Recent Comments

Talk: My year of living biblically – August 20, 2008

Sherri, i don't mean to labour the point, but you're still stating all of these "truths" without proof. You said that the Bible says "for it is written" because it is god's word, but this is the same as saying, "the Bible is God's word because it is God's word". I'm not going to believe a book just because that book itself tells me too. Do you see my point? Please, at least give me some credit here. You'll have to do much better than that.

Therefore, all the scriptures you proceeded to recite carry little (no) weight with me whatsoever. I do not believe humans were created, and in my previous comment I indicated why (the God argument is infinitely regressive, and selection is not random); nor do I accept the Adam and Eve narrative of human history - you have not provided anything like evidence and nobody ever has.

This may surprise you, but I knew every point you mentioned and I even knew the meaning of the word devil. I was a door to door preacher and I used to do what you are doing right now. But I did this wonderful thing - I thought about stuff. I questioned everything and tested everything until they couldn't be tested anymore. Every "truth" turned out to be a falsehood and every "prophecy" turned out to be a false one.

So please, stop the endless Bible School unless you can FIRST show that the (rather ancient, absurd and violent) book is inspired of God. Since you have nor tried this so far, I suspect you can't.

Talk: Becoming Buddha -- on the Web – August 20, 2008

for many years Shakyamuni taught only to the level of the people around him. He taught one thing to farmers and stressed another thing to scholars. Towards the end he taught the Lotus Sutra in which he said 'In the more than 40 years since I began to teach, I have not yet revealed the truth. Awareness of suffering is an important concept to be sure but it was an early teaching of his and only part of a larger issue. The foundation of the Buddhas teaching is non-duality. I am you, your suffering is my suffering, your happiness is my happiness. Trying to denigrate you or take from you only does that to myself. The environment is a reflection of my spirit. Change my spirit and the environment changes automatically. Try to change the environment through legislation, money or war without changing our spirit and, as they say, 'the more things change, the more things stay the same'.
When we recognize non-duality and the vibrational connection between spirit and matter, awareness of suffering occurs naturally. Compassion plays a critical part in purifying our senses so that we CAN see reality clearly and not through a distorted, murky glass but honest reflection of our own egos and hypocrisies is critical as well. Respect and dignity given will go a long way towards peace

Talk: Why squatter cities are a good thing – August 20, 2008

Dickens and Zola show that the West DID have these squatter cities. Only by using draconian measures (China?) can we keep the rural poor from leaving for the cities. Believing in the joys of rural living is the modern incarnation of the "Noble Savage" concept.. Go back and read the list of disadvantages of rural living. Even paying people to stay in rural areas (lower taxes; grants and subsidies; lower housing costs) does not rein in the rural exodus in America... why impose rural living on the rest of the world?

Thank you Stewart for pointing out the obvious to those who will not see.

Theme: Rethinking Poverty – August 20, 2008

Humans have become too detached from each other. This makes us inhuman. We do not know anymore what is going on with the person next door; worse yet, we don't care.
We rid of the guilt of our carelessness and greed and blame Economic Models or Political Stances for the situation of others, when the truth is the blame is on ourselves.
We see misery or poverty in the streets and fight it with an even more miserable charity: we think that handing out a bill, we have done our part.
I do not know the answer. But I have to say that I adhere to many of Red Slider's comments and proposals. Such as "earning" Citizenship (what about becoming a Politician!!); Death Tax... all of which require dramatic ideological change.
If there is any Social, Economical or Political paradigm to solve this sickness, I am certain Capitalism is not the one. Good business, the market, or Adams' "Invisible hand" hasn't done the trick in a Century (in fact, the contrasts between richness and poverty have increased by it), so it is not probable that it is going to do it anytime whatsoever.
I insist: the chore is ours, as individuals. Let's stop pretending a certain "system", Ideology, Government or Divine intervention is going to change matters, because they won't
Bonus Track for Red Slider: what you propose regarding "Eco-Labeling" is already working, though not at a 100%. Ever heard of Carbon Emission Bonds??
In Europe, consumers are starting to discriminate products based on the "Carbon Neutral" status of the companies that produce them. This means that clients are rewarding Carbon Conscious products with their purchase and chastising non conscious ones by not. Personally, it seems outrageous our fight against Climate Change and the HUGE consequences it stores for us in the next few years if left on its paces is through Economic Theory. But it seems in this case, as opposed to poverty, it might work. And if it doesn't, the failure at least will strike us all equally, which at least is fair.

