Conversation with Richard Saul Wurman "One Way": Richard Saul Wurman at TEDxGrandRapids
TLDRRichard Saul Wurman, the creator of TED, gave an insightful yet lighthearted talk reflecting on concepts of ignorance, understanding, and innovation. He discussed embracing one's own ignorance as empowering, emphasized relativity in comprehension, and theorized on categories of innovation like 'addition' and 'opposites'. Wurman also covered varied topics like architecture, problems with public speaking, the history of the printing press, and unintended consequences of inventions. The talk revealed his wit and wisdom gained from a lifetime of prolific work.
Takeaways
- ๐ He believes speakers should come from everywhere in the audience because there shouldn't be a 'safe' seat or place.
- ๐ฎ He is fascinated by the question 'What is life?' and how people with vastly different perspectives would answer it differently.
- ๐ค He finds embracing ignorance empowering and uses it to fuel learning and improvement every day.
- ๐ He prefers keeping the house lights on so he can see the audience and gauge if they are listening.
- ๐ He dislikes formal titles and typical conference formalities that create barriers between people.
- ๐ His commencement speech focused on architects that went from niche expertise to broad generalists over time.
- ๐ฒ He sees most innovation as combinations of existing things (additions), rather than wholly new inventions.
- ๐ He aims to create an exhibit comparing cities using consistent data and scales for better understanding.
- ๐ He credits Gutenberg's methods for spacing between letters, not just the printing press itself, as most innovative.
- ๐ฅณ The video ends on a musical birthday tribute to him, highlighting his contradictions but ultimately his embrace of life.
Q & A
Who is Richard Saul Wurman?
-Richard Saul Wurman is the speaker in the transcript, known for his contributions to the fields of architecture and design, as well as for founding the TED conference.
What is the significance of singing a good morning song on the bus, according to Wurman?
-Wurman used singing a good morning song as a metaphor for starting new things with positivity and engagement, illustrating the importance of beginning each day with a sunshiny disposition.
Why does Wurman believe that speakers should come from everywhere in the audience?
-Wurman believes that speakers coming from within the audience removes the barrier between the speaker and the audience, fostering a more inclusive and interactive environment where ideas can be shared freely.
What does Wurman think about the format of TEDx events compared to the original TED conferences?
-While initially skeptical, Wurman acknowledges the success and value of TEDx events in bringing local communities together and providing a platform for sharing ideas, praising their ability to surprise and exceed expectations.
How does Wurman view the concept of asking 'What's life?' in relation to diverse perspectives?
-Wurman sees the question 'What's life?' as a fundamental inquiry that yields vastly different answers based on each individual's background, beliefs, and experiences, highlighting the complexity and subjectivity of human understanding.
What is Wurman's stance on badges and introductions at conferences?
-Wurman criticizes the practice of using first names on badges and superficial introductions at conferences, advocating for more meaningful interactions that go beyond surface-level acquaintance.
How does Wurman define innovation, and what acronym does he use to explain it?
-Wurman defines innovation through the acronym ANOSE (Addition, Need, Opposites, Subtraction, Epiphany), suggesting that true innovation can come from adding, fulfilling a need, considering opposites, subtracting, or having an epiphany.
What critique does Wurman have about the Gutenberg Bible and its implications for information accessibility?
-Wurman admires the Gutenberg Bible for its typographical achievements but criticizes the initial lack of accessibility and usability, such as the absence of page numbers, which limited its function as a tool for finding information.
What is the Urban Observatory, as mentioned by Wurman?
-The Urban Observatory is a project initiated by Wurman aimed at comparing and understanding urban spaces through standardized data visualization, enhancing the ability to make informed decisions based on comparisons between cities.
How does Wurman approach the concept of ignorance in his speech?
-Wurman embraces his ignorance as a source of strength and a foundation for learning and discovery, arguing that acknowledging one's ignorance is key to pursuing knowledge and understanding the world more fully.
Outlines
๐ค Introductory thoughts on speaking and connections
Richard Saul Wurman introduces some ideas about public speaking, making connections between disparate topics, the value of 'not knowing', and themes for conferences. He emphasizes embracing ignorance, removing assumptions, and making space for open and meaningful conversations.
โ Pondering the simple but complex question 'What's life?'
Wurman ponders how different people like the Pope, a scientist, or a murderer would answer the basic question 'What's life?'. Their answers would differ based on their perspectives and what they think they should say.
๐ค On learning, teachers, and the journey into 'not knowing'
Wurman discusses his teacher Lou Kahn and the idea of a teacher allowing students to embrace not knowing, rather than necessarily teaching expertise. This permission supports students becoming more fully themselves.
๐ On risk, dying, and the delight of not knowing
Wurman shares his delight in risk and not knowing what he'll say on stage. He discusses being 'unemployable', envying being asked to do new things before he dies, and seeking the 'terror' of new challenges.
โ A theory of innovation - the NOSE acronym
Wurman shares his NOSE theory of innovation: combining things through Addition, addressing Needs, considering Opposites/unexpected perspectives, Subtracting assumptions, and Epiphanies of discovery.
๐ Gutenberg and the printing press - addition and unintended consequences
Wurman discusses Gutenberg's innovative addition of movable type and the unintended consequences of enabling indulgences, which partly fueled Martin Luther's reformation.
๐ On comparing cities and understanding relatively
Wurman introduces his urban observatory project to compare global cities. He notes cities can't be understood in isolation but only relatively through comparison on multiple dimensions.
๐ฅณ Lighthearted birthday song for Wurman
The video closes with a birthday song for Wurman, celebrating his curiosity, creativity, family, and embrace of not knowing.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กInnovation
๐กTED Conferences
๐กIgnorance
๐กConversation
๐กDetails
๐กLearning
๐กJokes
๐กConnection
๐กTEDx
๐กUrban Observatory
Highlights
Proposes a new deep learning architecture called Capsule Networks to model hierarchical relationships
Capsule Networks outperform CNNs on highly overlapped digit classification
Routing-by-agreement allows multiple capsules to agree on the existence of an entity
Decoder network encourages capsules to encode meaningful representations
Dynamic routing algorithm allows capsules to learn part-whole relationships
Capsules more robust to affine transformations compared to CNNs
Capsule Networks have fewer parameters than CNNs
Margin loss used for classification instead of reconstruction loss
Capsules learn more meaningful semantic representations
Capsule Networks have great potential for computer vision tasks
Dynamic routing allows specialization of capsules
Equivariance of capsules helps preserve spatial relationships
Limitations include computational cost and reliance on routing
Future work could explore unsupervised capsule training
Capsule Networks are a promising new architecture for AI
Transcripts
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