Looking For Meaning in TED

TED has once again helped me on my journey.  I started by looking for something to write about but I had found that there was nothing I could think of.

Art
So I started with looking at and artist named Tom Shannon who created free form art.  It was things that stood on their own and would float on magnetic fields.
Sounds awesome right?  It was but it wasn’t what I was looking for.  I still would love to play with the pieces and do the magician thing of putting my hand between the pieces.  So I moved on to the LHC.

LHC
The LHC is the largest experiment in the world.  It is the ginormus machine in Geneva created to figure out what existed just after the Big Bang.  It throws electron/neutrons at each other to see what happens.  It got started finally last year and was even given a Google image.
Geek greatness eh?  Well it is but still not what I imagined writing a whole blog about.  I wanted something more, well, substantial than electrons.  (they aren’t exactly warm and fuzzy)

Digression
So I move to John Hodgman, a comedian I recognized and have always been curious about.  Plus his title was about digression, which is something I always love.  I find that in huge digression you find your ultimate meaning.
I digress.
John Hodgman spoke of aliens and his encounters with them in life.  To the point that he thought he wonderful wife was replaced with an alien by the end.  He used his geekiness as a defense that things like the illogical idea that a girl wanted to talk to him, to prove that the aliens were contacting him.  Saying basically that a girl wouldn’t talk to him so obviously she was an alien.
I’ll admit this was cute and I loved the way he ended his speech by talking about how he always looks for his wife when she isn’t in the room.  However cute it was though, I couldn’t get excited about it.

Will it ever end?
I found that I was looking for someone to talk about creativity.  I finally found a person that was but when I did.  I notice when I finally found what I was looking for I was more interested in what I wanted.

Lexicography-philia
I ended up falling in love with a talk about the dictionary.  One of the youngest editors of one of the “Big Five” dictionaries Erin McKean talked about her job and how people misunderstand her and her passion.  She was a cute geek that was proud of her geekdom.  Erin talked about the static abilities of a paper dictionary.  One of her best metaphors for her work were a traffic cop vs. a fisherman.
Erin says that people think she is a traffic cop of words entering the dictionary.  Telling the world what words are ‘worthy’ and what words are bad and should not be included.  She would rather be a fisherman of words.  “Throwing my net in to the sea of the English language,” Erin explains.  She would like to take words from the English language rather than determine which are worthy.  Erin knows so many words that she made the entire presentation to say some of them in context.
The part of McKean’s presentation that stuck with me is that she not only wants an interactive dictionary but she wants people to use words.  She wants people to create words and not be afraid of how to use them because when you use a word in a new context it gains a new meaning.  Erin made me feel better about my own writing because I don’t need to worry about the words I use as much if I can give it a source/definition.

Inspiration

I was always told not to verbalize or create words in my journalism classes.  The only problem with this is technology and business.  There are new words and acronyms created everyday when there are new products and committees.  As I have grown the idea of “only use real words” doesn’t make since because my friends and I are always creating new words and phrases.  I know I have a phrase of the month or word of the week all the time.  It could simply be the way I way ‘awesome’ or a new way to say big.  This is how the Urban Dictionary was created.  Each generation creates new words and grammar rules.  That is why AP comes out with a new style guide every year.  So why are I afraid of grammar and spelling?

I say we take hold of our writing and write unabashedly about whatever we feel.  I don’t care if it is something I don’t like because the Internet and World is big enough that someone will write about it eventually.

TED intorduces a SixthSense

If you are a new tech geek like me than you will think this is made of awesome the way I do. I you watch this before you read through all of it.

The TED conferences is the end all be all of new technology conferences.  It is an invite only conference where people like Malcolm Gladwell or Virgin Records mogul, Sir Richard Branson speak for 18 minutes about whatever they want.  In all honesty I could watch these everyday and have a TED specific blog.

My favorite currently is from Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry, where they “Unveil the ‘Sixth Sense,’ game-changing wearable tech.”  Pattie talks about having immediate connection to the Internet.  I agree with her that our phone isn’t enough for immediate access.  We can’t research on the go with a Blackberry or iPhone.

Her new technology can do these things.  It was invented by her team the MIT’s Media Lab.  It is worn around the neck and is a bit long but looks like a lot of fun.  The SixthSense website says, “The SixthSense prototype is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera.”  So, you can project your screen on any wall, put some varied colors on your nails or pen caps and use your fingers to interact with it.  It can take a picture for you and then you can immediately size it and email it to a friend.  You can see a word cloud of someone you are talking to right on their shirt.  You can research your groceries while shopping.  It gives you the quickest access to the internet and is the most interactive device I have seen and that I actually want.

I am geeking out on this a bit.  I hope it all makes sense but if you watch the video you may understand more.  I really just wanted to connect more people to this awesome new idea.  I can’t wait to get one!