Talk: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better – August 20, 2008

If you happen to read books or attend seminars on self development from different authorities, their advices are similar. What makes a person to change is first through having an experience that would cause the change. Then comes the determination to change. Change requires oneself to pay the price. We may need to let go of our ego or pride. We may even need to take 1 step or 2 steps backward and then go forward. Many times we resist to change because we have been tied down to our daily routines which it has become a gigantic rotating momentum and everytime we want to get out of it, it comes sucking us right back. We know we need to change. The bottom line is we need to overcome laziness.

Talk: Where does creativity hide? – August 20, 2008

I hope that Jeremiah is being sarcastic because I did not see one cogent message in this entire presentation. I was expecting her to 'dig deep into the creative process' but instead I got some funny photos, funny one liners, and a loose collection of 'insights' that were neither profound in isolation or when viewed as a whole. 'Moral Ambiguity', 'String theory of creativity'? These are just words.. and for a woman who talks of the importance of meaning, I failed to see her bring any of them to life. This presentation should be called 'Amy Tan on Amy Tan', and not 'Amy Tan on Creativity'.

Talk: What's wrong with what we eat – August 20, 2008

"... down through history, nothing amazing has been achieved by taking baby steps towards an end result."

What about this thing called the computer you're using?
Granted, it wasn't developed by taking small steps toward the end goal of allowing people to post their own highly generalized views of history on ted.com, but that doesn't mean a Pentium computer popped into existence with no previous development at some point in history.
And just because computers were developed with no one specific goal in mind, that doesn't negate the value of taking baby steps toward one or multiple potential goals. So, James, you either have a weird definition of 'amazing', or have gone a little overboard in your generalizations..
Probably the latter, because I don't think Kyle is the reason our world is in the state it is in. It's much more complex than that. It's in the state it is because of glitter.

Talk: A secular, scientific rebuttal to Rick Warren – August 19, 2008

It is striking to me that Dan Dennett, a scientist and philosopher, would discuss Rick Warren's work without defining the terms used. Imagine two scientist arguing about glyzph. One says it is essential, the other that it is irrelevant -- neither stopping to define the term. You are bothered by Warren's assertion that if there were no God, life would have no meaning. You assert that this is wrong, that we do not need a belief in God for life to have meaning. It seems clear to me that you are both using a term, "God", without defining it and that it is very likely that you do not have the same meaning at all. In which case, don't we need to back up to have the discussion. For example, as a Caltech trained biologist and physician, I have come to believe that for me, the word God refers to that aspect of the universe that brings order and connectedness and without which there would only be chaos. For me that means that God is gravity, strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism, and, because I believe in emergent properties that cannot always be well defined simply by their underlying components, that aspect of human social interaction we often call love -- connectedness that goes beyond individual advancement to collective advancement. I am not saying that God "created" these things, but God IS these things. If you can buy into this definition of terms, then you, like me, will probably be willing to say that you don't "believe" in this God, but you experience it every day. Exactly in the same way that you probably don't "believe" in gravity, you experience it. If you buy this definition, you would also probably say that Rick Warren is correct when he says, "without God life would have no meaning." Take all of those things out of the universe, and there would be no life to have meaning.... electrons would not be captured by nuclei nor nuclei hold together. The discussion between you and Warren would hold more meaning with more definition of terms.

Talk: Building the Ground Zero viewing platform – August 19, 2008

This must rate as one of the worst TED Talks.
Given the platform, what a load of drivel.

Talk: On the verge of creating synthetic life – August 19, 2008

Looks to me like copying and pasting, not creating. Man can't create life, he just alter what's already there.

