Tochi's Hut

Every now and then, everyone needs a boost of inspiration.  I was fortunate to land a $500 ticket to the Changing The World conference at University of Toronto. 

Changing the World brings together the world's greatest visionaries to
inspire young people to innovate and better our world. The topics covered
include: technology, science, design, entrepreneurship, philanthropy,
and the arts. Among this year's speakers are:

1 Nobel Peace Prize winner (for stopping nuclear war)
1 Star designer
1 Architect designing Asia's tallest building
12 Entrepreneurs
1 Giller prize winning author
2 Internet millionaires
1 Engineer who creates $100 laptops for developping nations
1 Girl who was curing Alzheimer's at age 15
1 Girl who gave British young people the power to vote
1 Scientist who stops human aging
1 Guy who created Mac OS X
9 Technologists
1 Futurist creating blob computers
... and more.

15 speakers is each given 18 minutes to deliver their epic talk.  TED style in rapid-fire succession.  Some recaps, highlights, and thoughts from each talk.  My apologies if some of my notes do not make much sense.  I hope that the talks were recorded and made available online later.  There were a few I would highly recommend.

Live Longer. Create the world.

Aubrey de Grey -- world's leading aging scientist, believes that we can live to 1000

• Long beard, as you would expect.
• Shameless Plug.  His book is available on Amazon for $17.79. lol.
• The fact of living is what makes us dying.
• Metabolism –- (Geronotology)—> Damage –-(Geriatrics)--> Pathology.
• Metabolism is big unknown, which makes Gerontology very difficult.
• Geriatrics is losing battle.  You can never get better, only prolong.
• Solution?  Same thing that lets keeps as many VW Beetle (regular car) on the road after 50 years as Landrovers (built to last)  ==> Maintenance.
• We understand damage (cancer, etc) – 7 deadly things:  Junk in, Junk out,
• Claim: innovations in progress to “undo” or “repair” some of the damage => 25 years of research should yield techniques to prolong life by 30 years.
• Claim: hand wavy arguments about history of rapid developments in technology after initial breakthrough.  Airplane: Wright Brothers (1913) to Concorde (1979)
• Longevity escape velocity.
• My thoughts: "Interesting ideas.  Would be nice if they were to come into fruition.  A lot of BS and hand waving though.  Dependent on research that he is not even involved in! Ran way overtime!!”

Eva Vertes -- cancer scientist, made an Alzheimer's breakthrough at age 15

• Book at age 9 started her on medical path. 
• Key to success is to step out of conventional thinking.
• Cancer – mutation causes out of control body repairs, which leads to tumors.
• Conventional Treatments – chemo and radiation – both KILL those “external” bad cells.
• Body interacts with cancer cells though.  Why need to kill?  Perhaps treatments can target these interaction.
• Idea: Cancer starts with a “wound” – initial mutations that cause out of control behaviour.  Killing the tumour (final product) will not heal the “wound”.  Treat the wound instead.
• Idea: Tumors need blood vessels. Strong opposition from medical community for many years.  Now an accepted truth.
• My thoughts: “Brought deep medical concepts into layman’s terms.  Main messages, Step outside the box and asks the question WHY?”

Vincent Lam -- author, 2006 Giller Prize winner for Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures

• Cover of book.  Initially, bag of blood dripping.  Not appealing.  Second idea. A soiled bandage. Eeew.  Finally settled on heart.  His book is also available on Amazon. lol.
• Chinese heritage: When a kid at family dinners, friends and family asked him “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  “I want to be a doctor and writer.”  All they hear is “Doctor and blah blah blah.  Wow!! Doctor!!”
• Accomplished Doctor and Writer.  Two seemingly disjoint fields, but in reality, are the same thing : Story-telling.
  • “While modern medicine is aided by a dazzling array of technologies, like high-resolution MRI scans and pinpoint DNA analysis, language is still the bedrock of clinical practice.” – Jerome Groopman ‘How Doctors Think’
• “Would you want your doctor to tell you this story?”  Medical Students will ROFL when seeing this joke.  Non-medical audiences will give a light nervous laughter (like we did today). LOL.
• Before “science” and “medical study”, doctors were still around.  They were known as the magic healers or the shamans.  They excelled at managing stories.
  • “The shaman is also a magician and medicine man; he is believed to cure, like all doctors, and to perform miracles… But beyond that, he may also be priest, mystic, and poet… (and) appears to be the guardian of religious and popular traditions, preserver of legends several centuries old.” – Mircea Eliade, Shamanism
• A Patient’s story…
  1. I have a problem…
  2. Someone cared for me.
  3. Someone used their special knowledge and tools to help me.
  4. Someone told me what was going to happen next.
• So as a doctor, you must understand the patient’s story, and help them move it forward.
  • “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.  Often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with potions and powders.” – Sir William Osler
• My thoughts: “Wish I had recorded this talk!!!!  One of the best of the day.  Really brought a new perspective on how I view medical care and the power/importance of language and communication.  That common theme is what surrounds us and penetrates different ideas and things.  It’s what binds the galaxy together. :P  5-star inspirational.”

