3. Im still in high school...and I am in AP Calculus. So good try on the joke, but sorry.
  4. Yes, let us pull an Obama on this. GEORGE BUSH screwed us up! How about we rise above that? The Great Generation rose above Hoover's Great Depression. They had it hard too, but they still pulled out and made their lives better. I hate people that whine. Take action!
  
  Plus, if you are going to be objective, please, be smart about it and edit your post.

• A reply on Conversation: Is the ease of retrieving information minimizing growth in our young population?

  Dec 19 2011: I guess that's another aspect. The whole worrying thing about that is that children are gullible. Thus, without the need to seek guidance, children will be easily persuaded from ignorant responses from numerous webpages stemming from a Google search. Students automatically accept webpage sources as valid (wikipedia) and so do I. So knowledge and communication are explicitly vulnerable.

• A comment on Conversation: Why aren't kids (+ young adults) given more credit?

  Dec 19 2011: 1. 1 in 10 children have somewhat of a decent idea. Others have already been tried or are just plain ignorant. (Not saying children are dumb, they just have no experience).
  2. Children have not done anything to deserve respect. They are still in the experiment stage. They must realize the trials and effort needed to propose idea into action.
  3. What adult would like to give credit to a child? "Hey, my little twelve year old told me that I should stop taxing my constituents!" Im pretty sure the board will not favor to that too well.