Why did so many people take out mortages based on the assumption that housing prices would continue to climb? Professional aphorist James Geary argues that it may be due to the fact that "climb" in that sense is an "agent metaphor." Agent metaphors, which imply the deliberate action of a living thing pursuing a goal, are very seductive to the human mind.
If you are a lover of metaphor, you will love Geary's short TED talk, posted below.
And, a bonus metaphor from one of The Greats, John Prine:
Some humans ain't human. Some people ain't kind. You open up their hearts and here's what you'll find: A few frozen pizzas; some ice cubes with hair; A broken popsicle; you don't want to go there.
A person can find their way to TED.com and stay for hours and hours. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, and it was started in 1984 as a conference that brought people in those fields together. In the years since, it has become a symposium for all kinds of great ideas. The site features hundreds of "talks," presentations by great thinkers and experts in all kinds of fields.
Take a look at three great examples, and let me know if you find other great ones (and you will).
Jay Walker on the world's English Mania "Mathematics is the language of science, music is the language of emotion, and now English is becoming the language of problem solving."
David Merrill Demos Siftables "One of the interesting things about this kind of application is that you don't have to give people instructions. All I have to say is, 'Make words' and they know exactly what to do."
Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity "My contention is the creativity now in education is as important as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status."
"What we really need is just more people, more bodies, more one-on-one attention, more hours, more expertise from people that have skills in English and can work with these students one-on-one."
This is what Dave Eggers kept hearing from his friends who were teachers. They could see that their efforts during the school day were not sufficient- they felt like they were fighting a losing battle.
But Eggers, whose novel A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize, realized his life was full of the kinds of people ("writers, editors, journalists, graduate students, assistant professors") who could help improve the literacy skills of students outside of school hours.
In the TED Talk featured below, Eggers tells the story of 826 Valencia, the tutoring center that arose from this insight. Eggers is not an educator, but he seems to have understood intuitively what educators know about the importance of building community, connecting with families, providing one-on-one attention, creating real products, and bringing together learners with various levels of expertise.
Check out Dave's talk, and let us know what you think!
Technology, Entertainment and Design, and it was started in 1984 as a conference that brought people in those fields together. In the years since, it has become a symposium for all kinds of great ideas. The site features hundreds of "talks," presentations by great thinkers and experts in all kinds of fields.
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