Karim Rashid -- industrial designer, in 14 museums worldwide, created over 2500 products

• Famous “rock star” designer.  Comes on stage in all white attaire and shiny silver shoes.
• Slideshow of a lot of his very beautifully designed products running in the back.  2500+ products. Everything from the Issey Miyake perfume bottle to the new Mastercard.
• On average, a person interacts with 640 different objects a day.  Why are most of it so mudane?!?
• Everyone is creative.  As kids, we draw on everything.  Our parents would appreciate our art and hang them on the fridge.  So why are we so conforming?
• If 9 out of 10 people say a thing is beautiful, what exactly is beauty?  Beauty is the substance that conveys an idea.
• Stylists vs Designers.  Fashion designers in Italian translate to “Stylists”.  They study previous generation’s fashions and “reinvent” ideas from the past.  “Designers” create things of the present.
• Example:  Project to build a building, for use under these parameters.  I can design something to fit that.  However, if you want some part of it to be Baroque-style, I’m no longer designing, but styling.
• Example: Mastercard.  Redesign it.  First thing he wanted to do was scrunch it and change its shape.  Not possible, as over 16 billion cards are made by the same process every year.  Not a lot of room to innovate.  He went to grab some money, and the idea hit him.  Why do you have to insert it a specific way?  Why can’t you put the magnetic strip on all 4 sides, and hide them with a cool graphic design?
• No one knows the future.  Artists and Designers work in the present.  Everyone else is living and interacting with the past.  Live in the present!
• “This stage needs to be redesigned!” lolol.
• My thoughts: “Most visually impressive talk of the day.  His art is so beautiful that combined with the passion in his speech, the talk was one of the most inspirational of the day.  Message is design something for the present that will change the world!”
• Got my very own Karim-signed GARBINO!!!!!  AP, WH and me.

Hani Rashid -- architect, principal of Asymptote, designing what will be the tallest building in Asia

• Brother of Karim.  Super successful architect.
• As an architect, he doesn’t change the world.  He convinces his clients to change the world.
• Designed for the long term vision.  Not short term goals or “whims”, like environment-friendly ideas which are popular nowadays, but may not be 10 years down the road.
• Proposal for Gutenberg museum in Mexico.  Large pavilion to embody the vision natural already established with the 160m cliffs beside the museum.  Escalator takes patrons into the belly above the pavilion to make it an organic, natural feel.
• World Business Center, Busan, South Korea – Tallest building in Asia. 
• Penang Global City Center, Malaysia – Fusion of Islam and Buddhism.
• Strata Tower - Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Cool Garage idea.  Everyone who lives here have fancy cars.  You drive into a glass encased garage.  You step out of the car and outside the glass garage room.  Smoke will fill the garage, your car will be lowered and an empty platform will be raised again before the smoke clears out.  LOLOL.  That idea got nixed very quickly.
  • Helicopter pad.  Practically every skyscraper in Abu Dhabi has a helipad.  So, for Strata Tower, one was designed on the roof top terrace too.  One feedback they didn’t expect was when a sheikh told them, the one thing he hates the most is when he’s coming by helicopter, another chopper is already occupying the helipad!! lololol.  They had to go back to the drawing board to make the landing pad support multiple helicopters, so these guys can fly in, have their coffee in the penthouse lounge, and talk about their next big project.
• Failed proposal for UAE “Eiffel Tower” project.
  • Four towers (foot of the Eiffel) supporting a suspended building.
  • Video projectors at the top of the building onto the sky, broadcasting prayer announcements and race results. :P
• Architect for the YAS MARINA CIRCUIT HOTEL!!!!
  • Special requirement from customers.  The building must look good from the ground and from a blimp.
  • Hotel “dome” made up of 6400 unique pieces of glass ($$$) LED enabled.
  • Circuit laps around and through hotel.  Most rooms have view of the circuit.
  • Bridge across the track must be completed 3 months before race, so that Mr. Schumacher, Mr. Montoya, and Mr. Hamilton can practice on the track. XD
• My thoughts: “Man, art really runs in his family!  It’s so amazing the boldness and creativeness that goes into the designs of these landmarks of the future.  Made me think of his brother’s message.  Design for the present, so that it becomes the “past” benchmarks of the future.  Hearing about his visions for the Abu Dhabi hotel was a special bonus.”

