Contributed by regular guest blogger Donal O’Nuallain.
For me learning revolves around the transfer and spreading of ideas and information between and amongst individuals. Imagine what the consequences would have been if the bright soul who first sparked fire to life had been a bashful individual and kept the information to themselves? Well I’m sure somebody would have figured it out eventually but it could have set human development back weeks, perhaps even months!
OK that’s probably not the best example but let’s look at a creative evolution for a second, specifically in music, with the most obvious example being The Beatles. The Famous Four’s early hits were short, simple and straightforward pop singles. From this starting point they went on to touch on most genres of music in one form or another and significantly evolved both their skills and styles. They paved the way for so many of today’s music artists and arguably they had their way paved for them by people such as Elvis. They took ideas, allowed them to influence them and then sparked ideas in others.
Those ideas spread via the airwaves and word of mouth but now we generally look to the Internet (still often via word of mouth) for new sources of information. As such let me direct you to www.ted.com. Based around three main principles of Technology, Entertainment and Design, TED is a non-profit website designed to bring people from the above three fields together and share their ideas with the world.
Originating from a conference in 1984 TED has grown year on year and has incorporated science, business, the arts and many other relevant global issues. Ted’s mission is to spread ideas, their website’s mission statement alone is somewhat inspiring, “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.”
The TED Talks series features speeches from thought leaders from many different fields and countries throughout the world. Whatever your interest may be there will be a talk relevant to you. Chances are you will learn something new and maybe even become inspired! Why not start with Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good.
