By Lexie Blakeman
Exec. News Editor
Costa hosted TEDxManhattanBeach “Future Reimagined” in the auditorium and courtyard on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
TEDx events are independently organized events where live speakers come together in an attempt to spark deep discussions and connections in a group setting. Fourteen speakers and performers came together in three separate sessions to discuss their visions of the future reimagined in this year’s TEDxManhattan Beach event. In the first session, speaker Mary Lee discussed how she sees the future as “The Internet of Bodies.”
“In addition to improving our health, [smart clothing] can make us more capable, more efficient, more productive, and make our lives more convenient,” Lee said. “These technologies depend on scientific advancements that enable these gadgets to be small enough and comfortable enough for us to use easily as well as accurate enough to correctly measure and record our information.”
In addition, columnist and author Amy Alkon spoke on how she believes listening is an extremely powerful tool in terms of coming to the resolution of a conflict. Alkon repeated the phrase “Listen to learn instead of fighting to win” several times throughout her speech, emphasizing the idea that to understand each other and work together toward peace we must first listen to understand.
“Whenever things get heated between you and another person, strike when the iron is cold by putting a heated discussion on pause,” Alkon said. “Be mindful that rushing resolutions is completely counterproductive, which is why you should slow cook your way to a solution.”
Alkon was followed by Costa senior Hannah Gedion, who spoke on how she noticed a lack of diversity in the mandatory texts that were being taught in MBUSD schools. To take action, Gedion became involved in Diversify our Narrative, a national organization, by starting a MBUSD chapter.
“The problem is not that a single story or stereotype is wrong but that it is incomplete,” Gedion said. “If we see groups of people playing a specific role, we relegate or elevate ourselves to a group in our mind.”
Muralist Ruben Rojas told of his approach at using art to inspire others to see through the lens of love. In 2013, he began transforming blank walls into empowering messages to uplift communities, ignite creativity, and inspire others to “Live Through Love” one day at a time.
“I realized choosing who I wanted to be was like a multiple choice test that I had the answers to. I had the power to choose who I wanted to be,” said Rojas. “I kept painting more murals that would ultimately lead me to choosing who I want to become.”
In the final session, Peter Samuelson, American-British TV and film producer, spoke on his innovation regarding how to help homeless people. Samuelson believes that a society where people sleep on concrete sidewalks is unworthy of humankind. Samuelson developed Everyone Deserves a Roof (EDAR), which is an affordable, portable, functioning house that consists of a tent on wheels with a mattressed cot and storage to help combat homelessness in a safe and humane way.
“I tried to invent in my head and to draw this thing,” Samuelson said. “In the daytime you would push it around like a big shopping cart with lots of pockets and drawers to put your stuff in and at night you park it, put on the brakes, and it unfolds somehow into a seven-foot long cot.”
Following Samuelson, Dennis Hong, builder of humanoids, spoke on his research on robot locomotion and manipulation, autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots. Hong is the inventor of several novel robots and mechanisms, including a unique three-legged walking robot, STriDER; an air powered robotic hand, RAPHaEL; and the world’s first car that can be driven by the blind.
“12 years is a pretty long time, especially in a cutting edge field like robotics,” Hong said. “How it is going to evolve and the next seven species of humanoid robots that will exist and be perfected in the next 12 years is what I am here to show you today.”
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