Our technology - the best of our future.

Anand Agarawala -- creator of Bumptop, a revolutionary 3D interface

• Created Bumptop as Masters Thesis project.  Instant YouTube hit.
• Disorganized physical desktop conveys information to people that regular OS desktops do not.   Example, if you had to sort a bunch of pictures – you’re not sure of the categories beforehand.  In real world, you’ll start going through the photos and "toss” them into separate piles.  How do you do that easily on the desktop?  Create folders?  Create tags?  It’s very cumbersome.
• Gestures and fluidity very important.  Life is not point and click.
• Unreal 3 physics engine.
• Love the default “Sticky Notes”.  Take a Nap.  Maintain good hygiene! lol.
• Secret email to sign up for private beta faster: mrbump@bumptop.com
• TED attendees and speakers gets LOTS of goodies (suitcases full of goodies).
• Cameron Diaz smiled at him, mingled with Bill Clinton.  lol.
• My thoughts: “Very cool concept!! As a mouse gesture lover, I cannot wait to try this desktop out.  Main message: take a step back and break away from the conventional ideas.”

Mike Beltzner -- head of User Interface design at Mozilla

• Firefox success was not in its browser technology, but the way it was developed.
• Change the world starts with changing the way we think about solving problems.
• Mozilla recognized issues with Web direction.  Netscape and IE were going on divergent paths.  IE was using ActiveX.  Netscape was doing their own thing.  Web pages were falling apart.  Main problem is the code is proprietary.  Someone wanting to “steal” a web implementation, you run into ActiveX embedded object brick wall.  No stealing allowed and that’s it.
• Mozilla had to change the way they thought.  Netscape begat the Mozilla Project.  The Mozilla Project begat a community.  The community participated for the web.
• Tremendous passion and feedback from community.  Strong management and chain in place to filter out good ideas from bad.
• November 2004.  NYT ad paid for by community for Firefox.  The community bets on the web. 
• Jackpot came when web started sharing.  Example: Google Maps came out in 2005.  MapQuest guys woke up one morning, turned on their computers and SHIIITTT!  Google Maps API enabled sharing, collaboration, openness and building together. 
• Participatory approach is the way of the future.  Various degrees in this approach, but the benefits are many.
• My thoughts: “Essentially a why-open-source-is-good talk.  Fairly strong points.  It’s your technology, it’s your future.  Embrace it.”

Don Lindsay -- creator and designer of Mac OS X at Apple, now Design Director at Microsoft Live Labs

• Design + Technology are both key.  IPhone basic design is very similar to Orbiter, a 1991 prototype that failed to make it to market.  Design was there, technology was not.  2G (data) networks were available until 1992.  SMS wasn’t available until 1993.
• Worked on Mac OS X, fluidity was key.  Great design, no technology.  Took 2 years for them to build the visualizer engine to provide the technology.  IPhone is also leveraging the same engine now.
• M$ Live Labs help bring design, incubate technology, so future technology can be delivered earlier. 
• Photosynth talk about rendering 3D from 2D visual analysis.  Again, strong community is necessary to embrace this.  
• Most important benefit is the information they get from places all around the world, submitted by users.  M$ does not have to visit those places to get information.
• My thoughts: “I was looking forward to this presentation.  Unfortunately, no live demo of Photosynth, so the technology wasn’t conveyed very well.  He reiterated similar themes as Mike Beltzner of Mozilla, amassing wealth of information, except he did not emphasize on the sharing part, which I think is kind of important.”

