TED Community » Katarina Smetko

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Reading great fiction and trying out new recipes.

An idea worth spreading

Be nice to people. It beats the alternative.

Talk to me about

Anything related to languages, traveling, environmental projects and cruiser bicycles

People don't know that I'm good at

Finding information about virtually anything

Comments

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• A reply on Conversation: He, she or s/he? Should languages be made gender neutral or be left on their own to preserve literary integrity?

  Mar 20 2013: If seeing how language can (or cannot?) influence the mind is what you're going for, I really do recommend Guy Deutscher's book like I said above, it was very eye-opening for me.

• A reply on Conversation: He, she or s/he? Should languages be made gender neutral or be left on their own to preserve literary integrity?

  Mar 19 2013: It is known that if a language does not have a word for a certain phenomenon, it does not mean that its speakers cannot comprehend it. For example, there are languages with only two words for color (roughly corresponding to "light" and "dark"), and yet, its speakers are perfectly capable of distinguishing all the colors of the visible spectrum.
  In the same way, if we removed the male/female differentiation from language, and invented gender-neutral pronouns and, for the sake of the argument, names for professions, it would still not make people any less aware of the factual reality that people do, in fact, come in more than one gender and that we are all able to perceive and understand this.
  So my argument is that making changes in language alone wouldn't do much good in obtaining more equality for the genders in the society. Deep social changes, and changes in the mindsets of people, are necessary if we want any concrete improvement. It is not the words that are the problem, it is the associations that are connected with them. When we stop dominantly associating the word "actress" with appearance, and "actor" with actual talent, then we'll be on a good path toward equality.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: He, she or s/he? Should languages be made gender neutral or be left on their own to preserve literary integrity?

  Mar 19 2013: I completely agree! It's not the language that caused the social differences, and it's the wrong place to start the fight for equality.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: He, she or s/he? Should languages be made gender neutral or be left on their own to preserve literary integrity?

  Mar 18 2013: Removing gender differentiation in language and in the society are two completely different things.
  While there has been some evidence to show that the mother tongue one speaks may influence some of the cognitive processes in the mind (I suggest and recommend reading Guy Deutscher's book "Through the Language Glass" for a thoroughly insightful analysis of this phenomenon), it remains limited only to certain areas of the human experience, and logical reasoning is certainly not one of them.
  Admittedly, the linguistic system may influence one's associations about objects and people, but it is only one of the factors to determine the general social position of a person or a group of people. Historic development, contemporary social trends, influence of religion, etc. all work their way into our perception and judgment.
  So, to sum up, I do recognize that language can in fact influence how we think about people, but even if it were possible to instantly switch to a universal gender-neutral linguistic system, it would most likely still not solve any of the burning issues that sparked this discussion in the first place.

• A comment on Talk: Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

  Oct 5 2011: I have to admit, I am a bit of a hoarder, every now and then I stop and think how much of it I really need - and as a result, I end up throwing a lot of it away - and it really does feel great.
  I completely agree with the ideas in the video, especially from an environmental perspective. Buying less would definitely help the planet, which is already suffocating under heaps of garbage. We should all make an effort and buy smart (and small)!

• A comment on Conversation: Is giving Junk food to kids child abuse?

  Jul 20 2011: This is a very interesting question. I think that there are several reasons for the "overweight epidemic", and the biggest of them is probably availability. People have junk food at their fingertips, and it is very easy and convenient to make it a large portion of your diet.
  So when people acquire these habits, they will most likely transfer them on to their children, even though they probably know deep down that it is not good for them. So, in this sense, this would be definitely considered child abuse, or rather neglect, as Ms. Subhashree said.
  However, I don't think that it is all that bad to give a child some candy or a hamburger every now and then, as long as it doesn't become a habit and as long as healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables, still makes for the larger part of the diet. I would say that the key here is moderation and awareness of the possible consequences to the child's health.

• A comment on Conversation: Is war a necessity or something that should be avoided at all cost?

  Jul 20 2011: I would like to refer to what Mr. Valdernex said about fighting being in our genes. It is true that people have always fought. However, isn't this exactly what the evolution is about? About surpassing primitive urges and finding other ways of resolving disputes? I'm sure everyone (or at least most people) will agree that every penny and cent used for buying weapons and invading foreign territories would be of far more use if it was invested in education, economy, ecology etc.
  I come from Croatia, where we've had peace for 20 years now, but the scars of war are unfortunately still felt. Both young and old(er) people are still holding on to memories and attitudes from the war.
  I think we would all be better off if those people didn't have any such memories to hold on to in the first place....