Paper towns and why learning is awesome | John Green

TED
22 Jul 201518:11
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe speaker, John Green, delves into the intriguing tale of Agloe, a fictional town that became real due to mapmakers' efforts to protect copyright. He draws a poignant metaphor, exploring how our mapping of the world shapes reality itself. Green then shares his personal journey from a disengaged student to a lifelong learner, catalyzed by finding communities that celebrated intellectualism. He highlights the rise of online learning communities, particularly on YouTube, where individuals like Destin, Vi Hart, and himself are fostering vibrant spaces for intellectual discourse and curiosity. Green invites the audience to participate in these modern-day 'salons,' enriching their lives through shared learning experiences.

Takeaways
  • 📍 Agloe, New York, is a notable example of a 'paper town' or copyright trap, created by mapmakers to protect their copyrights.
  • 🛠 The concept of paper towns like Agloe demonstrates how fictional elements can manifest into reality, as Agloe eventually became a real place due to its inclusion on maps.
  • 📊 Mapmaking and cartography can influence the real world, changing perceptions and even creating new realities.
  • 📚 The story of Agloe, New York, inspired the novel "Paper Towns," illustrating the power of written works to shape our understanding of the world.
  • 📝 Maps not only represent the world but can also shape it, highlighting the interactive relationship between human perception and reality.
  • 🎓 Education and learning environments significantly impact personal development, transforming disengagement into intellectual curiosity.
  • 🖥 Communities of learners, both offline and online, foster a culture of curiosity and engagement, encouraging continuous learning.
  • 📲 The internet has become a powerful tool for creating learning communities, with platforms like YouTube facilitating widespread educational engagement.
  • 💻 Online learning resources, including educational videos and forums, democratize access to knowledge and foster global communities of learners.
  • 🚀 The evolution of learning spaces from physical locations to digital platforms illustrates the changing landscape of education and the potential for innovative approaches to knowledge sharing.
Q & A

  • What is Agloe, New York, known for among cartographers?

    -Agloe, New York, is known as a paper town or a copyright trap, a fake place added to maps by mapmakers to protect their copyright.

  • How did Agloe, New York, become a real location?

    -Because people kept going to the intersection of two dirt roads expecting there to be a place called Agloe, someone built a gas station, a general store, and two houses, making Agloe a real place.

  • What was the legal dispute between General Drafting and Rand McNally about?

    -The dispute was about Rand McNally including Agloe, New York, on their map. General Drafting claimed it was a fake place they had created, but Rand McNally argued Agloe had become real.

  • How did John Green use the concept of paper towns in his work?

    -John Green found the concept of paper towns irresistibly metaphorical for the idea that what is written down can change the real world, inspiring him to title his third book 'Paper Towns'.

  • What change in perspective did John Green experience regarding education?

    -John Green shifted from seeing education as a series of arbitrary hurdles to viewing it as a valuable cartographic process of discovery and learning, influenced by being in a community of learners.

  • How does John Green compare the process of learning to cartography?

    -John Green likens learning to cartography, where drawing a bit of land on a map leads to curiosity about what more there is to discover, encouraging continuous exploration and learning.

  • What role did learning communities play in John Green's life?

    -Learning communities played a crucial role in John Green's development as a learner, providing environments that valued intellectualism and engagement, which sparked his curiosity and passion for learning.

  • How does John Green view the impact of maps on the world?

    -John Green believes that the way we map the world changes it, suggesting that our perspectives and representations can influence real-world configurations and perceptions.

  • What examples does John Green provide to illustrate learning outside traditional settings?

    -John Green mentions engaging with communities on YouTube, where people learn and teach about various subjects like physics, history, and mathematics, illustrating learning can happen in diverse, informal settings.

  • What is the significance of the community around 'The Show with Ze Frank' for John Green?

    -The community around 'The Show with Ze Frank' helped John Green re-engage with a community of learners online, reigniting his passion for learning and participating in collaborative and intellectual activities.

Outlines
00:00
🗺️ The Intrigue of Paper Towns

The speaker introduces a famous 1937 map of New York State by the General Drafting Company, highlighting the fictional town of Agloe. Agloe was created as a copyright trap by mapmakers Ernest Alpers and Otto Lindberg. However, Agloe gained real-world significance when Rand McNally included it in their map, leading to a dispute with General Drafting Company. The discovery that Agloe had manifested into a real place with a gas station and general store underscores the speaker's fascination with how fictional creations can impact the real world. This story sets the stage for discussing the broader implications of how our perceptions and maps of the world shape reality, leading to the speaker's broader reflections on cartography and its influence on our lives.

05:01
🎓 A Journey of Intellectual Awakening

The speaker narrates their personal transformation from a disengaged student to an enthusiastic learner upon attending Indian Springs School, a boarding school in Alabama. Surrounded by a community that valued intellectual engagement over ironic detachment, the speaker discovered the joy of learning. This journey of intellectual awakening was not confined to the classroom; it extended to personal experiences and interactions outside of formal education. The speaker credits this environment and community for expanding their 'map of life', enriching their perspective, and fostering a lifelong curiosity and passion for learning. This narrative emphasizes the importance of learning communities and the transformative power of education when it is driven by genuine interest and engagement rather than obligatory hurdles.

10:03
🌐 Finding Community in the Digital Age

After publishing a book and leaving his job, the speaker found himself missing the sense of community and intellectual stimulation he had enjoyed in educational settings. This changed when he discovered 'The Show with Ze Frank' on the Internet, reigniting his passion for learning within a digital community. The speaker highlights several projects initiated by Ze Frank's community that blend silliness with learning, illustrating the potential of online platforms to create spaces for intellectual engagement and exploration. This experience led the speaker to recognize the Internet as a fertile ground for forming learning communities, where people can share knowledge, challenge each other, and collectively explore the vast landscape of human understanding.

