Jonathan Brun

Converting kids from sports to smarts

I just watched the most recent TED talk by Sugata Mitra, a very innovative educator. His talk outlines the different ways he has used technology to successfully educated children around the world. The inspirational talk is well worth 17 minutes of your day; however, one sentence during the talk really stood out for me, “These kids wanted to be football players, but after watching eight TED talks they wanted to be Leonardo daVinci”.

The media children consume today is so full of idolatry for music stars (not really artists), television starts and sports players that it is difficult for children to dream of anything but that. It is absolutely essential that they become more exposed to intellectuals, scientists, engineers, doctors and other people who they can aspire to be like. Just as smoking has disappeared from advertisement, we need to deeply think about what children see everyday. Sweeden has.

Chief details officer – make a big impact with little budget

Of all the recent TED talks, one stands out above the others. Ad-man Rory Sutherland explains a new job position: Chief Detail Officer. This person would be responsible for identifying low-cost items that can have a big impact on an organisation’s performance. These items include great signage, online banking tips and better traffic lights.

Please watch the 12 minute talk below, it will be worth every second. Inspired by his clear presentation, I will be posting some items that I have seen over the years that could have a big impact on performance for little to no cost. Details are the most important part of a product; they show the level thought that went into it. Again, be sure to watch this video.

My Favourite TED Talks

I am a TED Talk crack-addict and have watched every single one. Below is a list of Ted Talks, my top five which blew me away, followed by some other favorites. Enjoy!

Top 5:

Zander on music
Hans Rosling on World Development
Bolte on Strokes
Lessing on Creative Commons
DNA Folding

Some other favourites (full list here):

Putting photos together – magically
Design of the Universe
Johnny Lee: Creating tech marvels out of a $40 Wii Remote
John Francis – Planet Walker
Theory of everything
Evil
Liberal vs Conservative Brains
How Kids Learn

Fire and Thunder

I love TED Talks because the people are so insanely passionate about what they are doing. As stated by Erin McKean, “The internet is made up of words and enthusiasm.”

And Keroac’s famous (unaltered) musing: “the only people that interest me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing … but burn, burn, burn like roman candles across the night.”

Forget complacency, waiting in line or doing what you’re told. Burn baby burn.