TED Community » Dan F

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• TEDCred score: +70.90 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Conversation: What happens after a TED or TEDx conference?

  May 1 2013: Hi Genevieve,
  
  For what it is worth, I like and relate to your creative restlessness.
  
  There is a real world escapism element to those of us fitting the description of your e-lurker (is this your word?) description. My first personal response was to prefer the reference of an ADVERURESOME smart, well-meaning, introverted e-lurker, just to make you smile (I'd even be will to drop - smart!).

• A comment on Conversation: What happens after a TED or TEDx conference?

  Apr 29 2013: Is TED at the end or beginning? A thought or two.
  
  Incidentally, your 2-cents is often beautifully distilled.
  
  Perhaps the real beauty of TED lies in the unexpected.
  
  TED can be viewed as a refreshing reservoir. These ongoing retrievable talks, and resulting conversations, comments and discussions about our modern state of technology, education and design helps define and explain the modern era. Our connections and circumstances can be better appreciated by better understanding the dynamics of all this ingenuity.
  
  This posting activity tends to be thoughtful and useful. It's easy for me to be sidetracked by a fellow member comments. I personally like the room to fully express thoughts on TED over the more constraining popular texting trends in this arena.
  
  I would not underestimate the developmental capacity of the TED enterprise, nor the influence of members such as yourself.
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  A comment on Talk: Nilofer Merchant: Got a meeting? Take a walk

  Apr 29 2013: Getting out of the chair more doesn't and won't happen without special effort and design. Sitting is the ultimate default position.
  
  Nilofer Merchant personifies her excellent message.
  
  My own personal effort to get out of the chair more involves having my computer on a wall lagged in platform that requires me to stand as I use it. At first I cheated, using a bar stool to sit part time, however I'm standing more than ever and like how it makes me feel. It was not easy at first, but now standing is the norm and the benefits are real. Trust me, being on your feet burns calories!

• A comment on Conversation: What is your definition of 'freedom'?

  Apr 28 2013: My view of freedom stems from the concept of individual liberty.
  
  We don't grow up in a vacuum, but rather learn a whole range of givens and circumstances that help define who we are and how we respond to our siblings, parents, and others which in turn results in feedback that helps satisfy our basic cares, wants and needs.
  
  As a result, many of us, as we become adults continue the traditions of our family including religious beliefs and adopt these cultural influences including politics, way of life, etc., automatically.
  
  Freedom can become a factor in our lives when knowledge and a greater exposure to life affects changes in our views. The value of freedom stems from the concept of liberty. The idea that an individual is entitled to their own pursuit of happiness and therefore entitled to choices in terms of belief systems, politics, lifestyle, etc., as an individual right - to me is the crux of what the idea of freedom is all about.
  
  Political freedom is what keeps authority from imposing the will of the majority on everyone. It is what the Bill of Right is all about in the US Constitution.
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  A comment on Talk: Robert Gordon: The death of innovation, the end of growth

  Apr 27 2013: Robert Gordon is reflecting on our economic cultural evolution. Innovation has to do with opportunity and the conditions that enable and promote such business activity. He claims the current evolved reality is precluding innovation, using data, and headwinds that affect these economics to anchor his deductions. It appears to me his intellect is framework sound, despite the fact social science can be argued ad nauseam.
  
  Perhaps it's time material wealth is re-ranked. Most of us are incredibly lucky to be living now as opposed to years ago, even with less money than we would like. A change in lifestyle may be the key to the pursuit of individual happiness. These goals for many are likely more allusive than money, for example, being physically fit, eating smarter and healthier, dropping bad habits and addictions, expanding one's knowledge base, being a more proactive individual in what we do and how we think, etc. All this stuff is at our fingertips with little costs or even with significant financial savings.
  
  I've been working at this for some time. My material stuff and investments fits me better. I try to stand as much as I sit (in fact, I stand while using my computer!). I grow my own vegetables. I have learned to sip fine wine, etc., yet have many miles to go, and promises to keep, but feel to be in a better place for my own personal lifestyle makeover in progress.
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  A comment on Talk: John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!

  Apr 25 2013: An interesting perspective on the dynamics of how past written communications are being blended by the high tech age of texting evolving around us in real time. It does make sense as employment demands and social contacts involve texting as a key means of communicating via abbreviations and info markers, etc., enable quicker, easier and effective contact tags with one another.
  