Roel Vertegaal -- technologist, pioneer of Organic User Interfaces

• Human Media Lab at Queens University
• A physical object like a sheet of paper is organic.  If we don’t care about it, we can move it easily out of our peripheral vision.  It’s hard to do the same thing with a computer.
• How to make a computer more organic?  Make them smaller, make them more versatile, make them more robust.  ==> Merge them into their surroundings.
• E-Ink technology.  Example: Computer "Settlers of Catan” hex discs.  If you want to move your boat, you physically lift the disc, and the ship will slide (as if on water), over to the adjacent hex disc.  The images are updated automatically.  COOL!!
• 3D Craytronics at CMU.  Similar idea applied to 3d Modelling that allows collaboration.
• My thoughts: “This guy came off a bit self-centred.  He discounted a lot of cool technologies of present day as if they were nothing (i.e. iPhone, especially with Don sitting right in the first row!!  Anyway, he showed some cool stuff that allows true integration of “computer” technology in every day world.  Pretty much a world where everything you touch (i.e. Coke can) has a computer.  Interesting ideas.”

How can we change the world?

Patrick Lor -- founder of iStockPhoto -- acquired by Getty Images for USD $50 million

• Humble beginnings – family made “sacrifice” moving to Canada.  Parents always reminded him of that.
• Photos come from a story.   Story captures the imagination.
• However, great business success requires fans.  They need to talk about you and spread the world.
• Three things you want from your audience: wallet, mind and heart.
• How do you speak to audience?  Many go for wallet, minds, hearts.  You never get around hearts.
• Your story needs to be heart, minds, wallet.  We are going to change the world (heart).  Here’s how we are going to do it (minds).  We need a little money (wallet).
• iStockPhotos photographers were passion about art.  It was not about the royalities or money.  It was seeing their work being used.
• Key turning points for iStockPhoto: Canon Rebel – increased quality and quantity.  Alexa Top 500 - significant achievement for websites.
• Get the community, fan base involved.  They will spread the word.
• iStockPhoto kept to a “rebel” theme – had a rebel CEO with lots of tatoos.  The fanbase accepted and embraced it.  Selling something that was unique.
• 1. Create Passion  2. Hang out with smart people 3. Use cheap or free tools  4. Seek advice 5. Live like a student (no GP’s).
• Dude retired after acquisition.
• My thoughts: “Great speaker!  Really inspirational when he talks about the fundamentals, the grassroots engagement, as being most important for any successful start-up.  I actually recorded most of the presentation cause I thought GBO might enjoy this one.  The video ended up being 1.4GB, so yeah, that’s not going to be uploaded anywhere.”

Andre Charoo -- co-founder of prospectlinker, an online recruiting tool that connects companies to students

• Mentorship – Finding those influential sponsors.
• Have other take ownership of your ideas.
• Take Risk, Think Big, Be Confident, Push Limits, Smart People, Be Uncomfortable, Reputation is key, Compare to the Best, Have others take credit for your success.
• Mentorship is the way to full potential.
• ProspectLink is creating mentorship between students and individuals within companies, so that students can find more about the companies, while companies can find more prospective students.
• My thoughts: “Basic fundamental talk on the value of mentorship.  Not very inspirating though (compared to the other talks).  I hope his start-up succeeds though.”

Chamath Palihapitiya -- VP of Growth, Mobile and International at Facebook

• Change is social.  Social opinion drives changes.
• Facebook and technology enables you to build awareness.
• Easy to organize and find people with common ideas and thoughts.
• You have a voice.  Create a facebook group.  Gather support.  Make an impact.
  • Students rally against HSBC student fees in UK with facebook page.  HSBC changed their policy.
  • US elections.  Obama reaching out with Facebook.
  • South America.  Students rally against the FARC terrorist group.  Worldwide support.
• A single voice can start an avalanche.  Can you be that voice?
• Ended with the following YouTube clip of Obama’s VA speech the night before the election.   Witness the power of what a single voice, and a single phrase can inspire 2.5 years later.  I bet Catnipped can recite the entire speech. lol.
• My thoughts: “I had been looking forward to Chamath’s talk all day, since he’s one of the most successful venture capitalist and an inspiration to many entrepreneurs.  His point didn’t disappoint.  Talks about the collective power that Facebook can enable.  A true driver of change.  The final Obama speech was super effective.”

