Apr 4 2012: I think the reason so many people found value in this talk is that the talk lends validity to a belief that I believe is not so widespread in the mainstream (though probably is moreso within the TED community). It's nice to hear the argument made so articulately and by a respected source. Maybe you aren't exactly the intended audience if you don't want to change your habits. But for me, this reinfornces my desire to continue doing small things that break the cycle a little, such as calling people to respond to texts, or spending more time without a technological distraction.
Jan 26 2012: So, as someone who has actually used this technology to treat my ADHD, I can tell you that it didn't really work...In highschool (cerca 2004-2005), I used this technology to try and increase my concentration. However, it failed to be engaging enough for it to really work. Additionally, I had difficulty understanding how my thoughts were truly impacting the (in my case it was a light I was supposed to turn on) light. The steep learning curve and the lack of practicality in the task made it a futile type of therapy. Perhaps the advances in bio-feedback have truly made it more engaging, but it seems from this video as though they have advanced into drawing up biometrics in real time and increased sensitivity, yet it stills seems far from practical. It is not, for example, a super-mario brothers game that you control with your mind (which sounds pretty cool).
For a sympathetic crowd, such as meditators, I think it is a cool gadget. But I think the field of biofeedback still has a waya to go before it is really useful to a lay audience.
Aug 31 2011: I think focusing on true non-violence is a good thing but I'm not convinced this is non-violence. Show me a sit-in. Show me a hunger strike. Show me a play. Don't show me people ripping fences out of the ground. Don't show me people throwing stones. Don't show me people pushing around soldiers. That's not non-violence. It's violence (maybe in a lesser degree).
Aug 31 2011: ...I'm not convinced. It just seems like a less violent demonstration. Not a non-violent demonstration. Non-violence would be where people demonstrate in a way that does not impact others' safety or the safety of others' property. A sit-in is a non-violent demonstration.
Aug 31 2011: She portrays and condones a good vs. evil approach by completely demonizing instead of trying to collaborate with the Israeli government.
Secondly, I have indeed been to the Middle East and to Israel many times. While it may be a unifying force for those deem Israel the oppressive occupier who sole purpose is to erase the Palestinean people from the annals of history (see my non-scholarly source of http://www.nowpublic.com/world/israel-guilty-genocide-and-crimes-against-humanity (though, oddly enough, that is only found in Hamas' charter, but in reference to Israel...)), it will not capture a partner in the widespread Israeli public.
Thirdly, recently we are seeing that Israelis are starting to demand new measures from their government. Maybe (hopefully) that will extend to new peaceful measures. But I doubt that this new movement in Israel is a result of the "peaceful" measures perpetuated by this group.
Finally, I'm not trying to discount the power of peaceful protests or civil disobedience, I just don't believe in this scenario it will work exactly the same way...
Aug 31 2011: Thank you. I think you're right and I apologize for making a statement without supplying any evidence. There does not exist a defined state of Palestine, necessarily, nor has there ever been an independent nation-state belonging to the Palestinian people in the region. While I'm not trying to contest the fact that Palestinians have been settled on the land for centuries, I do think it is worth mentioning that as far as the State of Palestine is concerned, there is no official Palestine in the West Bank or Gaza. The West Bank (or the green line territory) is technically occupied as Israel did not annex it after the 1967 invasion of Israel and subsequent war. It's nebulous legal status should be considered when talking about this matter as it is technically neither the responsibility of Israel nor of Jordan, but somewhere in the middle. It is, also, not purely Palestinian either (although the Palestinian Authority does have full control over parts). I think before anyone can call it Palestine, there has to be an acknowledgment on the Israeli part that they have officially ceded control to the regional authority.
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A reply on Talk: Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
A comment on Talk: Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
Technology can make us lotus eaters.
A comment on Talk: Ariel Garten: Know thyself, with a brain scanner
For a sympathetic crowd, such as meditators, I think it is a cool gadget. But I think the field of biofeedback still has a waya to go before it is really useful to a lay audience.
A comment on Talk: Yves Rossy: Fly with the Jetman
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
Secondly, I have indeed been to the Middle East and to Israel many times. While it may be a unifying force for those deem Israel the oppressive occupier who sole purpose is to erase the Palestinean people from the annals of history (see my non-scholarly source of http://www.nowpublic.com/world/israel-guilty-genocide-and-crimes-against-humanity (though, oddly enough, that is only found in Hamas' charter, but in reference to Israel...)), it will not capture a partner in the widespread Israeli public.
Thirdly, recently we are seeing that Israelis are starting to demand new measures from their government. Maybe (hopefully) that will extend to new peaceful measures. But I doubt that this new movement in Israel is a result of the "peaceful" measures perpetuated by this group.
Finally, I'm not trying to discount the power of peaceful protests or civil disobedience, I just don't believe in this scenario it will work exactly the same way...
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence
A reply on Talk: Julia Bacha: Pay attention to nonviolence