Some Westporters are addicted to cigarettes. Others, to “American Idol.”
I’m addicted to TED.
Ted is not a person, though human beings are an integral part of TED. The acronym stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, but the tagline says it best: “Ideas Worth Spreading.”
TED talks — available on its website — are bite-sized videos (18 minutes max) packed with compelling, mind-boggling lectures on topics as diverse as the life that teems throughout the universe, the world of penguins, and the upcoming “demise of guys.”
Like crack or heroin, once you’ve taken a hit of TED, you need more, more, more.
And just as certain drugs are “gateways” to others, TED leads to TEDx.
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share TED-like experiences. This Tuesday (August 23, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), the Westport Library hosts a TEDx event.
In keeping with both TED and the library’s focuses on the future, this TEDx will examine what today’s innovators and tomorrow’s leaders are thinking — from finding new ways to live in a technologically integrated world, to helping senior citizens in their homes, and more.
And who better to explore those ideas than teenagers?
Ben Meyers — a June graduate of Staples, where he organized Ecofest — spearheads the upcoming TEDx.
Presenters on Tuesday include rising Staples seniors Carson Einarsen, Logan Rosen and Isaac Stein, and recent grad Adam Yormark.
If you’ve never seen a TED video — or been to a TEDx event — go. You will be inspired, provoked, challenged and energized.
Not to mention, addicted.
(Click here for free online advance registration — it’s required. PS: Lunch will be served.)
