TEDxRochester 2012 and the Butterfly Effect

Common
threads in this year’s TEDxRochester talks, held Monday, November 5, at Geva
Theatre, included risk taking, technology in education, and ways we might shift
toward more effective approaches to education, transportation, and connecting
with others in our communities. Each and every one of the nearly 20 presentations
was captivating and inspiring, but here are just a few highlights. If you want
to attend the next TEDx, watch tedxrochester.org for information
on applications.

Andrew Phelps,
founding director of the School of Interactive Games and Media at RIT, kicked
things off with an exploration of how a generation that grew up with video
games has learned the scientific method through gaming in his talk, “Rocket
Jumping through the Game of Life.” Phelps spoke of the implications of hacks
and cheating in the little avatar worlds we’ve created, and wondered if the
veneration our generation has for these shortcuts is connected to our
veneration for entrepreneurs.

1975
Gallery owner Erich Lehman spoke
about “those defining moments” in life, our reaction to them, and the long-lasting
effect they have on us. His talk touched on two pivotal moments from his youth:
the murder of his 38-year-old mother when he was just shy of 12 years old, and
the birthday at which he received his first skateboard, which set him upon the
path of appreciating the skate- and street-culture art that he adores and
represents in his space. Lehman is about to turn 38, and spoke of reflecting on
that crucial-to-him age, of embracing life, taking chances, and leading by
example.

One Dance Co. and its frequent creative
collaborators, The Pickpockets,
performed a deeply moving, abridged version of its piece, “In You is Home,” in
which a young man moves through tumultuous relationships with three different
women. For a little while, two musician-dancer pairs co-played instruments
while they moved, creating an achingly sweet discord familiar to anyone who’s
ever loved.

The
audience responded enthusiastically to the screening of a fantastically
produced teaser trailer for the longer (upcoming) video created by Phil Night about this past summer’s “Wall/Therapy”
event. Directly afterward, “Wall/Therapy” founder Dr. Ian Wilson took the stage to talk a bit about the project,
framing it as a thank-you to the community that has given him so much. Of the
growing project, Wilson stated that “a tall tree is only as strong as its root
system. The roots are here in Rochester,” issuing a challenge for us to take
initiative and tend the grove together.

Next up, Craig Cypher spoke about the new and
unexpected ways that people are using ever-developing technologies to enhance
their everyday lives. Cypher created the Cohesive Self app, which allows users
to access information on relaxation techniques and exercises, and to track
their mood over time, and this information can be shared with a psychologist
who can detect patterns in the chart, thus enabling the expansion of care
beyond the typical hour-per-week session and enhancing the connection between
patients and providers. Cypher also touched on developing user-managed
technologies that will include skin sensors to read biofeedback, which has the
potential to help patients identify trouble and make changes before the problem
is a 10/10.

Doug Ackley from the Center for Teen
Empowerment walked on stage with Shanterra Randle,
a young woman who benefitted from the program and is now its associate
coordinator. They spoke about engaging Rochester’s youth, who are disconnected
from each other and “screaming for resources,” who are seeking empowerment, and
“will get it one way or another.” The program connects youth between the ages
of 14 and 20 with leadership positions and opportunities to creatively express what
life is like in their communities, and to be involved in finding solutions. The
program also enables leaders in Rochester to identify future leaders.

Davin Searls,
who heads up Discovering Deaf Worlds, talked about Rochester’s deaf community,
and how it is “the ideal community to show what deaf people are capable of and
what the hearing population is capable of.” But of course there is always room
for improvement. Searls told us of the 1850’s community in Martha’s Vineyard
that was entirely integrated, in that hearing people would use sign language
not just to communicate with the deaf population, but in other practical ways,
such as parents conversing with each other silently after the children had gone
to sleep. We too use infrastructure that we assume is just for the deaf
population – ever been grateful for that closed-captioning on the TV in a noisy
bar? It’s not people who are disabled, says Searls, but environments. Our way
of thinking about this matter is what needs fixing.

Mike Governale, graphic designer and creator of
the Roc history-loving blog rochestersubway.com, gave an enthralling talk about
Rochester’s world-class transit system of the past, the bad decisions that have
led us to this point in the road, and his struggles both to help preserve
threatened landmarks and to increase awareness of viable shifts in our current
and future trajectory. Governale cited Maggie Brooks’s smug responses to his letters regarding our
transit system and the roadways that strangle our neighborhoods, in which she
said that Rochesterians are satisfied with the status quo. “Rochester: the city
with the 20-minute drive to nowhere,” he says. “This is reversible, but for
now, we don’t even know we have a problem,” he says.

The
conference was full of heightened focus on our interconnection, the audience was
fired up with inspiration and challenged to carry the flames and encourage them
in others. The organizers of the event alluded to an expanded version of the
programming, called TEDx365. We’ll poke you with an update when we have
more info.

This article appears in Nov 7-13, 2012.