Sting

Sting's appearance at TED was deeply moving. I intended to write about him recounting his youth growing up near the shipyards in Tyneside, his yearning to escape and the poignancy of the songs from his musical The Last Ship. I intended to write about how he struck a chord with everyone in the audience. Not in a star-to-audience sort of way, but with a person-to-person feeling.

However, after reading David Brooks' column in New York Times, I feel inadequate.

TED 2014 Day Two

A totally packed day at TED. I'm brain-sozzled.

Two great Main Theatre sessions, including a surprise 'appearance' by the highly articulate Edward Snowden through a telepresence robot. That interview is already up on TED.com and worth watching.  So what do TEDsters think of Snowden - reckless traitor, or patriotic hero? Given that stark choice, most were undecided (or at least didn't put their hands  up), but of those who voted, it was a landslide for hero. 

Two fast-paced session of 10 All Stars - favourite TED speakers from past years invited back to update their work -  that was like being at the end of a fire hose. A compelling talk by TED Prize winner Charmian Gooch. A spectacular performance by Sting. Then, a small dinner with Robert Fuller, biologist and creator of bio-inspired robots and an ebullient dinner companion. 

Yesterday, I sat  next to my hero Nancy Duarte (speaker coach for many TED speakers, proponent of story-telling as the backbone of talks, and recognized as the creator of Gore's Inconvenient Truth slide show). I already learned a lot from her and learned more yesterday. Tonight, I came up the elevator with Aimee Mullins, a speaker who blew me away when I first heard her at TED years ago. She remains on the top ten favourite posts on this blog. I wish the elevator ride had been a lot longer! 

Detailed descriptions of various talks will follow, as there was just too much going on today, and I'm still recovering from the sleep I lost over the US Airways fiasco.  (Did I mention you should never fly with them?)