TED Community » Finbarr McCarthy

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• A comment on Conversation: To what extent has mass deforestation made us more susceptible to extreme weather?

  Nov 23 2011: Another issue with deforestation is an increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. Trees remove CO2 from the air and store carbon in their mass while releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere as a by product. CO2 is on of the greenhouse gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere causing a myriad of issues from more extreme weather to rising sea levels.

• A comment on Conversation: What will the world look like in 5 years?

  Nov 4 2011: Hi Lucas
  
  I am an optimist and hope the world in 5 years time will be better than it is today.
  
  I am fearful that the political / economic turmoil might turn into some form of violent conflict either within or between nations, hopefully I will be proven wrong.
  
  Whats your view?

• A comment on Conversation: How much in getting a job is a matter of luck of knowing the right people?

  Nov 4 2011: Its probably true that jobs, promotions and many other opportunities are not always granted on merit. There is a lot to be said for a bit of good luck now and then. The "who you know" question is important because if you look at this another way it might be called networking. It is an important skill not just for getting a job but also vital in many jobs.
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  A comment on Conversation: What's one thing you wish you had learned in school?

  Nov 3 2011: I wish I had learned "how much fun learning can be". Unfortunately I literally went to the old school of thought - where knowledge was beaten into you as a reluctant participant.

• A comment on Conversation: Do you think it's too much to expect to have success both career- and love life-wise?

  Oct 30 2011: Hi Ivana - Very interesting question. My answer would be "It depends".
  
  Sometimes looking from the outside in some successful people appear to have it all, I suspect that if you look a little closer something has to give. I guess it is important to find the right balance in each of our lives.
  
  Some of the very successful business-people I know have made very significant sacrifices in their personal / family lives. I guess that the opposite might also happen, where people have made career / business sacrifices for the sake of their relationships. Who knows, maybe there is a perfect middle ground somewhere.
  
  If you find the right answer let me know.
  
  Finbarr
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  A comment on Conversation: What's your TED habit?

  Oct 19 2011: Usually on my iPhone at night after my son goes to sleep. I probably trend towards being an addict catching the new talks daily, however occasionally when things are very hectic I miss a number of days and catch-up at the weekend.
  
  Ted talks alway put me in better form and act like an inspiration / motivation re-charge.
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  A comment on Conversation: iCloud and Cloud disks, our personal data on the web, benefits and consequences ?

  Oct 19 2011: Personally I find these services very convenient. I do appreciate the privacy concerns and as such have a healthy cynicism about their security / privacy. Dropbox for example had an incident a couple of months ago where they had a complete security lapse for a few hours.
  
  Having said all that, I do think we live in a much more open and transparent world now and I dont feel that any information I store on any device is that sensitive that it would significantly embarrass me if it inadvertently leaked into the public domain. Obviously this isn't to say that I would prefer to keep my data as private and secure as possible.