By Andonia Goergen
Staff Writer
Mira Costa hosted the 10th-annual TEDx Manhattan Beach event on Nov. 2 where a collection of speakers met to share its ideas with attendees.
All TEDx events are organized and coor- dinated locally with general guidance from the national TED Conference organized by TED, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading new ideas. The theme of this year’s TEDx MB was “Bold Vision” and focused pri- marily on speakers who wanted to educate people on the future in hopes of positively changing the community.
Prior to the event, TEDx MB organizers researched and selected speakers to ensure that the event had a wide variety of topics discussed at the conference, event curator Kate Bergin said.
“Every year we try to create talks and exhibits that are provocative and disruptive so they make you think about things in a different way,” Bergin said. “Our talk titles, while they are different, are largely that. This year we wanted to have a title that spoke to the ideas at the con- ference and also spoke to the ideas of the power, strength and vision of the volunteer team that has made this happen all these years.”
Hundreds of community members gathered in Costa’s auditorium to watch 14 different speakers and performers. Costa alumn Paul Silva hosted the event and introduced each speaker. In between presentations, attendees watched past TED Talk videos pertaining to the theme “Bold Vision.”
“Sometimes when you see what these speakers do, you forget that they are ordinary people,” Bergin said. “We think about how they are so amazing, but everyone is amazing. We just don’t realize it. When we listen to these speakers, it gives us, as attendees, the courage to realize what is possible.”
Guests of TEDx MB listened to talks about Alzheimer’s prevention, pain relief with the practice of “spinefulness” and the effects of sleep on relationships. A featured speaker was Augmented Reality artist Jonmar, who spoke about how his computer-generated art is a combination of his two passions of art and technology, and how he tells stories through these works.
“For the first time in all of human history, art can touch your heart with all the power of music, movies and literature. It can now be a time based experience where the joy is in the journey,” Jonmar said. “You can fall in love with art in a way you never dreamed possible.”
Costa junior Ethan Nahlinder spoke about his connection to music and how it helps him express himself by incorporating musical pieces on his clarinet into his presentation. Nahlinder is a member of Costa’s marching band and wind symphony and plays a variety of intruments in rock, classical and jazz groups.
“For me, music is a way out. When words cannot define exactly how I’ m feeling, I let it out with music,” Nahlinder said. “Of course with music, specific dialogue cannot be transferred, but the raw feeling I have can.”
Attendees also visited the Expo Center, featuring presentations from Costa’s AP Art, AP Computer Science and Ro- botics classes. There were also exhibits from some speakers, including Jonmar’s augmented reality art, a demonstration of “spinefulness” from speaker Jenn Sherer and an amphibious housing illustration from architect Elizabeth English.
“Great ideas come from everywhere,” Bergin said. “For high school students, those that come to this event really seem to love it. It is very hard to describe what you are going to experience at TEDx, yet what you do experience is so amazing and educational.”
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