  It seems to me the more formalize written word will hold its own, but it does seem likely texting will evolved and develop as a separate identity due to this growing popular trend in how we communicate with one another, both superficially and via the disciplines of various lines of work, or other responsibilities.
  
  The reason traditional writing will remain strong is because its the anchor that allows us to wander, at least in my mind. Certain disciplines of study and knowledge demand the advantages of a more diverse vocabulary (at least in term of longer, richer words), sentence structure, plot, or theory expansion, etc.
  
  Anyway, interesting talk and topic about a new trend that is occurring and influencing our behavior before our eyes.

• A comment on Conversation: Has anti-discrimination gone too far?

  Apr 20 2013: Yes that could be argued to be the case.
  
  Blacks were unjustly discriminated against by Whites in our not so distant past history. An egregious fact involving separate public drinking fountains to considerably worse institutionalize and personal abuses. Politics legally impose a more civil behavior in the way we treat one another regardless race. The USA government did the right thing by acting to eliminate this unjust discriminatory behavior.
  
  That responsible political act did not end there. It went politically proactive and expanded pushing for the need for citizens to be more tolerant and accommodating to all kinds of individual differences that were considered worthy of special attention and treatment.
  
  Tolerance and accommodation in society can be pushed at the expense of the good aspects of intelligent judgement and the common sense discrimination about differences with those we should feel comfortable rejecting as an individual right without anti-discrimation concerns. Crude behavior or profane speech, or shocking appearance, or loud or pushy political views and belief systems, etc., can be legitimately offensive as a matter of good taste, appropriate behavior, truth, etc. Does not seeking unconditional toleration in these attitudes and behaviors promote the exact opposite of the original intent and aims of unjust discrimination or bullying? - Not to mention hinder justified critical thinking out of the fear of being called names and/or facing legal action?
  
  PS: later modified to reflex more what I originally meant to say.
  
  Thought provoking question.
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  A comment on Conversation: Can we ever design an experiment which can determine whether God exists?

  Apr 17 2013: Although science is designed to be good at only weeding out the false claims about the physical world, does it not in the process point us more in the direction of what better defines the truth by the scientific body of knowledge in good standing?
  
  An objective dynamic on going experiment is already in play in the form of natural history. What does the knowledge of natural history tell us? What appears most clear from the standing evidence is that living organisms have a common ancestry to the extent that a phylogenetic tree has been constructed showing all life is interconnected and has developed from an original biotic or sub-biotic source(s) or starting point.
  
  That body of evidence is contrary to the supernatural role God has been assigned by religion. So let's say you are a more liberal believer and you can accept biological evolution and even abiogenesis. Your contention being, how can something come from nothing as a basis for giving us this expression of reality in the first place? Is not that fact alone enough to concede some outside influence?
  
  Logical avenue to pursue, but does introducing a creator not generate even more interesting questions? How, when, where and why did the creator come about?
  
  I'd rather direct my imagination from the physical ground up as opposed to from the internal inspirations of the more faithful among us inspired to explain why we should be religious. Despite what makes me tick, to each is own as long as we are civil to one another and have the social protection and freedom to think and believe as we please.
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  A comment on Conversation: Do we have an opinion about everything? If not, should we?

  Apr 16 2013: Having opinions is characteristic of the thought process from the most sophisticated to the most superficial among us. The more open minded are likely the student types whom are encouraged to be open to learning by parent(s), or teachers, or other important influences and contacts.
  
  Adult life is full of decisions involving opinion driven situations. It is part of the aging and maturing process.
  
  Although each of us are expected and naturally tend to form opinions due to family influence, peer pressure, schooling, life experiences, etc., that fact does not need to preclude our individual ability to rethink any given opinion we may hold, no matter how strong.
  
  Perhaps this is the true beauty of living in a more free and open society.

• A comment on Talk: Rose George: Let's talk crap. Seriously.

  Apr 16 2013: Excellent topic.
  
  Isn't health, safety and welfare for citizens a prime concern of the local and regional governments of these countries? This is a community problem. Introducing water carried waste via toilet use means managing that dirty water becomes a serious new problem as well. Ground water can be threatened, surface creeks and rivers and lakes become waste water dumps, etc. Fresh water becomes even more scarce.
  
  Where is the sense of priorities for the countries involved? Does foreign aid ever require these countries to address these basic sanitation needs? Where is the UN? If these political interest don't recognize a health problem why should the rest of us care? Let's pray for lower birth rates in these afflicted areas where it is acceptable for the citizenry to live in these deplorable conditions.
  
  Nice introduction of a basic health concern.