TED Community » Fabian Lua

More About Me

I'm passionate about

making people reflect more on their lives.

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Taking notes/Evernote, Art books for children, Beers from Belgium.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +1385.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Talk: Bart Weetjens: How I taught rats to sniff out land mines

  Dec 6 2010: It was not exactly clear but he seemed to have said a second opinion is sought after the rat indicates a positive.
  
  Agreed that false negatives are dangerous. A recent New Yorker article highlights the dangers of misdiagnosing TB in India. Seems like these rats can replace the "unregulated doctors and drug wholesalers."
  
  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/15/101115fa_fact_specter

• A comment on Talk: Bart Weetjens: How I taught rats to sniff out land mines

  Dec 6 2010: Mr Weetjens' casual comment that "rats have more genetic material allocated to affection than any other mammal" (assuming they are expressed) made me wonder if the trainers and the giant pouched rats develop a teamwork relationship beyond a mechanical search/click and reward, especially when the teams are on the field.
  
  Although the last image shown and the comment about the teams having great pride in their work seem to suggest so (at least human to rat), their website indicated the rats "like a lot to be petted" but they "show no significant difference in performance when taken over by somebody else in the absence of the trainer."
  
  Rats have been used so often in experiments to learn about humans, it is very interesting to have learned more about them from this talk!
• +2

  A reply on Talk: Marcel Dicke: Why not eat insects?

  Dec 2 2010: Re: gourmet/ethnic restaurants serving bugs.
  
  I was in Bangkok and decided to try the insects they were selling by the street. The street vendor was visibly offended when I only wanted to buy one. They sell it by the bag. I guess insect eating is really about perception - after all we do eat things that are not too far from insects in texture or taste.
  
  I did sometimes get struck before this talk by how the shrimp and the cockroach seem to have some similarities.
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Marcel Dicke: Why not eat insects?

  Dec 2 2010: "It is estimated we ingest 7 spiders a year while we sleep."
  
  This is probably an urban legend, although it is very widely believed. I can't disprove it and it seems like no one has proved or disproved it. But logically it sounds flawed.
  
  When we blow at a spider, it instinctively moves away. If our mouths are actually open as we sleep, some sort of air would probably be blown out of it and therefore spiders should be moving away.
  
  Also, I don't even see 7 spiders a year in my bedroom (and I live next to a park).
• +1

  A reply on Talk: John Hardy: My green school dream

  Nov 30 2010: Well said! Please see him for who he is and what he is doing.

• A comment on Talk: Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work

  Nov 26 2010: Jason appears to be arguing against the rigidity of current work structure, rather than saying do away with managers and meetings - they aren't inherently bad. With liquidity, meetings called spontaneously with the necessary people can be very productive. There's also the human element. Between intense stretches of focused productive work, I'm sure people would like to socialize face-to-face too. If an employee can go see a manager at my own time, it could make for very useful guidance. The problem is how inflexible schedules and current concepts of meetings don't sync with work cycles that are more fluid.
  
  Seems like it would take a huge mindset shift for managers to move from micro-managing to trusting employees to be all driven and responsible and allowing more chaos.
  
  Enjoyed the ideas of sleep/work cycles comparison and the separation of distractions into pushed (from manager) and pulled (turning on TV, checking Facebook).

• A reply on Talk: Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work

  Nov 26 2010: Agreed. It would be unproductive sometimes if we work in silos continuously. A manager's interruption may be an important update that needs to be pushed out instead of pulled in.

• A reply on Talk: Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers

  Nov 15 2010: I'm curious if you have specific employers in mind? Perhaps many firms may see Math as too abstract and theoretical, preferring instead of to support more applied subjects like Engineering?

• A comment on Talk: Emily Pilloton: Teaching design for change

  Nov 14 2010: Favorite part of the talk is the outdoor "Learning Landscape" that supposedly teaches elementary math. I think it teaches much more. It encourages collaboration and crucially - it makes learning fun.
  
  "Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire."
  
  I found more of the project in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQX_SMRWeM

• A reply on Talk: Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself

  Sep 10 2010: I agree. 45 minutes is way too short to represent working towards any meaningful goal. I was hoping to find studies done over a longer term or in the field (instead of a study in a "clean room" for an hour).
  
  I could not locate the specific Peter Gollwitzer study but I found a similar study where the goals were actually tied to identity. In that context, it makes sense that social acknowledgement made the subjects feel they achieved part of their goals. http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/09_Gollwitzer_Sheeran_Seifert_Michalski_When_Intentions_.pdf
  
  If anyone can locate the specific study referenced that would helpful.
  
  I'm also curious if the being aware of this phenomenon helps? If I choose to tell everyone about my goal while being conscious motivation reduction will happen, will I suffer less from that effect?
  
  Anyway, thought-provoking talk. I'm still firmly in the "tell everyone your goals" camp though.