Week 1: Ted Talks

Tim Brown - Tale of Creativity and Play          Children are very imaginative and creative in nature, but adults are stunted in their thought process. Ever thought about why this happens? Tim Brown, through his TED talk explains how this is so. As a child, there is no fear of judgment or opinions. A child does as he or she pleases, thereby letting their imaginative side go wild. As one grows up, they become more aware and subjected to external opinions and judgments, which starts to hinder their creativity. Tim educates his audience that one should at times think like a child and just let go, be creative, and not fear anyone.

Elizabeth Gilbert - Your Elusive Creative Genius  After you’ve attained success, what happens after? This is how Elizabeth Gilbert starts off her TED talk. After writing a best selling novel - Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth is constantly being bombarded with questions based on how she could ever top a success like that again and how she would out do it. Apparently any creative person, be it an artist or an author, has a reputation of being a depressed alcoholic or drug addict. Why is this so? Elizabeth brings to our attention the common notion that “creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked” and “artistry in the end will always ultimately lead to anguish”, hence the reputation. From her journeys to Greece and Rome, she learned that in their ancient time, it was believed that creativity was not born with an individual. In fact, it was believed to be an entirely separate entity, a “Genius”,  that would approach a particular person and ignite the spark of imagination and the whole creative process. Through this talk, Elizabeth inspires us to be creative. She ends her speech telling us not to be afraid, not to be daunted, and to continue being creative.