TEDxBloomington 2014 in review

Back in April I attended my 3rd TEDxBloomington conference. I love hearing the speakers and always leave inspired. (I haven't written about it yet because I was waiting for the talks to be available online.)

This year's conference revolved (hah!) around the theme "What Goes 'Round". I noticed a secondary theme as I watched and listened: "Changing Perspective". I'm a big believer in changing perspective. Looking at something from a different angle can be enlightening.

3-time attendee!

The morning session began with Salaam playing music. Salaam appeared throughout the day, tying the sessions together. Sarah Smith Robbins returned as emcee for the 3rd time.

Salaam performing at the start of the day.

Jeffrey Kline, an emergency physician and researcher, kicked things off with his talk, "Illness has no poker face". In just 12 minutes, he brought medicine back from the bleeding edge of technology to the simplest measure, the way every parent can tell if their child is sick: the face.

Christian Briggs then showed us the "Power of better questions". Digging deeper is tough but worthwhile.

Chris made an appearance on a slide during Christian Briggs' talk.

Jeanne Leimkuhler, founder of Trashion Refashion Show and co-founder or Discardia, presented her talk, "From the Trash to the Runway: Creative Reuse". Reuse is an excellent skill to develop; reuse is the 2nd of the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle--in order of importance).

Amy Brier convinced us "We are all shapers of stone". She is an artist, a limestone carver, and also brought a roliquery, a spherical artwork in sand, that attendees could play with, creating their own patterns.

Danielle McClelland, Executive Director of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, spoke on "Sexuality & Gender: Straight & Narrow or Round & Bouncy?"

Christy Hull Hegarty gave the talk of the day: "Unconditional Love: Journey with Our Transgender Child". There wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time she finished. Really, go watch her talk.

During lunch, there was an exhibit of round objects at the nearby Monroe County History Center.

Coming back from lunch, we were treated to a performance by Flight Club. Watching their aerial routine from just a few feet away was amazing.

Starting back into talks, Bernice Pescosolido gave a fantastic presentation: "A community safety net to prevent rampage shootings". Rampage shootings are a very timely topic, so hearing what researchers are discovering, stripped of the media hype and speculation, was very welcome.

Next up was Kathy Wills, with her talk "Immigration is a Gift to Us All". Immigration is such a hot topic right now, but this talk gives a different perspective than much of what is currently being said.

David Quick talked about how we are each "In the Ring, Led By the Ring, Or Ringing the Bell".

Chris Reinhart talked about "Building More Than Homes".

T. Kelly Wilson led us on a tour of a magnificent bridge in Rome, connecting art and design in architecture, in his talk "See Like an Artist, Think Like a Designer, Feel Like a Human".

Mike Flaherty introduced us to "The Kitchen of Tomorrow-er".

We learned about the psychology of resource consumption with Shahzeen Attari, who shared her research to answer the question "Why Don't People Conserve Energy and Water?"

Jeremy Shere told us about two solar energy inventors of the 19th century--yes, 19th century--in his talk on "Renewable Energy from a Different Perspective".

Christian Freitag talked about "Forever and the Nature of Time".

Jeffrey Wolin shared a photography project spanning decades in the Pigeon Hill neighborhood of Bloomington with his talk, "Written in Memory".

Marybeth Gasman shared her personal story about prejudice and bias while "Talking Justice".

All the speakers and performers.

As part of the conference, several nearby sites relating to roundness were highlighted. We were encouraged to visit them during breaks. One was the sundial at the Monroe County Public Library, which I stopped by on my way home.

Yep, telling time accurately.

I can't wait for the next TEDxBloomington conference!