A Sense of Wonder: Time to Think Again

Roger Cook
I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing
Roger performed for TEDxNashville one of his first global hits on the very instrument he created the song. “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” was one of the first viral hits to ever span the globe and touched the lives of millions. He reminisced about his extraordinary experience with a few recollections in his own inimitable style.

Greg Stielstra
My Neighbor Made Me Do It: How Social Connection Influences Choice
Almost all modern attempts to influence human behavior—to buy a product, vote for a candidate or embrace a social program—are predicated on assumptions that no longer hold. The digital revolution has enabled latent human inclinations and changed the shape of social connection, transforming the way information, ideas and trends spread. Greg helped TEDxNashville discover the new paradigm and why, if you want to influence culture, you must begin by influencing your neighbor.

Jeremy Cowart
A Picture is Worth.
Celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart told the story of Help-Portrait and the unexpected impact it had on both sides of the camera. Illustrating how it began as a simple idea that spread to a global movement in just a few months, Jeremy reminded TEDxNashville that giving within your gifting can change the world.

David Mead
Amateurism: The Eternal Value of Temporary Incompetence
David spoke about what can be learned from not knowing what you are doing. Though we tend to assume that good fortune and superior results are produced by experts, history proves that exciting new ideas often come from people in situations with which they feel unfamiliar. In a world rocked by quickly-evolving technologies, topsy-turvy economies and the dizzying morality of reality television, David delighted TEDxNashville by illustrating how momentum may be shifting away from the wizened master and squarely into the hands of one willing to adapt, take risks and learn on the fly: The Amateur.

Carol Creswell-Betsch, Ed.D
A Special Gift of Extraordinary Art
By all accounts, the Alfred Stieglitz Collection of modern art is one of the most significant collections in the nation. It is truly one of Nashville’s hidden jewels. Carol Creswell-Betsch told TEDxNashville the tale of how the collection came to Fisk University and spoke of her own family’s unique and intimate connection to these extraordinary works by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, Marsden Hartley, Diego Rivera and others.

Tim and Sarah Pickens
Dream it, then do it! What are you waiting for?
Tim Pickens is an inventor and innovator, but also an active Dad who practices his philosophy of “Dream it, and do it!” He has lived this mindset since he was a kid, and his father practiced the same philosophy. Mr. Pickens and his daughter Sarah inspired and excited TEDxNashville to not only dream about cool experiences, but to also design, build, and even test them with budgets most of us can easily afford. They took us on a brief journey of some of their home inventions that rocket-propelled both of them from New York to Mojave, California. Mr. Pickens shared the stories of how he and Sarah designed and built rocket-powered rocket bikes, jet- powered scooters, and even a real rocketpack they have ridden and flown over the past 18 years.

Singer/Songwriter Contestants
Selected finalists showcased their songwriting prowess in the spirit of TEDxNashville with their own unique inspirational tunes.

Reid C. Thompson, M. D.
Neurosurgery: Open the Windows of the Mind
Dr. Thompson on his TEDxNashville talk: “I am inspired by the human brain. It has a unique symmetry and beauty. Understanding its mystery and complexity seems almost unattainable. I realized as a medical student that by pursuing a career in Neurosurgery, I could think about the brain every day. What I didn’t fully realize then, is that 20 years later, I still gaze on the brain with a sense of wonder. In this TEDxNashville talk, I hoped to convey this sense of wonder by describing what it was like to operate on the human brain. We took a look at how as the field of Neurosurgery evolves, allowing us to open the windows of the mind, we can imagine what the future might look like. “

Becca Stevens
The Wonder and Grace of a Drop in the Bucket
Becca Stevens’ TEDxNashville talk delved into how living a life of service means learning to celebrate being a drop in the bucket. Her efforts to love the world through the work of Thistle Farms and Magdalene has been a graceful, funny, and humbling journey. During the talk, she explored old images like the starfish thrower, and shared a couple of stories about the scale of work versus the issues we face in the wider world. She spoke about how the drops of work grow through sharing our visions with other visions and described to TEDxNashville how on the scale of love, a drop can be plenty.

Jill Sobule
The Songstress
Jill isn’t just another singer-songwriter with catchy tunes and smart lyrics, she’s one of the more insightful satirists of our age. Each of her fanciful songs captured an issue or irony, and emotion or epiphany that helped TEDxNashville understand what it’s like to live now.

Max Webster
Climate Voices: The Human Face of Climate Change
Max Webster wants to change the way people talk about climate change. By sharing with TEDxNashville his own experience with Hurricane Katrina and giving voice to the projected 200 million individuals around the world who are vulnerable to migration and extreme poverty because of climate change, Webster showed that human rights, not politics or abstract numbers, are the most important facet of the issue.

Mel Zeigler
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Mel Zeigler TEDxNashville talk presented a brief overview of his work with a concentration on his most recent projects. His works highlight systems or forms that are in plain sight, but never really seen. Ziegler’s installations have resulted in the repainting of houses in a newly-invented but “historic” camouflage, instant landscapes delivered on flatbed trucks, the naming of the markers of architectural details at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and installing straw in store display-cases throughout Vienna.

Nashville Speaks
Our Spoken Word
Featured performances by Sebastian Jones and Keayana Robinson. Sebastian is a senior at Hunters Lane High School and will be attending Belmont University next year. Keayana attended Maplewood High School and is a sophomore at Belmont University.

Roy Wooten—Futureman
The Black Mozart Project
Roy Futureman Wooten told the story of an epic rise from slavery to chivalry by a mixed-race revolutionary of 18th century France who was sometimes called “The Black Mozart.” His real name is Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and, tragically, the fullness of his legacy has been overlooked due to the fact that, despite everything he did right, his color was wrong. Saint-Georges’ efforts to reconcile these differences are most exemplified in his final orchestra, The Circle of Harmony. For TEDxNashville, Futureman and company performed the Circle of Harmony, which – through art – demonstrates to the world the beauty of diversity and co-existence.

Andrew Keys, Ph.D.
Space Exploration
Why do we explore? What is the return on an investment in exploration? Is space exploration worth the risk? This TEDxNashville talk focused on the subject of human space exploration and the benefits of not just reaching difficult destinations, but the importance of the "lessons learned" in getting there.

Jennifer Homans, