TEDxNCSU takes action

More than 300 students and faculty heard six of their peers talk different interpretations of this year’s TEDxNCSU theme: taking action. The talk reconciled the disparities between various subjects of the talks like denial in history education, personal development and starving artists.

The following sections outline Saturday’s presentations and their treatment of “taking action.”

America the Beautiful Sales Pitch:

Psychology professor Rupert Nacoste, the final speaker of the event, started his presentation by singing “America the Beautiful,” a praise song he would soon dismiss — along with standard American history education — as a sales pitch and a misrepresentation of American history.

“I’m proud to be an American,” Nacoste said. “But the only America I’m proud to be a part of is one that admits to and corrects its mistakes.”

The social psychology expert infused his speech, “Speaking up for Neo-Diverse America the Beautiful,” with poetic repetitions. Nacoste talked about his time as a sailor in the Navy, which integrated when he served in the ‘70s.

Nacoste explained how the neo-diversity, diversity beyond black and white, causes anxiety in blurring the lines between in-groups and out-groups. This anxiety leads to intolerant language, which he said we must work to eliminate.

Good Creation:

Nicholas Sailer, a senior in industrial design and third live speaker of the day, started his presentation, “How Everything We Create is Connected,” by stumping the audience by asking it to find the connection between items including a sandwich, an iPad and American Beauty.

The answer, he said, is that all are designs or creations, terms he used synonymously. More than that, though, he outlined five essentials to any good creation.

Good creations, according to Sailer, provoke a reaction or cause a change. They have strong contrast, within themselves or to the external world.

Good creation follows a pattern, concept or algorithm and applies it throughout.

Good creation should be unexpected but inevitable; saying the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense is a prime example.

Finally, good creations must escalate and lead to a climactic or focal point.

Beatboxing and Hiking:

Ibrahim Zafar, junior in biomedical engineering and second speaker of the day, came to the stage dancing and beatboxing to make a point about the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone.

Zafar’s presentation, “Tajumulco: The Mountain that Killed Me,” reflected the message of his entrance.

He also touched on overcoming fear and learning from struggle, citing primarily his experience hiking a 14,000-foot Guatemala volcano, Tajumulco.

Further illustrating his point, Zafar also used his nerve, as he said it was his second time speaking publicly, as an example of stepping out of his comfort zone.

Learning Transfer:

The first live speaker of the event, Sarah Egan Warren, assistant director of the professional writing program, talked about “learning transfer,” the concept of learning and applying skills from one area of life to others.

Using the example of ballet, for which she said she has a passion, Warren outlined five “Lessons from the Barre.” 

“You can’t be good at something,” Warren said, “[but] let’s face it, you can’t be adequate at something unless you practice.”

A New Approach to Poverty:

Laura Bottomley, assistant professor in the colleges of engineering and education and NCSU alumna, drew on her experiences with the GK Villages Project in the Philippines to explain how engineering can help combat poverty.

Bottomley explained how using root-cause analysis to assess the main factors of poverty helps address the actual problem, rather than just the symptoms.

With other volunteers, Bottomley partnered with poverty-stricken residents of slums to effect change in individuals, families, communities and eventually the country.

“We don’t just come in and say, ‘We’re gonna knock down your houses and build you something nice, how do you feel about that?’” Bottomley said, reiterating the project’s emphasis on partnership.

“Ultimately, the solution will not be legitimate unless everybody is at the table,” Bottomley said.

Starving Artists:

Anna Wolfe, senior in communication-media and arts entrepreneurship, spoke about changing perceptions of artists.

Backed by her experience in a group called Entrepreneurs Marketing the Arts, Wolfe explained how artists don’t choose unemployment and are seldom their stereotypes.

Art, Wolfe said, is a type of entrepreneurship, but society does not receive art as gratefully as it does entrepreneurship.

“We reward people like Steve Jobs for being a creative, entrepreneurial thinker,” Wolfe said, “but we punish artists for being ‘too creative.’”