After scoring 24 out of 80, I explored the other tests on the site. One that caught my attention is the Mind in the eyes test, which asks you to describe what someone is thinking or feeling based just on looking at their eyes. I believe it’s related to Paul Ekman‘s work on reading faces.
Anyway, on that Mind in the eyes test, I scored a 33 out of 36.
So, I have little innate empathy, but I can read other people’s expressions remarkably well. I don’t know if this is contradictory, or if it’s exactly right. Perhaps empathy and facial reading are just to very different parts of the brain.
Chris’ article on Free! I love that he’s able to use Wired as a venue for launching future bestsellers. Though, honestly, I might have preferred the podcast of his presentation on the topic.
My favorite, though was an article on new thinking about autism, representing the views of autistics who say they’re not damaged, just different. I wrote about the two featured autists in a post last year.
When I wrote about TED, I mentioned Jill Bolte Taylor’s awesome (and I don’t use that word lightly) talk. It has been posted to the TED site, and if you have 18 minutes to spare, it’s well worth it. It probably it won’t have the power of seeing it live, but I’ve heard from friends that it has moved them nonetheless.
The latest issue of Interactions magazine features an article titled “When Users ‘Do’ The Ubicomp,” (subscription required to read the whole thing) which is the first academic-ish article I’ve read that addresses ubicomp the way I think about it.
Ubicomp futures tend to be portrayed as planned, coordinated, intentional, purposeful connections between the devices in our lives, chips embedded in our environment, utilizing protocols to interact with one another.
What the article points out is that ubicomp is here (you carry a mobile phone? smart phone? laptop? use a desktop computer?), and it’s messy, and uncoordinated. When I think of our Glorious Ubiquitous Future, I see the evolution of the messy uncoordinated technologies… I suspect the best plan of action is on the standards front, so that there’s some kind of unplanned but enabled interoperability, so that these components can work together in ways that haven’t been foreseen. This is the magic of open APIs on the Web, and that spirit will help as we move forward to situated contexts.
We’re trying something new this year with the MX 2008 Conference… We’re GIVING THINGS AWAY!
To remind you — MX is our two-day confab on the emerging discipline of creative leadership, and has perhaps the most stellar collection of presenters we’ve ever had. It’s designed for people who’ve been around the user experience block quite a few times, and looking for new sources of information and inspiration.
The first thing we’re giving away is books. All attendees of MX become members of the MX Book Club. The first two books you’ll receive are Chip Conley’s PEAK and Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick.
The second thing we’re giving away is an iPod Shuffle. Everyone who registers between now and March 31st will receive an iPod shuffle. Shiny!
And we’ve just announced that one person who registers between now and 11:59pm (Pacific time) on March 14 will be selected at random, and given their choice of one round trip ticket anywhere Virgin America flies OR a spa/massage package at the Mark Hopkins, the conference hotel.
Annalee posits stuff I’ve heard elsewhere, but reading Earth Abides made me realize another one. Earth without us, or, at least, without nearly everyone, is consumer heaven. If you saw I am Legend, you saw Will Smith have his choice of anything item he wanted. You actually see this in Earth Abides. Americans love to consume, and when you have no competition for stuff, when it’s no longer scarce, and when you don’t have to pay for it, what could be better?
I only just realized that TED featured no “business people.” There were people in business, but no CEOs who are known for being CEOs, no grand business leaders, those types of folks. I find that a curious omission. I don’t know if it’s purposeful. It strikes me as a potential oversight — businesspeople have many “ideas worth spreading” (I’m thinking specifically of Chip Conley, CEO of Joie de Vivre, (who in turn mentioned Paul Hawken in my discussion with him).) Though, it’s also indicative of the typical shallowness of “business” discourse.
I just got back from attending my first TED conference. I know there’s a lot of curiosity (and some misplaced antipathy) for TED, so I thought I’d share my experience.
TED is easily the premier conference experience I’ve ever had. Spending $6,000, you’d definitely hope so.
The level of production is stellar… In the main hall, in the Simulcast Lounge (more people sit in a closed-circuit television lounge than in the main hall), at the parties. Expenses aren’t spared, and it shows.
Content
In talking to other attendees who had been before, the consensus was that this year provided the most consistently good content in recent memory. There was a remarkable balance of information and inspiration, so you’re head didn’t simply get too full of stuff. This is a challenge, considering the conference began at 8:15a and lasted until 7pm.
Highlight presentations:
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
Don’t let her website fool you. During the first session, she gave what proved to be the most profoundly touching talk of the entire event. Dr. Taylor is a neuroanatomist who suffered a stroke, and in her talk she depicted her experience, which was both funny and moving. Also, she held up a human brain with spinal cord attached.
Does amazing guitar work. And is 5’1″, so her guitar looks giant in her hands. She also has a remarkably low-key, easygoing, self-deprecating stage presence.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
The renowned historian spoke about Lincoln and LBJ, two figures she’s very familiar with. Goodwin is an amazing storyteller, and worth hearing speak if you get a chance.