Matthew Hockenberry -- leading contributor of One Laptop Per Child

• Something about building the common web.
• Most traffic on the web flows between North America and Europe.  Africa, South America, much of Asia (except Japan) are untapped.
• My thoughts: “Wow, what was up with his presentation.  His points doesn’t make any sense.  I tried, but couldn’t connect the dots.”
• OLPC laptop – got a chance to play with this much talked about toy.
  • OS is rather elementary.  I could barely use it.
  • The antenna ears are super cool.  The XO is so cute too.
  • First thing I did was touch the screen, expecting it to be a touch screen.
  • The mouse pad doesn’t register tappings.
  • keyboard feels like those calculators of old, rubber mesh overtop.

Eric Chivian -- Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work on stopping nuclear war.  Among this year's Time 100 for his work on global environmental protection.

• 1985 Nobel Peace Prize winner
• Started with the following joke.  Bush and Palin went to Alaska to go hunting.  They headed to some nearby mountains and …
  
• To change the world, we need to first save the world.  It is not a choice we have.  It’s something we must do.
• Nature’s biodiversity is at risk.  Lots of potential cures and medicines are lost.
• Showed picture of Polar Bears, an endangered species.  (Without any Cola-Cola bottles)
  • Bears hibernate for 5-7 months (laying in near stasis) in a year. Yet, they do not lose bone density, whereas humans would.  If process is understood, a possible breakthrough against osteoporosis.
  • Bears in hibernation do not urinate or poop.  Humans with such a condition would require liver transplants or other drastic surgery.  $25 billion health issue in US.
• Frogs
  • Skin is highly permeable to both gas and liquid.  Yet, they have very little bacterial infections.  Research has lead to development of new antibiotics with no tolerance effects.
  • Toad frog has excretes this glue like substance to capture and protect against insects.  This super glue has been used successfully to repair damage cartilage.
  • Two species of Frogs that reproduce by mom frog swallowing egg.  Tadpole develops in stomach and the mom frog regurgitates when baby frog is developed.  Nature has come up with a way to protect the tadpole from the corrosive acids that break down the food particles in the stomach.  This could lead to better solutions to ease acid stomach.  Too bad the two species are now extinct.  Nature’s million years solution to this problem is forever gone.  As Master Wilson would say, “too bad so sad”.
• Lyme disease distribution maps almost directly to the blue states in 2004 election! Causal effect?  More blue states in 2008 signify lyme disease spreading?
  • Actually, Lyme disease spreading in areas with less biodiversity.  Lack of terminal carriers and predators against Lyme carriers.
• My thoughts: “Interesting talk.  A very well versed speaker.  Very professor like.  Learned a lot of neat facts about bears. lol.  Definitely made me more concerned about maintaining our biodiversity.  Not as much an inspirational speech as a the world is ending speech.”

Melody Hossaini -- founder of UK Youth Parliament, youth leader of Al Gore's Climate Project

• “I’m a movement by myself… but I’m a force when we’re together.”
• “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realisation that something else is more important”
• Asked Al Gore what drives him on this Climate fight: “Imagine you are walking along the beach and you find a message in a bottle, saying you must do something – and since you are the only person with the Message, you feel a sense of responsibility… I had a similar experience…”
• Working with kids in 3rd world countries.  They need to steal in order to get money.  Then they have to make a choice to use the money to buy food for their families or provide shelter for another week.  These kids had to go through more tough decisions than anyone else in the civilized world.
• These kids would be speaking in swear words all the time, but when they were provided with an opportunity to improve and change, they embraced it.
• Desmond Tutu – 3 qualities you need to change the world. Sexy Legs.  Big Nose.  An easy name like Tutu.  lol.
• What inspires you?
• My thoughts: “A most inspiring talk from a person our age… yet she has done SO MUCH for the world already.  She draws her inspiration from the people she’s helping.  A single person can drive a movement.  Together, we change the world.  Great final speaker of the day.”

Well, after these talks, I really felt re-energized and motivated.  I’m fired up!  Ready to go! XD