Run-down TED day 4: All about Al Gorithms

Posted March 4, 2008 at 8:01 pm by Eelco van Beek in General.

Saturday morning, 2 more sessions to go. It’s hard to sleep after a TED day; your head brims with information and there is a strong feeling to want to set to work, to help. Everybody is looking forward to seeing Al Gore and is still heavily impressed by Ben Zander yesterday evening, who brought the house down. That is not an easy position to start from, between two such heavyweights.

Paul Collier, Professor of Economics of Oxford University proffers a very good story. His posited question: ‘How do we provide the billion poorest people of this planet with some realistic hope?’ He says we need to start thinking more about how to improve working together. After WWII, the US took care of a strong post-war reconstruction by lending Europe an economic helping hand. Such help should today also be given to the poorest countries. Otherwise, he says, misery only grows, and with it the quality of life for our children.

Next up: Al Gore. Initially, I assumed this would turn out to be a bit of a hyped story. After all, didn’t he loose the election (remarkable democracy) supposedly because he lacked charisma. Either he caught up on that or found something he is really passionate about because this man carries the audience with him. With an extraordinary powerful presentation he amplifies his ideas on global warming. A new step in the process: nowadays global warming often does make it to the agenda of many governments and individuals, but often at the bottom of it. While the problem is becoming everyone’s problem, it doesn’t seem to sink in until it might be too late. Al Gore pleads for a global organisation that tackles targets on global warming and thereby receives support from governments worldwide. He shows a powerful short film that won awards for making the problem intelligible. The US get a lashing for being the only nation not sticking to the Kyoto protocol.

Barely recovered from Al Gore, John Francis appears on scene. This man decided early on in his life not to use cars and to only listen, not talk. Walking the US, he was taught at universities, got his Bachelor degree and later on started teaching without speaking. His activities led to getting appointed to Ambassador of the United Nations. At that moment, he had not spoken for 17 years, but decided to start talking again as his position is of such importance he must be able to word the significant. His story commands respect for his strong conviction.

Johnny Chung Lee comes on for a very brief session. Chris Anderson, curator of TED, tells us he was watching videos on technical tour de forces on YouTube . He soon came across Johnny’s videos, showing two really great techno inventions. Using a WII remote controller he turns a regular projector and laptop into an interactieve write board. Interesting fact: it’s completely multi-touch (just like the Apple iPhone). As well as the write board he also built a head tracking system using the WII remote controller. By using head tracking you can generate 3d images onto each display. The computer determines the position of your head in relation to the screen and adapts what is shown accordingly. Both videos are worth watching!

Finally, there is Bob Geldof He also really manages to amaze me. Without using any notes, video/audio projector, or anything else, he comes up with a fairly coherent story. The word ‘fuck’ gets used a lot and he calls a spade a spade. His leitmotiv reflects on how we try our best to change the world into a better place through festivals, etc., but that people should be involved much more strongly. Each year, hundreds of languages, and with that cultures, vanish. These cultures are made of years and years of stories, jokes, music, and collective knowledge. It’s a disgrace they disappear.

After a BBQ on the beach, TED has finally come to an end. It’s been a roller coaster and I regret I might not have enrolled on time for next year. Now I set out on a completely different, but no less fun, adventure, from Lasvegas2Miami!