15:05
📚 YouTube as a Modern Classroom

The speaker draws parallels between YouTube and traditional classrooms, noting how the platform has emerged as a vibrant community of learners. Highlighting channels like 'Minute Physics', 'Crash Course', and 'Smarter Every Day', the speaker points out the vast audience these educational videos attract, far beyond traditional classroom settings. The interactive nature of YouTube, with viewers engaging through comments and discussions, fosters a dynamic learning environment. The speaker celebrates the Internet's ability to support intellectual curiosity and learning outside conventional educational systems, emphasizing the transformative power of digital communities in making learning accessible, enjoyable, and communal.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Agloe, New York
Agloe, New York, is described as a 'paper town' or a copyright trap created by cartographers Ernest Alpers and Otto G. Lindberg in 1937. This fictional place was added to a map of New York State to detect if another company copied their work. The concept illustrates how fictional elements can influence real-world actions and perceptions, as Rand McNally later included Agloe in their maps, claiming it became real when a general store and gas station were built at the specified location. This story underscores the video's theme of how maps and narratives can shape reality.
💡Paper Towns
The term 'Paper Towns' refers to the title of the speaker's third book, inspired by the concept of fictional places like Agloe, New York. In the context of the video, 'Paper Towns' symbolizes the idea that the stories and maps we create can have tangible effects on the real world, echoing the broader theme of how human imagination and creativity can alter our physical and conceptual landscapes.
💡Cartography
Cartography is the science or practice of drawing maps. In the video, it serves as a metaphor for the journey of learning and exploration. The speaker uses cartography to discuss how our understanding of the world, and the maps that represent it, can influence the world itself. This metaphor extends to personal growth and intellectual discovery, suggesting that the process of mapping our knowledge shapes our experiences and possibilities.
💡Copyright Trap
A copyright trap, as exemplified by the creation of Agloe, New York, is a tactic used by mapmakers and publishers to identify unauthorized copying of their work. By inserting fictional elements into their maps, creators can easily prove plagiarism if these elements appear in another's work. This concept is crucial to understanding the initial story of Agloe and the complexities of intellectual property.
💡Learning Community
The term 'learning community' refers to a group of people who share a common interest in gaining knowledge and understanding. In the video, the speaker credits his transformation into a learner to his immersion in a community that values intellectualism. This concept is central to the message that collaborative learning environments can significantly enhance personal and educational growth.
💡Intellectual Engagement
Intellectual engagement refers to the active participation in learning and thinking critically about various subjects. The speaker highlights his journey from disengagement to becoming actively involved in learning, driven by a community that celebrated knowledge. This shift underscores the video's theme that engaging with complex problems in a supportive environment can lead to profound personal development.
💡Community of Learners
A community of learners is a group that collectively engages in the pursuit of knowledge, emphasizing collaboration, curiosity, and mutual support. The speaker discusses finding and contributing to such communities, both offline and online, as a crucial element of continuous learning and exploration. These communities, particularly in digital spaces like YouTube, foster environments where people can learn, teach, and inspire each other.
💡Personal Map
The concept of a 'personal map' in the video symbolizes an individual's worldview, knowledge, and experiences. The speaker argues that expanding one's personal map through learning can lead to greater possibilities and choices in life. This metaphor highlights the video's broader message about the transformative power of education and exploration in shaping one's path.
💡Cartographic Enterprise
The 'cartographic enterprise' metaphorically describes the process of learning and discovery as akin to mapping uncharted territories. It suggests that just as cartographers document and explore new lands, individuals map out their knowledge and understanding of the world. This concept reinforces the video's theme of intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of learning as a lifelong journey.
💡Online Learning Communities
Online learning communities refer to groups that form on the internet around shared interests in learning and exploring specific topics. The speaker discusses his engagement with these communities, particularly on platforms like YouTube, as a means of continuing education and intellectual engagement outside traditional classroom settings. These communities are presented as modern equivalents of historical intellectual gatherings, illustrating the video's theme of the evolving landscape of learning and knowledge sharing.
Highlights

Mapmakers often insert fake places onto their maps, called 'paper towns' or 'copyright traps', to protect their copyright.

The fictional town of Agloe, New York, created as a copyright trap, became real when people started building structures there after it appeared on maps.

Maps shape not only our perception of the world but also the world itself, as the way we map the world influences how we interact with it.

Finding a community of learners transformed the speaker from a disengaged student into an intellectually engaged one.

Learning should be viewed as an exciting cartographic enterprise of exploring and mapping the world, rather than arbitrary hurdles to overcome.

The speaker rediscovered the joy of learning by being part of online communities like Ze Frank's "The Show" and engaging in collaborative learning projects.

Online communities on platforms like YouTube have become new spaces for intellectual engagement and learning communities.

Educational YouTube channels like "Minute Physics", "Crash Course", and "Smarter Every Day" have amassed large audiences and facilitated active discussions in their comment sections.

The YouTube page structure, with the instructor's video and the comment section on the same page, allows for real-time participation and conversation.

Young people are using internet tools and genres like memes to create spaces for intellectual engagement, rather than just ironic detachment.

These online learning communities have become the new cartographic communities for a generation of learners, similar to the speaker's experiences in high school and college.

Re-finding these communities as an adult has encouraged the speaker to continue learning, breaking the notion that learning is reserved for the young.

The speaker believes that when we made the fictional town of Agloe real, we were just beginning to shape the world through our maps and representations.

These online spaces for intellectual engagement are reminiscent of the Parisian salons and Algonquin Round Table, but exist in corners of the internet.

The speaker encourages the audience to explore and participate in these online learning communities, which are shaping the world in new ways.

Transcripts

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