Posts in category: Video/Talk

TED Talk. Jason Fried: Why work doesn’t happen at work

4.10.2015

Where do people go when they really need to get something done? Answers are: the porch, the coffee shop, the library, the kitchen, or while commuting. For some, it doesn’t really matter where they are, as long as it’s early in the morning or late at night or on the weekends. „The office“ is hardly ever the response given. That fully complies with Jason Fried’s theory: that the office isn’t a very good place for productivity. In his opinion, the main disruptions at work are caused by M&M’s: managers and meetings. This video – watched by nearly four million viewers – was filmed five years ago. Yet, its content today is true more than ever!

 

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Humankind: Different races, different faces. The secrets about man's evolution.

TED Talk. Yuval Noah Harari: What explains the rise of humans?

7.09.2015

Seventy thousand years ago, our ancestors were insignificant animals roaming African terrain. How fortunate for humankind that the course of evolution was not disrupted at some grave point and just kept rolling – otherwise all of us would perhaps have been locked in the ape-stage for ever. Well, we haven’t, and today humans dominate Earth. But how did it happen?

Historian Yuval Noah Harari suggests that this is the reason for the rise of humanity: “We are the only animals that can cooperate both flexibly and in very large numbers”. Social insects like bees are also able to cooperate in large numbers, but are inflexible in doing so. “They cannot reinvent their social system overnight. They cannot execute the queen and establish a republic of bees, or a communist dictatorship of worker bees.” Why it was us instead of the wolves, elephants, dolphins or chimpanzees is explained in this easy-to-comprehend yet thought-provoking video:

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Traditional Dhows in Musandam/Oman. 12 days in Oman

Twelve days in Oman – a short film

19.08.2015

Marko Roth and his friends Lucas, Dominik and Vivi were looking for a cheap random flight to anywhere on the map and ended up in Oman, a destination they had not even heard of before. Their 12-day adventure took them crisscross through the scenic Sultanate located at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula that shares its shores between the Strait of Hormuz and the Indian Ocean. They devoured every inch of the country’s beauty, climbed mountains, dove into crystal-clear waters, and conquered the hustle-bustle of Muscat, Salalah, and Musandam streets and souks.

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TED Talk. Chip Kidd: The art of first impressions

10.08.2015

People – and objects – are usually given a mere few merciless seconds to let their first impression shine in a positive light; when the impact thus created is of lasting effect, even the better. Who, if not book jacket designer Chip Kidd, is predestined to endorse what’s a commonly known fact. After all, books are written to be read and sold, and their covers ideally serve as a teaser, a marketing tool and as an individual advertising platform alike. Shrouding a message in mystery may be the appropriate method when targeting one specific audience – or be utterly counterproductive when addressing another.

The whys and the wherefores in favour of clarity are readily shared in this informative yet most entertaining talk. Mesmerised listeners learn the difference between those two techniques implemented by successful designers to induce instant communication with the consumer.

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Huge links of heavy iron chains: Minds cannot be enchained.

TED Talk. Suki Kim: This is what it’s like to teach in North Korea

7.07.2015

To be able to write her book from an insider’s point of view, South Korean-born Suki Kim took the risk of going undercover in North Korea. For half a year, Kim worked as an English teacher at an elite school honing the country’s future leaders. While sensitising her students through concepts based on “seeking the truth” and “critical thinking“, massive doubts arose on her part at the same time: Was she putting them to peril by merely exposing them to usually unspeakable topics? “Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite,” is the memoir of Kim’s stay in Pyongyang during Kim Jong-Il’s final six months. Her work offers unprecedented insights into the psychology of North Korea’s ruling class.

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