TED Community » Buga Berkovic

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• A reply on Talk: Hans Rosling: Religions and babies

  May 24 2012: Thanks for the suggestion, Lyndal!

• A comment on Talk: Hans Rosling: Religions and babies

  May 24 2012: Really surprising results, and overall great talk. Speaker knows how to get and keep the attention. Amazing!!
  
  I am really surprised with the results though. Knowing religions, I would say it's not what they would stand for in many cases, particularly I agree with Jennifer saying planning of families is thin ice for a number of them. But I do believe in data and that makes me believe that on some larger scale people are starting/continuing to put the financial conditions, and materialistic status over the religion rules, and laws. That might be even more interesting than the slowing in the population growth itself.. Why is that happening, and obviously in all religions simultaneously - that would be interesting talk to hear.
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  A comment on Talk: Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history

  May 18 2012: I find it rather interesting how many people, some being experts in overlapping areas, look so narrow to the things.
  
  Sure, it would be a bit hasty to infer about human nature and culture based on the statistical analysis of selected events in history, observing only quantifiable aspects of them. But, being far from statistician, I am not sure statistical analysis a-priori makes that. As I got it here, this is an idea. And as someone said before, probably not very new, to find certain patterns and trends in human history. Explaining them by same tools, is not what speaker offers here. At least I didn't get it that way. Mathematics can be a powerful tool to collect, present, process, analyze and compare historical data, but can not be an interpretation tool.
  
  History is not an exact science. Nor is psychology, sociology, economy, nor biology for that matter. Nothing that affected history (at least in most direct and obvious way) is exact. We are the one creating it. And we are very far for being possible to categorize, quantify or interpret.
  
  What I get from this talk, is the idea - let's see how can we compile all these few hundreds thousands years of human history. Let's see how we can present it, take a comprehensive look at it. Maybe some of the visualizations will give us an idea, new perspectives, direct other sciences and tools to answer the questions that arose. That is the way we will continue learning from the past. And it's the value of this idea. Opening new doors for new questions, new ideas and new cognition. Knowledge. It's what we should keep searching for.
  
  Why cast aside proposal of the path to knowledge, just because it is new. Or undefined yet. Take it. Explore it. Adjust it. Put it in a good use.
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  A reply on Conversation: What's one lesson you find super compelling?

  Apr 21 2012: In this case I didn't think of political correctness, not even close. Actually I think those terms are not so much related at all. These days being politically correct often means exactly the opposite - to bite your tongue, not to say something unless you can direct it to both sides.
  When I say communication, I assume open, direct and honest discussion, freedom of speech without fear, but with the idea of politeness and others' feelings, I assume will to listen and hear, and finally open mind and humility to admit and adjust when we are shown to be wrong.

• A reply on Conversation: What's one lesson you find super compelling?

  Apr 20 2012: Really nicely said! Thanks for that insight ;)
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  A reply on Conversation: What's one lesson you find super compelling?

  Apr 20 2012: Communication! Exactly, I agree with you completely. Communication is cause of most, if not all, problems and can as well be solution for all of those.

• A reply on Conversation: What's one lesson you find super compelling?

  Apr 20 2012: Andrew, sorry I'm not sure i understood - when you say "This faulty logic is also reflected in our opinions of the poor and the wealthy." do you mean that following statements ("People are poor, because...") is faulty or you think that what we think (cause I think different than what you offered) is faulty, and this statemenet is what you would tell us, it's how it is?

• A reply on Talk: Tierney Thys swims with the giant sunfish

  Apr 2 2012: did it have her fins on still? :D

• A reply on Talk: Tierney Thys swims with the giant sunfish

  Apr 2 2012: I don't know too much about fisheries, but I think nets stay in the sea much longer than few hours. Particularly in high seas. Sadly enough...

• A comment on Talk: Tierney Thys swims with the giant sunfish

  Apr 2 2012: AMAZING speech!! Even not looking at the information presented, just by how much the speaker is involved, excited and the way she teaches us.. impressive!