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Showing posts from July, 2010

TED The lost art of democratic debate - Michael Sandel (2010)

Aristotle - Justice is giving people what they deserve. Then we argue about who deserves. The flute should go to the best flute player. What was the thing meant to do? A flute was built to produce great music. The qualities that are worth recognising and honoring the deservee. Contemporary - Golfcart, and a man who is disabled, can't walk well. Pro (golfer says give him the cart) - its not part of the game. Con (non golfer says don't give it to him) - stamina counts. Courts decided to give cart because it's about hitting the ball, but one of them said no... you can't determine the nature of golf - because the nature of golf is amusement, fun, not productive activity. Are rules arbitrary, or are they there to bring out the finesses of the game? What about fairness? Obvious solution. Let everyone ride in a cart. But the real problem of the golfcart was What abilities are worthy of recognition and honor? Golfers are sensitive about the athletic status of their game.... Yo

TED Lessons from fashion's free culture - Johanna Blakley (2010)

fashion industry doesn't have copyright, you can copy someone's design under your own protected trademark with impunity clothes are too utilitarian was the reason it was decided it shouldn't be protected they are 'influenced' by the broadest pallettes - everyone else's ideas - a culture of copying copyright thinking goes that if there's no ownership, there's no incentive to create... crap designers contstantly sue people copying them, and they lose Tom Ford - The counterfeit customer is not our customer, (so we aren't worrying about copying). virtues of copying - breathes life into old trends, vast pallette, trends get established more quickly induced obsolescence accellerates change, initiates innovation designers create a signature look and everyone knows when they are being copied jokes can't be copyrighted, food can't be copyrighted, cars can't be copyrighted, furniture, magic, hairdos, opensource software, databases, tattoo

TED Obesity + Hunger = 1 global food issue - Ellen Gustafson (2010)

she noticed that the hunger goes with insecurity and that the poorest nations of the world were also the most angry looked into school feeding programs - gets kids to school and nourishes them poverty and hunger leads to child malnurition versus education and nourished children leads to end of poverty feedbag - each bag sold would schoolfeed a kid for year - 55 million kids fed for a year what are you doing for Anericas kids - 49 million kids are hungry, one third are obese - a billion people around the world are obese agriculture - consolidated farming - corn soy and wheat. But America doesn't export a good system and systems around the world are deteriorating. Farmers in America are fat, farmers elsewhere are starving America's farming system has led to obesity, not to mention sodas in the developing world is going to America's system and becoming obese agriculture and obesity are one system, not separate the 30 Project - long-term ideas for food system change, c