week 7
10/3/16 - 10/9/16

Suzanne Lee - Grow your own clothes

I have to admit, when I first saw the tittle of the talk, I was hesitant and skeptical. However, after watching it, I definitely have to reconsider. I think it's such an interesting idea and definitely a great starting platform- I would be eager to see how they work out the water resistance issue! There's a few similar ideas that I've recently came across: making leather out of mushrooms and pineapples. I'm excited about this new direction in the textile industry especially in terms of efficiency: I really like that by making clothes this way, you only use exactly what you need and thus, it is a much less wasteful process. 

Nonetheless, despite the fact that  my mind changed after watching this talk, and I am more open to trying this, for now, until there is more of a waterproof version, I will opt out for more cotton clothes in the mean time. 

week 6 
9/26/16 - 10/2/16

Achenya Idachaba - How I turned a deadly plant into a thriving business. 

What an awesome win-win! Achenya Idachaba's idea is genius not only because it is clearly effective, but also because beautifully simple it was: instead of finding ways to only efficiently get rid of the water hyacinth infestations,  she searched for ways to make the same weeds that had the were previously very bothersome, into something beneficial! I think it's so awesome how much can change when we simply look at our challenges/dilemmas from a different angle! The environment being taken care of by clearing out weeds while simultaneously benefiting contributing to the community is hte best possible resolution to the problem!

I thought it was interesting how different communities had drastically different meaning associated with the water hyacinth dependent on how these infestations affected those communities. While I accept that as an expected phenomenon of language development: associating words with subjectively witnessed experiences; I thought it was especially clever that Achenya was able to notice the potential of benefiting from assessing factors that determine meanings associated with the same plant across different communities.

week 5 
9/19/16 - 9/25/16

Tim Urban - Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

This is hands down my favorite Ted talk up to date! It is also the most relevant - I have known this instant gratification monkey for a very long time - honestly, as long as I can remember. While I like to think that over the past few years I have taken some strides in learning to control my impulses and yield to the rational thinking part of my brain, this is still as relevant as ever. Like that evil monkey in Family Guy that keeps bothering Chris, my monkey shows up periodically to offer endless trivia and more often than not on Sunday nights..lol :) Despite the fact that  by now I've developed some stamina through life lessons on importance of discipline, I still tend to procrastinate more often than not. And it really is about time to get it together - if not for anything else, at least for a better sleep cycle. >.< 

The best part of this talk is how incredibly relatable it is! Tim Urban has reached Einstein level of relativity here - adult life requires that we learn to let the rational brain drive our actions for the purpose delayed gratification instead of allowing the instant gratification monkey to distract us and consequently keep us from making progress. And ironically, the instant gratification monkey ultimately ends up delaying our big-picture/ rationally understood, wanted, and planned gratification! Who doesn't know the oh-too-familiar sense of shame and guilt and everything else that comes along with knowing you are the ultimate source of your own problems.?! haha =D

It's essentially a rite of passage that Jean Piaget studied conceptualized as a four stage series of cognitive development. As he proposed, from ages 7 to 11 we enter the Concrete Operations period of the development of our  ability to think and understand. the Concrete operations period is significant and distinct turning point of our development when we begin to understand the nature of cause and effect relationships and how it relates and then ultimately runs our lives. I don't think it's even possible to fully quiet the instant gratification monkey - its a inseparable part of our nature, the Freudian "Id". Nonetheless, as we progress through natural order or cognitive development, we begin to develop our own unique strategies for quieting that mischievous little monkey.  So here's hoping that Next semester, I Will finally do my work as it becomes assigned instead of relying on the "been there/done that" ways! :)