Trailside Center, 4700 Dublin Ave. in Midland
The nonprofit TED, standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design, offers knowledge and inspiration from the world’s foremost thinkers in video presentations online for free. Their Mission: Spreading Ideas. Join educator Tom Lowrey on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month during lunch to watch a TED talk (typically 10-20 minutes each) and participate in lively discussion about the ideas presented. Please register by calling 633-3700.
Watch Your Language, Tuesday, June 13, 11:45am-1:00pm
How language transformed humanity
Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of “social technology” that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool—cooperation.
This is your brain on communication
Neuroscientist Uri Hasson researches the basis of human communication, and experiments from his lab reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become “aligned,” when we hear the same idea or story. This amazing neural mechanism allows us to transmit brain patterns, sharing memories and knowledge. “We can communicate because we have a common code that presents meaning,” Hasson says.
Please, please, people. Let’s put the ‘awe’ back in ‘awesome’
Which of the following is awesome—your lunch or the Great Pyramid of Giza?
Comedian Jill Shargaa sounds a hilarious call for us to save the word “awesome” for things that truly inspire awe.
