We were recently asked to sponsor TEDxUmhlanga and it was a very easy request to grant. We love TED. The event is next week at Beluga in Gateway and we’re very excited. Keep updated with TEDxUmhlanga by following them on Twitter, or liking their Facebook page. You can see a list of the Umhlanga speakers here. In the meantime, these are some of our favourite talks:
Alex chose a talk about the power of Introverts by Susan Cain. Being a fairly quiet guy with big ideas, it makes a lot of sense. Cain talks about the valuable contribution introverts make to society despite living in cultures that glorify the extrovert. Check out her site to find out more about the Power of Introverts or follow a Pinterest Board she’s invited fellow introverts to contribute to.
Amelia sent through two options: the first is Arthur Ganson describing his efforts to combine sculpture and engineering to create pieces that find a point where he’s saying something very clear and simple but also very ambiguous. Arthur starts off his talk by mentioning that as a child he was extremely introverted. hmmm. View more of his work here.
The second is Joshua Klein’s presentation on the startling intelligence of crows and the possibilities of using that to make human co-existence with the species mutually beneficial. If you didn’t like Hitchcock’s The Birds, you may wanna skip this one and view some of his other projects.
Jord’s favourite is Simon Sinek’s postulation that the most important type of question isn’t what, where, how or who, but why. Learn more about his theories on inspiration by checking out his book.
Carrie put up two suggestions with a simple motivation: “these are about internet art”. Dive into data journalist David McCandless’ talk on the beauty of data visualisation (think aesthetically pleasing infographics on steroids). See more of his amazing designs here. The second is from Jonathan Harris, a man trying to make sense of the emotions and stories of people on the web. His work using algorithms and programming to collate and organise data and use it to create a narrative is really inspiring.
Dorin chose a talk by Ze Frank, a man who sees the web as his playroom, a place to create and share digital toys, and through these interactions, make connections. Ze’s outlook is fresh, zany, and surprisingly insightful. He’s also ridiculously prolific. Check out his stuff here.
Craig‘s choice takes the concept of the 7 year itch to amazing lengths. Stefan Sagmeister closes his studio periodically to take a year long sabbatical to refresh and rejuvenate himself and ultimately his work. His talk reflects on the power and value of time off.
Andrew chose a talk that was more of a performance. Reggie Watts‘ Beats That Defy Boxes is sometimes nonsense but by no means senseless.
We hope you enjoy, and let us know what your favourites are. Man, that’s a lot of hyperlinks.