Whew! What a day. Just back from dinner with a bit of energy remaining to blog the day’s highlights. Really, TED is about connecting. At our table tonight was a social web pioneer, a surgeon/electric vehicle inventor/biologist, and a husband-wife green-focused venture capitalist team.

Where to begin? There were so many inspiring talks today. For me, the highlight was Karen Armstrong. Religion is too often about “being right” rather than being kind and compassionate. TED Prize winner, religious scholar, and former nun, Armstrong’s TED wish is to see all religion saturated with greater compassion for the “other.”

Religion tends to subtly (and not so subtly) dehumanize those outside of “the tribe.” Armstrong notes that love shouldn’t be reserved for those who are easiest to love. She reminds us that we’re to love even our enemies – those outside the tribal walls. This is hard, but essential. This is her challenge to us all.

TED attendees can search a list of all those attending the conference. You are allowed up to 10 descriptors in your bio. Out of the 1500 or so attendees, here’s the demographic breakdown:

Christian 24 (1.6%)

Buddhist 23

Jewish 32

Muslim 1

Agnostic 22

Athiest 40

Compare with:

Entrepreneur 347 (23%)

Change Agent 256

Social Entrepreneur 112

Inventor 85

In some ways, Jill Taylor’s talk last night was a living embodiment of Armstrong’s dream – a world where the left brain and right brain live in harmony and balance.

Ted Eggers work with inner-city students is now widespread into at least a dozen cities. A wonderful work. www.onceuponaschool.com

Don’t forget about Pangea Day- another TED prize winner. May 10.

Phil Zimbardo spoke on the topic of evil, what he called the Lucifer Effect. www.lucifereffect.com.

Phil says heroism is an antedote to evil. He advises raising kids that honor everyday heroics – to teach a “heroic imagination” – to act when others are passive.

Garrett Lisi, theoretical physicist, surfer, and Burning Man fan, shared 18 minutes of physics that could be the missing link which combines the four main forces of nature, along with the theoretical Higgs force. Lisi took TEDsters on a journey into eight-dimensional space, culminating in the most elegant 248 element sphere in which all energy remains in perfect balance. Here’s a visual representation of the theory at work.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 4:14 am and is filed under Art & Creativity, Aspire, Awe & Mystery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.