I blame General Petraeus. My
tolerance for the tawdry is high. I don’t fear for civilization when it’s Rihanna
and Chris Brown acting like fools on Twitter. I don’t wince for future
generations over the breakup antics from Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. But
when this country’s military elite start acting like deranged, lovesick,
teenage pop stars, it’s not good. In military vernacular, it’s
Houston-We-Have-A-Problem time.
Where are the smart, thoughtful,
mature people doing great things for humanity? I need a dose of them, quick.
You wouldn’t think the internet would be your answer here, but it is. Tap your way
on over to TED.com for a “TED Talk”.(Click this link to go to ted.com for a list of talks etc.)
Ted Talks started several years
ago. They’re presented at an annual conference where speakers are given 18
minutes to talk, in an engaging way, about their area of expertise or interest.
They’re billed as “great talks to stir your curiosity” and “ideas worth
spreading”.
I love these talks! It’s like being a fly on the wall in an
executive session of the world’s smartest, most innovative thinkers. I watch
one of these and my hope for the future is automatically restored. There are
some people with killer smarts out there. Yes, technology’s brought about the
downfall of some of them (Petraeus’ e-mail trail is one example), but
technology’s also letting these people connect, share and build ideas into real
things that are changing our lives for the better.
Some of the ideas are outlandish, and some of the
presentations are really bad (like when a speaker released a horde of
mosquitoes into the auditorium to illustrate a point about medicine). But a
really good TED Talk leaves your brain fired up, in a way that a “Words With
Friends” or “Facebook” session never does.
“You can’t out-train a bad diet!” This is something personal
trainers like to shout to inspire us to get the perfect 10 body. The idea
applies to our heads as well. Give your brain something to graze on besides the
latest celeb scandal, and watch it get positively ripped.
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