TED Community » Asher Myers

About Me

A sixteen year old, Atheistic High-school student whom much desires camaraderie with those whom possess similar interests and traits.

Location:
United States, Midlothian, TX
Current organization:
Current "Employment" is High-school.
Current role:
Student
Gender:
Male


More About Me

I'm passionate about

Skepticism, Science, Theology, Media, Art, Reading, Technology, Biology, Nano-tech, Computation Devices, and, finally, social connection.

An idea worth spreading

Science trumps illogic in all cases, newer, especially digital media should not be feared, it should be embraced, religious belief/believers should be much more tolerant of those whose opinions(and/or facts) differ.

Talk to me about

Anything ranging from general topics of politics and modern affairs to direct theology and science.

People don't know that I'm good at

Acting, singing, and some other performing arts.

My TED Story

I stumbled upon TED whilst researching topics for a school project, immediately I became immersed within the brilliance of the organization and that which it supports(namely clear thinking, and the sharing of knowledge). TED has been instrumental in my mental and ideological maturation and for an increase in general consciousness and evaluation of that which surrounds me. At times it has also given me hope for the general well-being of humanity intellectually, showing me that the status queue, the average, the mean is not all that life has to offer. For all previously state reasons I greatly appreciate TED.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +0.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • A reply on Conversation: Do you believe we have true freewill?

    Jun 24 2011: I think that we have free will in the vein of "Free and independent choice; voluntary decision" but only to a certain extent. As humans we are bound to the constraints of our mind, intelligence, creativity, and decisions are all mental constructs and as such are limited by sheer cognitive ability. That said we can only have cognizance of that which we are capable of perceiving/understanding in our limited view of our surroundings.

    Our free will or ability to choose from available permutations of action/response is severely limited both by our intellectual and analytic skills as well as our ability to perceive said permutations or courses of action. Imagine a situation in which a person, let's call him John, comes across a relatively simple fork in his path. The fork has two visible branches, neither of which have any indication as to their destination or quality. John thinks that he has only two choices(technically all choices are available but they do not pertain to this example. ie: John decides to do the Macarena) if he wishes to proceed: the left fork, or the right. However there is an alternative which he cannot observe: an underground path leading directly to his destination. Does his lack of perception mean that he is fated to choose from only a fraction of the possible paths? Does his hand preference make him lean towards the side of his favored hand(as it do most) thus making him slave to innate bias from birth?

    Certainly both factors play a part but let's exclude the perception factor as that is somewhat more abstract. In the case of subconscious bias, either innate or learned, we are subservient. As people, we are automatically prefer our race to other races(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq1PDYB1G1U) no matter what we do to consciously counteract it, we have an unconscious preference. So, to a very real extent, we have a default leaning which may supersede any conscious decision, thus voiding "free will".

    Sorry if this comes off as a "wall of text"
  • +1

    A reply on Talk: Charles Limb: Your brain on improv

    Feb 2 2011: Really, of what science do you speak? Isn't the goal of any scientific venture to find a conclusion/solution to a problem such a why or why not something does or doesn't happen? If what you are referring to is that which is "Un-quantifiable" please be more specific.
  • A comment on Talk: Jake Shimabukuro plays "Bohemian Rhapsody"

    Feb 2 2011: I very much enjoyed this rendition of Queen's iconic masterpiece, just as I have Jake's other works. Keep it up Jake!
  • A comment on Talk: Clifford Stoll: The call to learn

    Feb 2 2011: While I throughly enjoyed the speech and the speaker's manner of presentation the speech itself was discordant and non-cohesive. While some points were valid and even gleaming in profundity, others had little context and, while tantalizingly interesting, were not extrapolated on. I for one would greatly enjoy it if he were to really flesh out some of his opinions.
  • A reply on Talk: Jeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreen

    Feb 2 2011: Yes, look at the date on which this was posted.

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