Talk: My stroke of insight – August 19, 2008

Vlad,

You're right that the other scientists you name don't talk like that because they have not had the benefit of an experiment, albeit not one of her choosing, that has given her insights not available to others. Let's be pleased that someone with her expertise was able to grasp the science/life experience link involved and have the stage to share it. Would not any of us jump right into the opportunity of a sample trial where we could for several moments shut down each side of our brain so we could report our experience given the guarantee of no after effects? I did not take Jill's presentation as a profer of a new discovery or the request for us to accept new science. She refers to it as an insight worth sharing. Based on the "good luck" that she was who she is, with the training of a scientist, I consider her presentation at the very least, an insight worth sharing. Frankly, I saw some potential for scientific explanations of paranormal experiences which I see as mostly similar happenings, but seen through the eyes of untrained minds. All I can say is, "Thank you Jill...more science and hope rolled into possibly yet another Human discovery. JH

Talk: 18 minutes with an agile mind – August 19, 2008

Great talk. Currently reading one of his books and I'm surprised to see him so scatter brained. Very interesting to listen to, and he has some very well thought out opinions on things. The difference is, he thinks them out in advance, then verbally explodes with them - most people forget that first part.

Talk: Living a life of purpose – August 19, 2008

Everything you believe in requires faith. I think that what you wear is not as important as what you think. Einsten wasn't an Einsten when he was a kid, and no one would believe how intelligent he was by just looking at him. Don't judge people by their looks, judge them by their thinking and who they are. Rick is a man with a great mind and also he is just a human like everyone of us, so he will make mistakes and he is not perfect.
"A person who never makes a mistake never attempts anything"

Talk: Building a family tree for all humanity – August 19, 2008

I enjoyed this talk so much that I started a discussion article about it.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/966736/ted_talk_discussion_building_a_family.html?cat=4

Talk: Photography connects us with the world – August 19, 2008

Thanks David.
It is wonderful to hear how National Geographic uses images, deliberately and beautifully to capture a sense of place, and what exotic places. I'm a geographer and have been inspired by your publication, nearly all of my life. It was great to hear you speak and grasp some of your perspective.
Keep up the good work.
Check out the AMAZING photo resorces by amatures on wunderground.com. It is a beautiful refreshing sight every day and you can share and communicate with the photographers.

Edo

Talk: Tales of passion – August 19, 2008

A passionate and feminist talk, as hilarious and sad as only Isabel Allende can.

Talk: My year of living biblically – August 19, 2008

Warren, the reason we can say "for it is written" is because the Bible is God's word. It's His revelation of Himself to us. God did not create us to just leave us alone, empty-handed, with no way of knowing Him or His plan or purpose in creating us. And the reason why there is so much evil in the world is because we live in a fallen creation. God is creator. Before He created humans, he created angels. All was well with God and the angels He had created until Ezekiel 28:15 says iniquity was found in one particular angel. He was called Son of the Morning, Lucifer. God had created Lucifer to be beautiful, helpful, good, but he decided of his own free will, the free will that God had given him, that that wasn't good enough. No, this created being, created by God, wanted to exalt himself above God. Lucifer became Satan when he came against God, because Satan means adversary. To justify himself he accused God and thus became the devil, for devil means accuser. He is the source of all evil and all sin. When God put Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden, they were innocent, but innocence cannot become holiness until tested. So, God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve. Why? Because He wanted them to be holy, set apart, different. Different from whom? Different from what? Evil. He gave them a choice. He gave them free will. But He told them plainly. Genesis 2:16 says "And the Lord God commanded the man saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God gave Adam and Eve one command, just one, and they couldn't keep it. They had the same choice we have today. Are we going to listen to the voice of God Almighty or that of the sick serpent Satan? The penalty for sin is death, but God provides a way to escape that penalty. Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself as punishment for the sins of man.

Talk: Apes that write, start fires and play Pac-Man – August 19, 2008

Hi,
I would appreciate if you could provide transcript of this video recording and permission to publish it on website www.mydoctortells.com as well as google blog.
Regards,
Dr. Ashok Koparday
Consultant Sexual Medicine

Talk: Technology, faith and human shortcomings – August 19, 2008

I wonder how much suffering is involved today or in the here-after when you reflect about that prayer with the President giving him both a blessing and 'in the eyes of righteousness' to go into Iraq.

I wonder if you would go to Iraq and see the damage and smell the fear is you will never suffer enough.

Talk: Building a family tree for all humanity – August 19, 2008

Very interesting project, i almost want to participate