TED Talk 8: Is this really a necessary topic?

                Benjamin Wallace’s TED Talk wasn’t that impressive to me in terms of content. He didn’t really tie any of his findings together and make a philosophical statement. He talked about trying expensive things, what he liked, what he didn’t like, and then it ended. I was just left questioning the importance of this talk. I also think a lot of the content he presented is just his opinion, especially with the food products. Just because he didn’t like truffles doesn’t really mean much. I’ve had truffle oil (I know it’s not the same thing) but it has a long lasting smell and a distinctive flavor. I just didn’t like that much of what he said was personal opinion, and he didn’t openly say this. I honestly felt like what he presented was a consumer report rating the products. I think the idea that we tend to be happy when we buy expensive things is a good finding, but he never really openly states this. He also didn’t explain some of the products. I had no idea why the bed was so special. He just didn’t explain that. He also didn’t really explain the Kobe beef. People’s happiness is a personal thing. If high priced objects make people happy, then that’s okay (for this Talk, I suggest you go to the location of the actual video, and read some of the comments, they're pretty interesting).

                I want to say that his Talk relates to me, I want to say it relates to the world, but I can’t. People’s happiness is part of who they are. Cooking makes me happy, but that doesn’t mean it makes everyone happy. Just because some people would pay money for happiness doesn’t mean everyone would. Happiness is completely personal, and I think when you start questioning what makes people happy, it’s hard to find out. I would say a small percent of people in this world would pay money for all the fancy things he displayed. I don’t know, his talk just wasn’t inspiring or insightful, it is un relatable for me and I honestly don’t think it relates to the world.

                On the contrary, he did have some good techniques. I enjoyed how he had videos in his TED Talk, as that provided a different element than just showing pictures. He also used humor, but a different kind of humor. People laughed at the products he was displaying, not what he was actually saying. It sort of shows how outrageous these products are, and even more so how funny it is that people actually buy them.

                This is all I have for this TED Talk. I wanted to end on an excellent Talk, but instead I ended on the worst one I’ve seen. After watching these Talks, I think the best one was a tie between Marcel Dicke’s and Jennifer Lee. Dicke’s was just so interesting and so out of the box then any of the other’s, and Lee’s just contained fun food information that I love to hear about. So, I would say these blogs were fun, and I learned a lot from these Talks. Goodbye for now.

Restaurant Sustainibility: Why not?

                Arthur Potts Dawson gave an inspiring TED Talk, but he was missing some things. First, he didn’t really give any new speaking techniques. He told a story, and that was about it. He didn’t have any humor, which was common in all the other TED Talks. He also didn’t really explain why he made his restaurants sustainable. He explained how he did it, but not why it was important. I feel that he could have added in statistics about waste and why it’s bad. Also, he only focused on his own restaurants, but there are other restaurants out there who keep sustainability in mind. For instance, my favorite restaurant (and the restaurant that has inspired me), Root Down. Root Down, at the bottom of their menus state how sustainable they are. 2 other sustainable restaurants I know are in Hawaii, Pacific’O and I’O. These two restaurants get nearly all they’re produce from O’o Farm, a farm that the two chefs created. This farm is nearly 100% organic, and they are slowly becoming more and more bio dynamic. There are a copious amount of restaurants around the world that are already being sustainable, and I think he should’ve shed some light on these other eateries.

                I thought his ideas were solid, and they really do apply to the whole culinary world. When you go to a restaurant, you can tell how much waste there is. I went out to eat this night, and I sat next to the kitchen. I looked on the floor, and I saw some food scraps. Then I monitored how many plates the waiters were taking back and how there always seemed to be some food left on those plates. The ideas in his Talk could be easily carried out in the restaurant I went to. The restaurant could make a roof top garden, and they could compost the organic leftovers that were being thrown away. If restaurants were to actually implement these ideas, then they would save money, and be doing well for the planet.

                His TED Talk doesn’t really relate to me now, but I think it will in the future. I plan on opening my own restaurant, and I plan on implementing some of Dawson’s ideas. I definitely would want my restaurant to compost food, and to have a large garden. I think that this would be a wise thing to do because not only would some of my produce be fresh and delicious, but it would also save money so I don’t have to buy all this produce from other sources. Also, it relates to my own garden. We have a compost bin, and so in turn we are able to use kitchen scraps that we would normally just throw away. This provides us with a better garden because of the compost, and it lets us use scraps that would end up in landfills where it wouldn’t benefit anyone.

Dave Eggers TED: One on One

                Dave Eggers TED Talk was pretty good, partly because of how he presented his information. Again, like the other presenters I’ve watched, he told a story. He talked about the history of 826 Valencia, the troubles they had when opening it, and the purpose of it. His story was different than the others I’ve watched, because he lived his story, he was the person who was behind the story. Ken Robinson told stories that he heard, and Jennifer Lee told history stories, but neither of them really lived his/her story. He did use humor as a tactic, too (so original). He began his TED Talk with humor, talking about how he hadn’t slept at all, and his colleague and he were talking about who slept the least. Along with this, his story was humorous. He had to sell something, anything… so he sold pirate supplies. Another unique tactic he had was his TED wish, what he wants people to take away from his Talk. You could say the other people hinted at this idea, but they didn’t coin the term, or go into much detail on this. Egger made his own website to elaborate on this wish, which was kind of cool. You can view his wish coming true with pictures and videos from all over the country.

After observing all of these Talks, I’m starting to find that stories and humor are prevalent through all of them. These two factors, mainly story, guides most of their Talks, and that becomes the basis of the Talks. The only instance I’ve seen where this didn’t happen is Marcel Dicke’s, because he mainly used facts and not stories. Humor seems to be a tactic that ties the audience in, because no one dislikes humor, and it makes the audience think (even if you didn’t realize it) about what’s funny, and why they are laughing.

His ideas of one on one attention really relate to me, because it really does help. When I work with a teacher one on one, the teacher and I are able to talk about whatever and the teacher can easily guide me and help me on this subject. It also lets me get to know the teacher, and it helps you feel more comfortable with the person who’s teaching you. But once you go into a large class of 30 students, you lose these factors. Teachers just don’t have time to spend time with each student every class. In an hour, for a class of 30, one teacher could get only 2 minutes with each student. 2 minutes of personal time, with no other teaching during the class period. If you couldn’t tell, this is a problem. This is clearly why Eggers did what he did, why he made a facility that is one on one volunteer to student time. However, I think there are some problems with this. During this time, kids are with volunteers, not their teachers. It seems that the students would in turn get a sense of trust and friendship with the volunteer, but not with the teacher. It would be the best if students had more flexibility at schools, along with teachers. Then, if students feel they need the one on one time, then they can go and find the teacher and have this time. They would then get the same bond with their teacher, and they would be able to stay in school, too. So I agree with his message that people should volunteer for this one on one time, but I fell it would work better if these volunteers became the teachers, and ideally it would be the teachers being able to give one on one times.