There’s a great deal coming out of TED — the encounters, the explorations, the connections, the learnings. Incredible really. I don’t think I’ve ever been to anything quite like it. But the mix is increasingly world focused, on the big world problems and what stories, what forms of captivation can we, as Creatives, solve in contributing to the issues of warming, pollution, and the darker vicissitudes that are facing humankind.
The Venture Capitalist John Doerr (Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers) — tearfully and passionately — spoke to conceptions of panic, the need to act, and act quickly, to change the direction of how our country — and many others, are exploring global warming. There’s a brainstorming breakfast on this happening this morning, that I’ll try to make.
A new interface design — literally, desktop configurations: files shuffling just like you stack things and get them disorganized on your desk, now, your computer.
The former Minister of Finance from Nigeria spoke to the potential power of Africa — the new direction in expansion and positive growth — empowered by women in many instances. Now Africa, a continent of many separate countries and cultures is on the move.
Robin Case, the founder of ZipCar.com offered a new taxation modeling for highway and automobile use, based on her experiences as a founder of a “car by the hour” internet based vehicle models, with hundreds of thousands of users, in multiple cities. Use a road, burn carbon — pay for it — billed and managed with mesh wireless technology.
The curious poet and commentator — Rives — offered a historical reasoning for the “Giacometti Code”, based on a sculpture he created called “4am”, that was, in a hilarious display of googled references, a later influence for a mysterious code to strange doings — always at 4am. Personally, I like that time.
Lawrence Lessig, the founder of Creative Commons, a new modeling of copyright — based on the assumptions that the “new world” of creativity, stretches inherently the structuring of “recreativity”. (y)Our generation is more acclimatized to the concept of “sampling” and altering content to one’s own new purpose. And to this thinking, it’s a matter of defining and exploring that content — and what constitutes, truly, a new “no fly zone” rule to the extensions of creative rights and others expansions on it.
Erin McKean, the chief consulting editor of the American edition of the Oxford University Press talks about the vitality and depth of language (as a lexicographically rich modeling) that is barely touched by most people. Rarely exploring new words, and more rarely using them — or any new words, is a weakness. And you know I liked that.
Jonathan Harris talked about his gathering tools — searching for meaning among people, world wide, based on his culling and analyzing methods for blogs and other forms of journal / imagery types of expression.
Ted Sargent, the nanotechnologist referred to his exploration of a kind of nanopaint for solar uses and even cameras.
An eccentric Swedish inventor explored his beach walking “organisms” that strut on the beach in the wind, wholly self motivated.
Nathan Myhrvold, the former chief technology officer at Microsoft explored his curiosities — from SETI to penguin defecation, dinosaurs to whale sex.
The Nike Golf team offered their experiments in golf ball velocity and collisions:
John Maeda, the proponent of simplicity in design explored the complexity of his life, that: being simple, was, in fact, hard.
Thomas Dolby, the overarching musical contributor at TED, showed off his cross dressing theatrics.
Alan Kay, the father of object-oriented programming explored learning for children in his new dream machine, a $100 computer just for kids.
Maira Kalman explored the crazy world of her creative ethos, a meandering dream of writing, illustrating and pretty much doing what she wants to do — dreaming, mostly.
An exquisite animation of a corvid nature, from MTV. And, like the lexicographer, I liked that.
But wait, there’s more!
What did I learn? Be passionate, enthusiastic, have a dream and make it like there’s no other option. Than that!
I’ll have to do that tomorrow. Time to hit the hay, for another early rising.
4am, I’d guess.
Wishing well, and good night.
tsg | m o n t e r e y @ TED