TED Community » Matthieu Miossec

More About Me

I'm passionate about

science. The people I admire are mostly scientists like Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil Tyson and Brian Cox. As an atheist I am passionate about the secularisation of the world.

An idea worth spreading

Everyone should complement their idealism with a pinch of pragmatism.

Talk to me about

Science, religion, science-fiction literature or cinema...try it out...

People don't know that I'm good at

I have discovered myself a talent for writing short science-fiction pieces. Sadly I have been too busy to indulge in it recently.

My TED Story

I have been watching talks on TED for so long, I can't remember exactly which TED talk was the first one I saw. All I remember is that I first read about TED in a French magazine called "Lemonde 2" and the idea got me really excited. At this point I must have watched a few hundred hours worth of TED talks. It's amazing to have such a vast source of knowledge and insight into the future for free. I have recently decided to repay TED in kind by translating the many talks I enjoyed into French.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +139.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: Debate: Does antibiotic-resistant bacteria prove Darwin's theory of evolution?

  Nov 5 2012: The most interesting facet of antibiotic-resistance is horizontal gene transfer. As for the question, I consider that was answered many many decades ago.
• +2

  A reply on Conversation: Debate: Does antibiotic-resistant bacteria prove Darwin's theory of evolution?

  Nov 5 2012: The most accurate answer would be to point out that Human beings are Apes and more specifically Great Apes. I'm guessing however that, what you REALLY meant to ask is:
  
  "If man evolved from chimpanzees then why are there still chimpanzees."
  
  This at least is a species to species comparison. Ape is two levels higher. Humans are Great Apes which are Apes. Chimpanzees are Great Apes which are Apes.
  
  So for the answer to your question to be of any relevance, your starting assumption must be correct. So first let's ask:
  
  "Did man evolve from chimpanzees?". The answer is no. Chimpanzees and man evolved from a common ancestor. That common ancestor is not a chimpanzee (although arguably it is an Ape) or a man.
  
  Your question is akin to asking "If I was born from my cousin X why is there still my cousin X?". In fact, you and cousin x are descended from grandpa Y who is neither you nor your cousin.
  
  Done. Now you have two choices: either add what I just said to your knowledge of the subject and update your views (even if just that specific bit) or continue to repeat that false question to the exasperation of your peers. If you chose the latter, the only real victim of this choice is yourself, you would be willfully keeping yourself ignorant. Surely you have your best interest at heart?

• A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 3 2012: Nice to know the first modern feminist movement started in France...but France also didn't give the vote to women until after the 2nd world war, which is disgracefull!

• A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 3 2012: We're all for that Eduard, but don't you think you're assuming a perfect world? Do you think there are no discrimination factors in employment, advertising and legislation that come into play?
  
  The past informs the future. Anne Thul is illustrating the lack of fairness that existed in the 60s and 70s. Wouldn't it be a mistake to assume it's gone now?
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 3 2012: Even more disturbing is that our era thinks that feminism in the west is all done and dusted.

• A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 2 2012: Well E G, if they're not going places, is it truly because they're weaker or could it be a perception problem or disabling laws? 60 years ago, a black president in the US would have been pure fantansy, is that because black people were much weaker 60 years ago?
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 1 2012: Of course ;-)
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 1 2012: Yes, I take particular offense to people who say that a woman doesn't belong somewhere because the average woman is this or that or the other. When considering if a woman is apt for something, only that woman should matter.
• +4

  A comment on Conversation: Why can't I watch a funny cartoon about Muhammad? On South Park 201...

  Sep 1 2012: In France there was a satirical newspaper who printed a cover that read "special sharia edition" (it was back when Libya enforced Sharia law during the transition) with a guy (possibly Muhammad) saying "a thousand lashes if you're not dying out from laughter". The newspaper's HQ was bombed as a warning not to print out the newspaper. Charlie Hebdo did it anyway and instead of saying the humor was in poor taste or some other subjective counter-argument (I seem to recall that's what some British newspapers did), most serious French newspapers defended the right of Charlie Hebdo to print their newspapers. That is how it should go down. Stoicism in the face of violence. You cave in to threatening once, you'll get threatened again.

• A reply on Conversation: Would you call yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

  Sep 1 2012: I'll answer your second question first. I have intentionally not been specific with the word "feminism" because what I want to see people's own reaction and characterisations of feminism. If I narrowly define feminism, I risk to cut out some interesting conversation. Someone like you (and at times someone like me) will need some clarification about what is meant by this and that. It is understandable. For others, something like feminism means one specific thing. What? Well hopefully with a post like this we can find out just what.
  
  To me, feminism is a struggle for equal rights, which in its historicity and its balance has been mostly about women's rights. I would call myself a feminist, although I would distance myself from gender feminism which I've described as purposefully in denial of physical differences betweeen men and women. However I do share the concern of gender feminists that a use of actual physical differences between the sex may be used to defend all sorts of things that shouldn't be. Nevertheless, fear of distortion is never a good reason to deny biological facts. In that respect, I am more of an equity feminist, a more rational approach to feminism.
  I think neither the people in the movement or the idea are a problem, I think it is the modern perception of both that is all wrong and there be many reasons for that which we could explore.