The Stanford psychologist is something of a hero with his work. He regained some prominence after the Abu Ghraib atrocities became known, as his research over the last 30 years has been about how institutions and systems can lead to evil behavior.
Paul Stamets
Paul was a total surprise, and quite awesome. He’s a mycologist. He runs a fungi business, and he spoke about how mushrooms can save the earth. And he actually makes a good point.
Joshua Klein
Billed as a “technology hacker,” Joshua shared his experiments probing the intelligence of crows. It turns out crows are oddly brilliant. You’ve got to see this video. It made everyone in the audience gasp.
Benjamin Zander
A conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, a co-author of a book, and now a management guru, Benjamin had the audience beside itself with laughter, joy, and contemplation. He reminded me a bit of the great Victor Borge, though not as silly. If you ever get a chance to see him speak, do so.
For a conference whose name is derived from the words technology, entertainment, and design, there was surprisingly little of those three, and a whole hell of a lot of hard science. There were four physicists, two biogeneticists, psychologists, anthropologists, oceanagraphers, and I’m probably forgetting a few. It’s interesting to see how hard science is still the coin of the realm.
The Other People
I’ve never been to such a high-power, high-society confab. Famous actors (Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, Cameron Diaz), songwriters (Paul Simon, Bob Geldof), billionaires (Sergey, Larry, Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, probably others), and some personal idols (John Hodgman).
And you know what, it’s daunting. You can try very hard to play it cool, but if you have dorkish tendencies (like I do) you find yourself kind of staring dumbly. And wondering what on earth you have to say to John Hodgman, though you suspect you have a lot in common, only if you knew where to begin the conversation.
That said, I also found the attendees to be by-and-large warm and inviting. I was fortunate to know some folks going in, but I also met a ton of people, and pretty much everyone is open to a conversation. There’s a strangely high degree of warm fuzzies at TED (strange because it is such a power confab), but I think it speaks to the nature of the event Chris is putting on. When you have a woman share her story about her stroke, or you see the photos from Abu Ghraib that have never made it into the press because they are too shocking (Wired has posted some, and, really, don’t click that link if you’re not ready to be disturbed), or hear about detainment and torture in Nigeria from someone who suffered it, your jadedness breaks down and you become receptive.
Like any conference, one-on-one conversations are the true backbone. And I had a number of delightful and informative encounters. I was too chickenshit to talk to Forest Whitaker and some other folks I admire but have never met… Maybe next year. (I did talk to Matt Groening, which was pretty cool.)
It’s not all wine and roses
Overall, my experience at TED was remarkably positive. But everything can be improved. A few ideas…
keep the VC away from me
I just don’t like being around vult… err… venture capitalists.
TED needs younger people
One of the drawbacks of the high high registration price is that it aces out a lot of potentially interesting people. Particularly younger ones. I was definitely among the younger people at the event. TED is dominated by people in their late 40s and 50s. I fear it skews the conversations. I’d love for TED to be more representative. I think it would give the social times more life.
Security guards
Utterly impersonal uniformed security guards manned the doors, and they were quite a downer. They made everyone feel, I don’t know, suspicious. Security ought to be handled with a much much lighter touch.
Walter Isaacson
Just so you don’t think the presentations are all stellar, it’s worth noting there are quite a few duds. And none was dudsier that Ol’ Man Isaacson, blathering on about the opportunities for journalism and narrative in the digital age. “I love them wiki things!” (Well, not a direct quote, but a fair paraphrase). Walter is remarkably out of touch, and it didn’t make sense that he was speaking to this crowd.
She’s become somewhat well-known thanks to her book The Meme Machine which posits that humans are subjects of selfish memes that desire to propagate. The thing is, she’s full of shit. She’s more a philosopher than a psychologist, and her arguments are remarkably reductive and essentially meaningless. Why people still listen to her, I don’t know.
There you have it
All in all, a great event. A valuable and worthwhile four days. I’m looking forward to next year.
Typically, I hate William Safire’s essays. He’s a pedantic blowhard who has a remarkable ability to take the joy out of language. Still, he can raise some interesting points, as he does with his recent take on “transformative.”
That word has been on my mind lately, as it crops up in business-and-design discussions. Chip Conley’s latest book, PEAK, encourages businesses to aim for transformative experiences (for their customers, employees, and investors). IDEO has a Transformation Practice that aims to help companies change the way they behave when bringing products and services to market. I’m sure I’ve heard it elsewhere recently, too (though I can’t remember specifically where).
After scoring 24 out of 80, I explored the other tests on the site. One that caught my attention is the Mind in the eyes test, which asks you to describe what someone is thinking or feeling based just on looking at their eyes. I believe it’s related to Paul Ekman‘s work on reading faces. 
We’re trying something new this year with the