Oct 5 2012: Maria Montessori would have applauded Simon Schocken had she still been alive; what he has achieved is what she has been trying to tell people ever since the beginning of the last century; we need to create an environment conducive to self learning which is driven by curiosity and eagerness and willingness.
I think it's brilliant what he and Noam have done, his presentation is inspiring and coloured with wisdom and subtle humour...
May 29 2012: Hi Ken, great talk. It occurred to me that little children under the age of 5 are living examples of the four lessons you learned through robots:
1. they assume nothing,
2. they improvise continuously, especially when they have become mobile,
3. when their path is blocked they find ways to get over/under/through ..
4. and given half the chance they PRACTISE! It is the adults who continuously stop them from doing this for trivial reasons like: you get dirty, it might break, you might get hurt (Notice that I use the conditional!), what will the neighbours say....'Lastly, your daughter loves engineering because of your enthusiasm and the fact that you love her and spend time sharing your passion with her....You're right, robots DO teach humans important lessons!
Nov 30 2011: Actually there is research done on rats: female rats exposed to stress in the early part of pregnancy has a higher proportion of turning out babies who were homosexual oriented. It had something to do with the moment of exposure to the kind of stress the pregnant mother rat suffered. What you mentioned therefore is interesting, for if you are one woman (mother) surrounded by all these males (sons) you have to apply different skills, think differently, even behave differently as in, be quite assertive for boys respond better to hierarchy for instance than girls when raising them....very interesting....I wonder...
Nov 30 2011: What does this mean in regard to the high number of people who suffer obesity these days: If mothers were made to believe not to put on too much weight and/or eat things that have little nutritional value, would they have passed on a message of scarsety to the foetus or created a foetal environment of shortage? If we create a local environment that is safe for pregnant women and thereby safe for babies and children to grow up in, we may be on the way to creating a world that is safe for everyone....
Sep 8 2011: I think Julia's point is: pay attention as in PAY ATTENTION to acts of non-violence so as to inspire others to do the same and help those to stay determined, to 'hang in there' until more and more people notice.
Not 'rewarding' bad behaviour with concern and attention does not mean one condones it, one merely doesn't fuel this fire. PAY ATTENTION to non-violent behaviour while quietly figuring out what the problem really is, is far more effective in the long run....
Apr 6 2011: Thank you Eric! I always thought life began with and through sound and music and you proved it to be so. The letter you showed of the lady from the Alaskan bush convinced me of it. I am so glad you didn't join a band, for you gave us a heck of a lot more this way!!!
Mar 24 2011: Now why would you like to do that Robin? What is the purpose of such an experiment? And suppose you'd succeed in creating a creature like that, what question would you have answered and what do you propose to do next?
Mar 24 2011: We do well to remember that a lot of scientific discoveries and inventions came from pain and suffering, felt by and expressed through our body, to either ourselves or to those we love. Out of suffering sprang compassion.
Paradoxically, many people have learned such life lessons precisely because they suffered and learned to take care of themselves. If you got to that realization it's only one more step to wishing this for others and eh presto! compassion is born....
Mar 24 2011: No, I'm not trying to start a fight. I just want to draw the attention to the Ethics of it all, including science. I am not an opponent of science, on the contrary, but I am advocating to consider each step we take. Experiments on animals has resulted in technology that saved humans for sure, but we should not take for granted that it came at the cost of another creature's life.
When Mengele did his experiements on humans it was because the circumstances of the war created an environment that allowed this to happen without it being questioned. And that is my point; to stop momentarily and think through the possible consequences of our actions, actions kindled by our human curiosity which is what science after all is based on.
I think we should direct our own evolution to the best we are capable of, personally, collectively, environmentally. To have scientists gain knowledge and develop technologies without taking into account any longterm or destructive outcomes is dangerous and irresponsible in my books....
TEDCred score: +2.70 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.
A comment on Talk: Shimon Schocken: The self-organizing computer course
I think it's brilliant what he and Noam have done, his presentation is inspiring and coloured with wisdom and subtle humour...
A comment on Talk: Stephen Ritz: A teacher growing green in the South Bronx
A reply on Talk: Ken Goldberg: 4 lessons from robots about being human
1. they assume nothing,
2. they improvise continuously, especially when they have become mobile,
3. when their path is blocked they find ways to get over/under/through ..
4. and given half the chance they PRACTISE! It is the adults who continuously stop them from doing this for trivial reasons like: you get dirty, it might break, you might get hurt (Notice that I use the conditional!), what will the neighbours say....'Lastly, your daughter loves engineering because of your enthusiasm and the fact that you love her and spend time sharing your passion with her....You're right, robots DO teach humans important lessons!
A reply on Talk: Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born
A comment on Talk: Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born
A comment on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
Not 'rewarding' bad behaviour with concern and attention does not mean one condones it, one merely doesn't fuel this fire. PAY ATTENTION to non-violent behaviour while quietly figuring out what the problem really is, is far more effective in the long run....
A comment on Talk: Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong
A reply on Talk: Paul Root Wolpe: It's time to question bio-engineering
A reply on Talk: Paul Root Wolpe: It's time to question bio-engineering
Paradoxically, many people have learned such life lessons precisely because they suffered and learned to take care of themselves. If you got to that realization it's only one more step to wishing this for others and eh presto! compassion is born....
A reply on Talk: Paul Root Wolpe: It's time to question bio-engineering
When Mengele did his experiements on humans it was because the circumstances of the war created an environment that allowed this to happen without it being questioned. And that is my point; to stop momentarily and think through the possible consequences of our actions, actions kindled by our human curiosity which is what science after all is based on.
I think we should direct our own evolution to the best we are capable of, personally, collectively, environmentally. To have scientists gain knowledge and develop technologies without taking into account any longterm or destructive outcomes is dangerous and irresponsible in my books....