TED Community » Dean Gems

More About Me

I'm passionate about

being right.

An idea worth spreading

consider logic as way of life, m sure ur life cannot get worse than it already is.

Talk to me about

everything, i have lot of time.

People don't know that I'm good at

convincing them and to sound normal...m a pretty good pianist.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +1.30 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: What advice can we offer to aspiring entrepreneurs?

  Jan 12 2012: How to mobilise and keep skilled labourers, hire great managers and build network.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: What are the 10 Mistakes we all make?

  Jan 12 2012: Your observation is correct in most cases, but as I have replied below to Dru, I feel regarding 1,2 and 7, that often denial of certain mistakes is a form of defence mechanism so that we don't have to face the truth that our best judgement has failed us, thus casting a doubt on out decision making ability. Often, anger, resentment stem form these issues of confrontation.
  Living life is truly an art and that is an astute point from you.

• A reply on Conversation: What are the 10 Mistakes we all make?

  Jan 12 2012: As vivek in the above comment pointed out, it is an ego issue, but if I were to zero in on the problem, i would say that sometimes, the realisation that our judgement has failed us pushes us into a vulnerable situation and to overcome it, as a defence mechanism we tend to ignore it. Usually following a mistake of grave naturem our confidence level takes a drive down and we become too cautious.

• A reply on Conversation: What are the 10 Mistakes we all make?

  Jan 12 2012: haha...people are pretty conservative when it comes to introspecting oneself critically I guess...anyway, even one good reply will is enough to make people think....in the end I think that counts for more..

• A comment on Conversation: When does creative thinking become "insanity"?

  Jan 8 2012: Usually, a genius has a plan drawn out to do the improbable, which is percieved as impossible by others ( somewhat borrowed from sherlock holmes ), whereas crazy people are just shooting in the dark hoping to hit the target or sometimes, not even that. To sum up, creativity becomes insanity when it is not backed by planned and deliberate attempts in realising the same.
• +2

  A reply on Conversation: What did you do/tell yourself when faced with something you thought was insurmountable?

  Jan 8 2012: Well, It is a matter of choice at the end of the day. People do enjoy hiding behind excuses and playing the victim. It seems to be our natural response to shift blame when the chips are down and slump into our comfort zone. If we look hard enough, we realise that the line between problem and opportunity is a matter of perspective. Habits also play a huge role in determining our response, but inorder to answer you desert island conundrum, I figure you mean to say that often People's response is audience-dependant. 'Learned Helplessness' feeds on some form of reinforcment,so, you are right to conclude that. However, these are extremely personal things.Too much pampering, or the other way around, need for attention , need to feel special and 100 different things influence human behaviour. Any attempt to generalise will still land us on on shaky grounds. Hence, I reiterate the need for trustworthy comrades who know us very well or some professionals , mentors to inspire us. Often, the best view to ourselves is through others.

• A comment on Conversation: If you could trade lives for 24 hours; who would you trade with? Why?

  Jan 7 2012: As it is just for 24 hours, probably with Bill gates. Once traded, write a cheque of $100 million to myself( former me ) and then go about in his private jet.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Are we becoming less human?

  Jan 7 2012: I find it hard to believe we are less of humans when social netwroking, blogging, facebook, twitter, and almost whole of world wide web borders on bringing us together. TED talk is doing the same as is this conversation. If we have to talk about social evils and other such issues that throw the humanity into this vortex of dehumanization, I believe that having an ideal or utopian concept of life is misleading and dangerous. Being human essentially means responding to the situation and adaptiing such that we can susatain ourselves atleast. Although it may not be relevant, I feel the need to point out that you have referred to only work and studies, something that almost no one likes to do. If a 5th grader made the same excuse, we know what our response would be. Occam's Razor- sometimes the simplest explanation is right. We have opportunity to do our own business, pursue our interest, healthcare facilities, and loads of other stuff. Infact, we are spoilt for choices. No one ceases to be a human merely due to boredom, repetition or disinterest. Our need for change is in itself a sign of humanity. Our capacity to identify and empathise with the unwarranted dynamics of life and world makes us human. Your conversation with friends that provoked you to explore it and the sharing of their opinions makes us human.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: 'Are students only as good as their teachers?'

  Jan 7 2012: Ah, well, most of the time yes, and even worse than their teachers. From statistics point of view, it is reasonable to assume students are not better than their teachers. But if you are trying to motivate someone, it is usually best to stick to the contrary. Students who surpass their teachers owe it to their teachers too. For eg. if a student of 10 yrs of piano training learns from someone who has spent 40 yrs of his life in mastering it, the student is infact gaining 40 + 10 yrs of learning. So, barring the time-dependant growth of maturity, his level of expertise is positively highter than his mentor. Most of our failures arise when we sit and try to re-invent the wheel.. Instead of taking off from where history has left us, we go back in history and lament over it. Often 'lead by example' is not necessary. Personally, I think it is just an excuse we throw when others point us in the right direction. Mere logic and common sense will tell us what we must do. But our evlutionary response is to find an excuse and hide behind it. Yes, leading is inspiring and effective but not necessary. If theere is one thing that is different for current generation is the enormous freedom of choice not backed by adequate capacity to exercise or appreciate it. Most students who outshine their teachers are those who are proactive and highly motivated. For such students, excuses are unnecessary. As for the otherwise, carrot and stick is the only thing that seems to work.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What did you do/tell yourself when faced with something you thought was insurmountable?

  Jan 7 2012: Before saying what is my ritual to those blocks, I think it is interesting to compare the 5 stages of grief with almost everyone's reponse to such insurmountable events i.e.denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance...I think some usually stop at the stage 4 of depression and those who make it to 5 is what you are expecting I suppose. I personally believe that most of the time such block can be overcome if our mind is looking in that direction. As I pointed out, our response being depression, anxiety and likewise, our capacity to face greatly diminishes. In crude words, due to low self-esteem, we lose confidence and stop looking for solutions. So, the first thing I do is engage in something that makes me feel good about myself and restores confidence. Then, I connect with people who have faced similar circumstances and succeeded. Usually, if it is a career obstacle, then by being really good in your profession is more than enough. If it be a matter of emotional or relationship area, seeking professional help and zeroing in on your problem is the next logical thing to do. If its a matter of resources, like money, educational institutions etc. try all possible solutions even if it be embarassing.