#TEDxWaterloo Archives :: From the Desk of Janet BarclayFrom the Desk of Janet Barclay

When Entertainment Meets Science

Tags : #TEDxWaterloo, conference, scienc, TEDx

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Last week I talked about a scientist who took his work and connected it with something fun. This week I’m going to turn it around and feature a Toronto high school student who took something fun and connected it with science.

Mathew Ho and his friend Asad Muhammad caught the attention of media worldwide when they sent a Lego Man into space and videotaped it. Sound crazy? I don’t know about you, but I sure wasn’t doing anything that creative when I was a teenager! Check it out:

The Star published a really good article explaining the science and engineering behind Lego Man’s balloon voyage, if you’re interested in learning more about it.

This will be my last post covering TEDx Waterloo, but it certainly doesn’t cover all of the “ideas worth spreading!”

If you have a chance to attend a TEDx event, I strongly encourage you to go. If you can’t, at least plan to spend some time on TED.com and watch a few videos. Don’t limit yourself to topics you’re already interested in! I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy the conference because it didn’t directly relate to my work or my personal interests, but it made me realize how much more is going on in the world than what we see in our day-to-day lives.

What have you done lately to expand your horizons?

When Science Meets Entertainment

Categories: Lifelong Learning

Tags : #TEDxWaterloo, arts, science

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The theme for this year’s TEDx Waterloo was DIS CONNECTED. The conference was split into three sessions, each based on a variation of this theme:

CONNECTED DIS CIPLINES explored interdependence and entanglement between various branches of learning
CONNECTED DIS COVERY encouraged us to see the world differently
CONNECTED DIS COURSE focused on the many ways we communicate – and fail to communicate – with one another

The speakers I’ve blogged about so far were all part of Session #2, but today I’d like to look back at Session #1. The first two speakers represented different segments of the arts community: Scott Chantler is a graphic novelist and commercial illustrator, and Shannon Blake is a playwright and the founder of The Bench Theatre Initiative, which provides street-involved adults with an opportunity to participate in the arts. Both were interesting, but didn’t fascinate me as much as those from the sciences.

In a TED video, Angela Belcher, head of the Biomolecular Materials Group at MIT, talked about using nature to grow batteries. Most of the concepts she described would go over the heads of most of us, but her enthusiasm and passion was very exciting. She actually made me think of the characters on The Big Bang Theory, who also talk about scientific theories in regular conversation, expecting everyone to know exactly what they’re talking about. (I was too embarrassed to say this publicly until I saw The Record make the same comparison!)

Krister Shalm, on the other hand, clearly realizes that your average Joe doesn’t know squat about quantum physics. Instead of giving a traditional talk, he explained the power of a quantum computer with the help of magic and swing dance. Don’t believe me? Check it out!

Come back next week to read my next post in this series!

The Man Who Walked Around the World

Categories: Lifelong Learning

Tags : #TEDxWaterloo, conference, TEDx

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Before I attended TEDx Waterloo, I was perusing the list of speakers hoping to find a familiar name or two. For a moment, I thought I was going to hear former hockey star Jean Béliveau, but it turned out to be someone else with the same name.

Although also from la belle province, this Jean Béliveau has a very different story. In the year 2000, he had a mid-life crisis, but instead of buying a sports car or having an affair or any of those stereotypical responses, he decided to shut down his successful factory and leave his family to walk around the world.

Here are some interesting numbers about his walk:

It lasted 134 months
He walked a total 75,543 kilometres
He visited 5 continents and 64 countries
He went through 54 pairs of shoes

His original goal was to embark on an “adventure of learning” but he decided to dedicate his walk to peace and non-violence for the children of the world.

It is quite a fascinating story, but after hearing him speak, I found myself with more questions than answers.

How exactly did his walk benefit the children of the world?
What did he learn during his travels?
What about the employees of the factory he shut down? Could he not have found someone else to run it?

All I can really say is what an amazing wife he has, to support him in such an endeavour and to welcome him home after such a long time away!

Here’s a video taken during his odyssey, in 2009:

You can learn more about Jean Béliveau at http://wwwalk.org/en/.

Who’s doing what with your information?

Categories: Lifelong Learning, Tech Tips

Tags : #TEDxWaterloo, online privacy, social media, TEDx

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On March 1, 2012, Google introduced a new Privacy Policy to replace the policies they previously had in place for their many different products. If you’re a registered user, you probably received an email notifying you of the change. If you’re like me, you probably gave it a cursory read and then deleted it.

My sister forwarded the email to me and suggested that I blog about it, but I didn’t think it was important enough. I figure if I have to see ads on the Internet, they may as well be targeted to my interests. It turns out that our online activity affects a lot more than just the ads that are displayed on our screens.

One of the most eye-opening talks I heard at TEDx Waterloo wasn’t a live speaker, but a video by Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble. He explained that Google, Facebook, and other sites keep track of what we view online, even when we’re not logged into their site, and use this information to filter the information we see.

In other words, although personalization may be convenient at times, there are much more serious implications. In short, it means that we’re most likely to find content that supports our existing views than to open our minds by uncovering new information. I strongly suggest that you take 9 minutes to watch the video for yourself.

Just before the video was shown, Sarah Williams demonstrated how urban planners can use mobile check-ins on Facebook and Foursquare to understand how people feel about the cities they’re in.

It was fascinating, but it also made me wonder just WHO has access to my information and WHAT are they doing with it? We have become so accustomed to sharing the details of our lives online that it will be difficult to change our habits, but you can be sure I’ll be thinking twice before I post my next status update.

How about you?

Photo by James Bastow

Overnight Success Story: Taylor Jones

Categories: Motivational Moments

Tags : #TEDxWaterloo, book, conference, photography, TEDx

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As promised, today I’m beginning my series of posts featuring the highlights of last week’s successful TEDx Waterloo event.

At 22 years of age, Taylor Jones was one of the youngest speakers there. He introduced himself as a recent college graduate with no noteworthy accomplishments or ambitions, sharing the fact that he’d applied to attend last year’s event, but was turned down.

His life changed dramatically last spring when he was sitting in the kitchen looking at some old photos with his family. Upon noticing that he was holding a picture of his brother that had been taken in that same kitchen, from the exact same angle he was facing, he held it up, took a snapshot of it, and posted it on Tumblr with a note that began “Dear Photograph…” People immediately took notice, and he posted another, then another. Before long, other people were doing the same thing and sending him their own “Dear Photograph” stories. Believe me when I tell you that some of those stories brought tears to my eyes!

Less than a year later, Dear Photograph has over 23,000 followers on Twitter and more than 74,000 fans on Facebook, and it’s been featured on major news media throughout the world. CBS named it the #1 website in 2011, and TIME Magazine included it as their #7 pick of the top 50 websites. Who wouldn’t like to get this kind of exposure to their website?

As someone in the business of helping others get noticed online, I am amazed, excited, and inspired by Taylor’s story.

His experience teaches us that success often comes when you’re not even looking for it, and that the key isn’t necessarily about having a presence on the top three social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) or using the latest SEO strategies. Taylor is successful because he had a unique idea that touched people’s hearts and souls and allowed them to express their innermost feelings through images.

But the story doesn’t end there. A hardcover Dear Photograph book will be available shortly, and I have no doubt it’s going to be a huge success as well.