There Are Four Lights

The second day of TED started off with Session 4 “Reason”. In Palm Springs, some TEDActive folks wore PJs to the morning session. This session included Michael Specter and Sam Harris—-giving the audience a healthy dose of skepticism. Michael Specter talked about the dangers of anti-vaxxers and confirmed what Sheldon told Penny in an episode of The Big Bang Theory; vitamins and supplements are “expensive pee”. Sam Harris is always a dream to listen to. He speaks calmly, doesn’t mind pausing to form a thought and is always quite witty. He spoke about science and values and argued that we should use evidence-based thinking when it comes to morality and human suffering.

As the day continued, my photo documentation pretty much came to a stand still. But I recently came across my fellow TED’09 Fellow, Tino Chow‘s amazing blog. Go check out his great TED posts!

Tino Chow’s TEDActive Flickr set

TEDActive co-hosts Kelly and Rives. Session 1 “Mindshift” starts with Daniel Kahneman.

Jake Shimabukuro plays “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the ukulele. Michael Shermer talks about belief in the brain.

Session 2 “Discovery”. Lunch break at the beautiful Riviera Resort with picnic baskets for six and the gorgeous snow-peaked mountains always in the background.

Session 3 “Action” with Sheryl Crow. Jamie Oliver wins the TED Prize.

My TEDActive 2010 Flickr set

Last February, I was chosen to be a TED’09 Fellow and attended the TED conference in Long Beach, CA. It was a life-changing experience. This year, I’m headed to TEDActive, in Palm Springs, which is the simulcast of TED. For those of you who live in a cyber-cave, head over to TED.com already!

I did a talk, last year, on the TED Fellows stage, and this year I’ll be doing another little talk—-this time, during TEDActive‘s TEDYou session. I’ve recently put the finishing touches on my slides (example above). My talk will be about skepticism and manga!