Can we talk? Would you like to have a discussion starting with ideas presented in videos? We can take on big issues, share insights, make friends, and grow together in our understanding of important issues that ultimately affect all of us.
TED Talks are compelling presentations that last 20 minutes or less and are available for free online. TED Talks on Tuesdays is a space for shared dialogue and is offered through Sylvania Senior Center.
3rd Tuesday of the month, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm at the Sylvania Senior Center. Free and open to all. No registration necessary.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
AUGUST 20 • Angela Lee Duckworth
Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.
The Art of Stillness
SEPTEMBER 17 • Pico Iyer
The place that travel writer Pico Iyer would most like to go? Nowhere. In a counterintuitive and lyrical meditation, Iyer looks at the incredible insight that comes with taking time for stillness. In our world of constant movement and distraction, he teases out strategies we all can use to take back a few minutes out of every day or a few days out of every season.
The Hidden Influence of Social Networks
OCTOBER 15 • Nicholas Christakis
We’re all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers, and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits—from happiness to obesity—can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don’t even know.
How Education Can End Homelessness
NOVEMBER 19 • Tracy Sharp
For ten years, the non-profit Saranam has provided homeless families in central New Mexico with the opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty through housing, education, and community. Tracy Sharp, Saranam’s founding Executive Director, learned through years of work in traditional counseling and shelter settings that the only way to truly address the complex issue of homelessness is to tackle the root causes of poverty, empowering families to survive and thrive.
