TED+TALKS

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Pattie Maes has given an excellent speech on this sixth sense device. I think this device will be something that will eventually become a must have for people. To be able to have any bit of information at your fingertips whenever you want it, would help a lot of people solve any questions or problems that they might have. This device takes images of what you want and relays them through its computer systems and instantly gives you the information you want about that item or thing. One example it used was when Pranav Mistry was in the cab and held up his airline ticket, 50.00 the system scanned the ticket and was able to tell him that the flight was delayed 20 minutes. Another example that was fascinating was when he was trying to pick the most eco-friendly toilet paper and he could scan on each one and the device would tell him which one was the best. The best part of this device, The Sixth Sense, is that it is only going to be around $350.00.

media type="custom" key="6383487" Erik Hersman has a very interesting idea. This idea is how people can report crisis via texting. When I first started watching this, I felt like this idea was very similar to what twitter is, with people being able to say to the world what they are doing or what they are seeing. But after watching this video, this product is much more than that. It not only will tell people all around the world the crisis that is going on around them, but rate the people that are submitting this information so that we will know if the information is reliable. Erik and his team have started this in Africa. They want to connect developed countries with developing countries. The results so far in Africa have been very good and they are able to see what is actually happening in some of these bad areas. By having a system like this in place, it might help in the future with solving crimes as well as preventing them.

media type="custom" key="6383705" Stephen Hawking talked mainly about are there other life forms (aliens) as well as our planet. He brought up some very good points about aliens. He said that he believes that there are no other life forms out there. If there are why would they only show themselves to weirdo’s or crazy people. He goes on to say that if there were any life forms out there, we would have picked up some sort of radio waves that would indicate there being other people not of this planet. Also he makes sure to issue a grave warning that with our population growing at such an alarming rate, we must start looking at other resources in order to sustain our planet. He states that we should look to outer space to find solutions to our problems. I do believe that he brings up valid points and that we should listen to what Mr. Hawking is saying.

media type="custom" key="6383973" Tom Wujec talks about the 3 ways that the brain creates meaning. This is something that was very interesting to hear him talk about. I learned how the brain picks up motion, shapes, and light to create this picture in your head on what is going on. Tom says that the brain uses images to clarify ideas, interacts with images to create engagement and augment memory with persistent and evolving views. All of this starts with the eyes. Without the eyes the brain does not get the information needed. There are 3 different areas of the brain that are examined. The ventricle stream, which is the “what” factor, this is looking at a hand or remote. Second, dorsal stream. This is where the brain looks at the physical environment that is around them and makes a mental map. Third is the limbic system which is very old and it is the area that makes you feel emotions. The purpose of this is to make meaning by seeing. Tom and his team is creating a large screen display that will allow people to put in problems and actually let them see what results will actually happen. I really like this study. I think that it will allow researchers to come up with ideas faster because it will allow them to see their results quicker so we can put them into action faster. The more that we learn and unlock the secrets to the brain, the more we can learn about who we are.