Harvard Magazine: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination (6/5/08)

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." - Plutarch

We all know her as the talented and prolific writer behind the Harry Potter series, but J.K. Rowling really packs a punch in this commencement speech given to the Harvard Alumni Association. She talks about the advantages of failing along with the power of creativity as reflected by her life experiences since graduating college.

This speech can be used at any karyakar meeting and even sabhas. Let us know how it worked for you!

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Link: http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination

Sticky Stats

While the year and the decade is ending, it seems that we have to validate or negate those new ideas we rolled out over the course of the year. Number crunching may be no fun, but reading the results doesn't have to be.

The Heath brothers, authors of Made to Stick, write,

A good statistic is one that aids a decision or shapes an opinion. For a stat to do either of those, it must be dragged within the everyday. That's your job -- to do the dragging. In our world of billions and trillions, that can be a lot of manual labor. But it's worth it: A number people can grasp is a number that can make a difference.

See what they mean below.

Link:  http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/made-to-stick-the-gripping-statistic.html

SciAm MIND: Parents & Peers

"There is no doubt that peers matter."

Duh - any parent or kid knows that - BUT...

"The research shows they matter more when the parents ignore their impact, do not address their impact or do not take actions to ameliorate negative impact."

Enter family time (i.e. ghar sabha).

Full Article: Scientific American Mind; Nov/Dec2009, Vol. 20 Issue 6, p4-4

SciAm MIND: Empathy Heals

"There was a direct relation between a physician's empathy level and his or her patient's level of IL-8, a chemical that summons immune system cells to fight microbial bad guys."

Full Article: Scientific American Mind; Nov/Dec2009, Vol. 20 Issue 6, p10-10.

Lone Gunman: TED Speaking Guide (7/31/09)

So we've posted a bunch, and we may have seen them but they leave us hanging. What makes TEDTalks so great?

If you're patient, Lone Gunman's Lloyd Morgan cites an editorial on the TED phenomenon.

TED succeeds in part because participants are encouraged to talk about the unexpected. […] But perhaps the most critical key to success is the style of the talks. […]

The talks have a strict time limit of 18 minutes — no interaction with the audience, and no questions except the informal ones asked in the extended conversation breaks. […] For a general audience, 18 minutes is plenty for getting across context and key issues, while still forcing each speaker to focus on a message — whether it be advocacy or the celebration of new knowledge.

There is also a welcome absence of PowerPoint presentations. Instead there are plenty of images — but precious few professional scientific diagrams, which can quickly lose the audience’s attention. This forces speakers to craft talks that can engage sophisticated but scientifically untutored listeners at their level. And it also encourages speakers to try for a freely flowing, relaxed presentation style, without notes. […]

Scientists wishing to inspire non-scientists should look at a few of these talks online and learn a thing or two.

Bottom line, TED is great because...

• "participants are encouraged to talk about the unexpected."
• "the talks have a strict time limit of 18 minutes."
• "there is also a welcome absence of PowerPoint presentations."

Some things just don't seem to change.

Link: http://www.lonegunman.co.uk/2009/07/31/ted-speaking-guide/