TED Talk #11: To This Day... For the Bullied and the Beautiful

Today's TED talk comes from an amazing spoken word poet named Shane Koyczan.  His talk is a powerful poem about bullying and feeling different.  His words have affected so many and caused his talk to go viral.  Since we've been addressing the issue of bullying in English class, I felt that this poem deserved a spotlight.  Enjoy his performance, complete with backstory, animation, and even violin accompaniment.  I hope that we walk away today thinking about what we can do to make a difference and ensure that everyone feels important, beautiful, and an integral part of the 8 White Family.

Here is the link to check out his talk.  

TED Talk #10- The Secret of Nature's Creatures Channeled into Robots

There has been a lot of talk of engineering on 8 White lately.  Recruitment of architects, builders, designers.  When scientists, engineers, and designers are looking for inspiration, where do they look? Sometimes inspiration is right in front of you.
So tiny.
So common.
It may go unnoticed.

Inspiration can be found in nature.
As simple as
the cockroach.



I know what you're thinking. Gross.  Just looking at that picture makes me shiver.  But cockroaches are one of the longest living creatures ever.  There must be a reason for their success. 

Maybe that success can be attributed to design.

Biologist Robert Full explains in his interesting (and slightly yucky) TED talk about the aspects of a cockroach's body that helps them adapt to their environment, stay safe, and live a long life grossing us out.  Robotic engineers have been studying the cockroach to see what they can learn and then use in their designs. 

How can robots learn to stabilize on rough terrain, walk upside down, do gymnastic maneuvers in the air and run into walls without harming themselves? Robert Full takes a look at the incredible body of the cockroach to show what it can teach robotics engineers.

Check out his talk here.  

So, the next time you're building a structure, designing a game, or creating at all, look to nature and you may see inspiration crawling across the floor. Try not to squish it. 

TED Talk #9: The Magic Ingredient that Brings Pixar Movies to Life

Anyone interested in art, technology, storytelling, digital graphics, or even Finding Nemo is going to love this chat!!

See how animators create the realistic digital worlds and characters that we've come to love! 

Danielle Feinberg, Pixar's director of photography, creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science, and coding. Go behind the scenes of Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Brave, WALL-E and more, and discover how Pixar interweaves art and science to create fantastic worlds where the things you imagine can become real. This talk comes from the PBS special "TED Talks: Science & Wonder."

Click here to view Danielle's Talk 

TED Talk #8: What Does It Take to Master Something?

Everyone wants the easy route.
The quickest way to get somewhere.  Why waste time?

They enter an address into the GPS just to find a way to get to a destination a little bit quicker.
No, don't go this way.  Go that way!  It will shave 3.457 minutes off your driving time.  3.457 minutes.... Phew, that was a close one.  What a waste it could have been. That's time you can never get back.

We are always rushing.
Fastest is better.
Quicker.
Shortcuts.

Well, that may work when we are driving around town, but that's not how it is in the real world.

Usually, when someone focuses on the fastest way, they ignore the best way. How many times have you sped through a project, just to get it done?  Sure, it's a little messy.  The details are not quite developed.  Some parts may be missing.  You may have finished quickly, but show no spirit of excellence.

This is a problem.

If we truly want to be excellent at something, we need time: time to create, time to think, time to practice, time to bounce ideas around, time to play, time to explore, time to master.

You want to be a master.... a master of something :)  I challenge you to find your passion, like our TED talk speaker today, whatever it may be.  Find that passion and then throw yourself into it.  Don't just take the easy way out.  Don't just throw things together and call it finished.  Take the time.  Use the energy.  Dive deep.  Have a spirit of excellence.  After, weeks, months, years, decades... you may be able to call yourself a master one day.

It took a long time for our speaker today to find his passion.  He failed at so many other things.  He was told he was dumb.  Told he wouldn't amount to anything.  Told he was a disappointment. Then, one day,  he found it.  What he was most passionate about: the yo-yo!

Today, check out  Japanese yo-yo world champion BLACK as he tells his inspiring story of finding his life's passion, and gives an awesome performance that will make you want to pull your yo-yo out of the closet.

Let his talk inspire you to find or jump into your own dreams!

You deserve a chance to be excellent.

You owe it to yourself to become a master.

TED Talk #7- Truth, Lies, and IPods

The next TED Talk we're going to watch is about the power of Deception.

As we study and discuss literature, life, and current events, I'm sure many of you have discovered some instances of deception: people in power deceiving, hiding the truth from those that rely on them.  Sometimes, it's done for the better of society.  Sometimes it's done for greed.  Sometimes it's just hard to tell.  Either way, considering how truth, lies, or deception factors into what we've been reading brings up an interesting question:  Is it ever ok to lie?



Our TED Talk today is brought to you by Marco Tempest.  Marco is a techno-magician, meaning that he combines sleight of hand (magic) and technology to bring his audience the ultimate illusion.  His talk today is a clever, surprisingly heartfelt meditation on truth and lies, art and emotion.





Check out the Talk Here at this Link

As you watch consider these points in general and how they relate to the SSR novels you are reading.
- What is real?
-What are the differences between truth and lies?
-Is it possible (or good) to be totally honest all the time?
-Is it ever ok to lie?
-What is the power of deception?
-How does propaganda fit in?
-Do we deceive ourselves sometimes?
-If you're happy with the lie you're being told, is the lie wrong?
-Is it better to always know the truth?
-Is censorship lying?
-Why do leaders sometimes lie?  

Let's talk Truth vs Lies