The first TedXSanDiego Conference

The First TedXSanDiego Conference:

Yesterday, I spent the day out of the office to hear a dozen plus people speak on Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) subjects at the first annual TedXSanDiego conference.

TedXSanDiego is an independently organized non-profit event that brings together innovators, explorers, teachers and learners to discuss the future of their industries, spark deep discussion, connection and inspiration. It’s based on the national TED conference (which you have to know about if you don’t) and I was on a committee of people who helped put the event together.

I was inspired to share a one-two sentence take-away from each speaker (I skipped a couple because I had to do some work) – whether it was a call to action, a fact, an observation or just somebody’s attention-catching opening line:

Nick Pudar/ OnStar                                                                                                                       The tweeting car is coming.

Shannon Spanhake/ Calif. Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
Potholes are cool; they tell stories about nature vs. built environments.

Christine Comaford/ Executive Coach
What is your big knarly question?

Simon Sinek/ Columbia University
Technology is terrible for creating personal relationships.

Jake Wood/ Team Rubicon
Veterans are an untapped resource for solving many problems facing the world today; veterans helping vs. helping veterans is going to help them recover much more from PTSD and other illnesses.

Tom Yellin/ The Documentary Group
When you educate girls, extraordinary things happen.

Pete Garcia/ San Diego Regional Economic Development Foundation
21st century is the marriage of technology and design; San Diego is rich in technology, science and engineering, but not design…

Kurt Gray, Ph.D./ University of Maryland
Thinking of yourself as a hero just might make you a hero.

Roxana Velasquez/ Director, San Diego Museum of Art
I am the director of an art museum, and I love ugliness.

Dr. Tony Haymet, Ph.D/ Scripps Institute of Oceanography
We’ve been studying algae bio fuels for 107 years, but people have only started caring in the last two.

Jason Russell/ Invisible Children
I’m going to tell you how to murder someone and not get caught.

Bill Toone/Director/ ECOLIFE Foundation
Lead poisoning is the biggest threat to the California condor.

Marty Cooper/ Inventor of the mobile phone
Everybody is going somewhere but no one is where they want to be.

Joe Pine/ Strategic Horizons
Authenticity is what customers really want.

Robert Bilder, Ph.D/ Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA
Right now, our computers are computing at the cognitive level of a lizard. The next wave is personalized brain management.

Eric Topol, M.D./ Scripps Translational Science Institute
Soon, we’ll be able to check our own vital signs on the iPhone.

Gad Shaanan/ Industrial Designer, Gadlight
We are too poor to buy something cheap (quote by Gad’s late father)

James Fowler/ UCSD
Studies show that like minded people stick together; you are 40 percent more likely to be obese if those in your personal network are.

We began and ended the day with an awesome performance by ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, who was inspired to add his own words of wisdom to the day based on his work with children: Kids need to be inspired and passionate about something. I also loved Jean Isaacs from San Diego Dance Theater creating a two-minute dance on stage.

Keep this event on your radar for next year. It’s a good way to stretch your brain a little.