Tools for CATALYZING Change: TedMed
By Giselle Carr
Issue 5 Fall 2010
Created by Marc Hodosh and Richard Saul Wurman, TEDMED brings together brilliant minds in the fields of healthcare, medicine and wellbeing. TEDMED.com is a collection of the talks from TEDMED 2009; the 2010 conference will be from October 26th to 29th, in San Diego, California.
The conference is a showcase of talks that demonstrate the intersection of a variety of wellbeing topics, from personal and public health, to testing the potential of the human body. Bill Davenhall reminds us of the many ways we can prevent disease by understanding the basic formula for life, which is genetics + lifestyle + environment; Craig Venter discusses the process of digitizing genetic code, and the implications of creating synthetic life. Perhaps one of the most fascinating of the talks is that of David Blaine, the magician who discusses his various attempts at pushing the boundaries of his body, by holding his breath for seventeen minutes, being buried alive and so on. “As a magician I try to show things to people that seem impossible”, he states. “Magic is practice, training, and experimenting while pushing through the pain to be the best that I can be.” It is essential for the strategic designer to understand that wellbeing can be defined in both tangible and intangible terms. Ultimately, what fosters community wellbeing and resilience is an ability to harness both, in a self-sustaining system.
TedMed Image Background: Flickr CC, Jamais Cascio
TedMed Image in Post: Flickr CC, Aaron Tang