Yossi Vardi TED Talk

The threat of blogging for males according to Yossi Vardi is a very real and does not get a sufficient amount of attention. While blogging, the overheating of a laptop on a man's lap can cause heat and may set fire to a rather essential part of the body. Other problems abound about this blogging problem, also known as local warming, including posture. Make sure that next time you are blogging with a laptop that the upper thigh area is well aired out and away from the laptop so that the prospect of local warming can be avoided.

The first thing that came to my mind when I heard this speech was how crazy is this guy to go onto TED, a stage that is world renowned for its great ideas, and spit out some completely random speech about "local warming." I figured that maybe due to the name and accent, this guy may be KGB and is simply trying to infiltrate a great American idea generating system, but figured the body build just made him a little unqualified for covert operations. Then the idea came to me that Yossi really had no purpose except for an intrinsic motivation to simply entertain other people. I think this speech really showed the power of intrinsic motivation because this guy has risked anyone ever taking him seriously again just so he could entertain an audience. I can't simply delve into the mind of Yossi and figure out the real power this motivation had on his mind, it is obvious that the motivation that Dan Pink wrote a whole book about is in the driver's seat for Mr. Vardi.

I think that Yossi's talk was very entertaining mostly because of the way he went around doing the speech. I have absolutely no idea how the idea that he should come to a national conference and proceed to talk about the potential flammability of one's scrotum, but I'm glad he did because he probably gave me some ideas for my own TED talk. His speech was simply hilarious because of all the abstract examples that seemingly came out of nowhere. I knew that I couldn't miss a second of this presentation because a couple seconds later he would be off somewhere else talking about shaving as opposed to crossing one's legs. While being as rapid fire as Yossi may not be the wisest idea, I think that using a bunch of examples that are at least pretty good will keep the audience engaged since they know that they will be lost if they zone out for a couple of seconds. I know that the pastor at my church uses the exact same strategy because occasionally I zone out for like a minute and I have no idea what in the world he is talking about. Needless to say I have learned not to zone out and his sermons have kept me hooked.

The idea of local warming has absolutely no significance for this world, but the ideas from which local warming came have a great deal of importance for human success. The ideas that local warming sprouted from were simply having fun with our lives and acting to please others along with yourself. The idea of having fun is literally so important an aptitude for the future that Dan Pink has a whole chapter devoted to it just so the reader gets that having fun isn't only enjoyable but in other ways can be productive. While Yossi wasn't exactly productive in his fun, there are plenty of other ways in which fun can be productive especially in the workplace. The loosening of the mood that laughter brings can really benefit businesses by easing tensions, connecting different sides of an argument, and bringing more kindly interactions. How far though can having fun and jesting go without becoming a distraction? I think that as long it stays away from being offensive or overused a couple of jokes or maybe a quick break for a game of hockey would be beneficial to companies and other workplaces. Dan Pink even brought up allowing computer games in the office because it extends creativity and boosts performance. Well, I just tried that out and played a couple of minutes of Dolphin Olympics and I feel a lot better right now about writing so I don't doubt the power of having fun. The act of pleasing others was another idea that gave birth to local warming. I am 100% sure he went up there to please others with his idea of the dangers of blogging because what other reason would he have to go up there and maybe strip himself of his credibility? There is no other reason, and in the process of entertaining the audience it seemed as though he himself was having a great time for himself also. The benefits in attending to others is limitless not only for others but also for one's self. I guarantee that in business the employee who is constantly serving his boss's needs and wants without hesitation will get the pay raise or promotion much faster than the guy who sits in his office and doesn't help at all. It is kind of like the catchy design of the Coke commercial where the lyrics of the song are, "You get a little love and it all comes back to you." Even the point that Mr. Vardi was trying to get across was directed at the safety of the audience, thereby helping them.

It may seem hard to believe, but a talk on why one shouldn't blog because of the flammability risk may actually have reinforced a couple of aspects that I never would have thought of.

Dave Eggers TED Talk

A pirate store, tutoring and time traveling. Dave Eggers is able to use a very right brained approach and pull together three seemingly unrelated ideas and produce a pretty good speech. This off the bat relates to Dan Pink's ideas, but the idea of intrinsic motivation is really the driving force of what Dave Eggers is trying to get across. He works at a pirate shop tutoring center and wants kids to get the one on one help they deserve in schooling that they simply can not get at schools. He and a bunch of other tutors sit down and help kids with their schoolwork for free because they see a problem in the schooling system and want to try to solve this problem. This program is especially helpful to these specific kids because it is a poorer section of town and their homes tend to not be the best places to do homework.

Dave Eggers speaking style was not particularly effective I thought, and it is too bad because the topic he was trying to get across was an important one for people to hear. I personally felt as though he dragged on with the same subjects for too long and probably should have put a couple more examples in there and kept the audience on their toes. When the speaker changes subjects somewhat frequently without getting off topic it is very effective because it keeps the listeners on their toes and still gets the point across. With Eggers he must have talked about his own little pirate shop with a tutoring center for half of the time, and I felt myself dosing off at times. The humor though did get me a little more engaged because who can't pay attention to a tutoring center that doubles as a time travel specialty shop or a super hero supply vendor.

I think that this easy to access one on one tutoring is a really good idea because as class sizes continue to grow with budget cuts it seems as though students get less and less attention. Our school's offerings such as writing lab and spanish lab are good and I think are on the right track to what Eggers is talking about. Sometimes though when I go to writing lab it is like the teachers are just trying to hustle me out of there instead of really trying to help. I have never been to spanish lab so I can't call that out, but I think it is better to hold this kind of thing after school because then you will find the tutors that really want to stay and help the kids while those that don't can just leave and do something else. I personally feel like I learn a lot better one on one with a teacher because all of their attention and effort is focused on you and the teachers seem to get more involved. I think maybe in our five day a week classes we should have a day every two weeks that is just reserved for one on one help with students from the teacher, and those that need or want help can have easy access to it.

I think that the world really should learn from Dave Eggers's talk but widen their view on the picture he painted. Most of the time the best help comes from a one on one talk rather than in a group. Whether that be how to hold a rifle better in the Army or how to better start a campfire in Boy Scouts, I feel as though more one on one attention needs to be given. Plus, when the original instructor is not available, people like Dave Eggers need to be willing to step up and volunteer their efforts to help these people.