TEDx Oxford

When some theatre tickets dropped onto the mat before Christmas I was very excited to see what surprise Mr K had booked for us.
Sleeping Beauty on February 12th?*
Jack Whitehall on February 15th?**
No.
TEDx Oxford. An all day event where all kinds of speakers speak on all manner of topics for 18 minutes each. Science, philosophy, computing, media, culture, technology, biology, music, design......
Not my idea of the best day out but I went with an open mind.
And didn't pretend to fall asleep as soon as we got there and roll my eyes at the pretentious posh earnest young things all about the place!
It was a great day!!
Far too much to describe.
The effect of technology on developing brains; the hideous - and unexpected - sexism of Fresher's Week. I'm no feminist but oh my God; how taste is influenced by all our other senses and environment; can we make virtual lab rats?; how kids learn to play the piano; the BBC's place in the modern news and online environment; the aesthetics of prosthetic limbs; the ethics of resource extraction companies in developing countries and the fight against their hidden offshore bank accounts; how to be happy; painting people in milk!
Some of it was ridiculous. And contentious. And too complicated for me to grasp!
But it was interesting and inspiring.
And good to do something different.
The lunch we had at a gorgeous Thai restaurant was scrummy too. Getting me in the mood for Bangkok in a few weeks!!
There are hundreds of TED Talks on YouTube or at www.ted.com if you ever have eighteen minutes to spare.
More interesting than you may think!

* Just saying Mr K
** If you were short of birthday ideas!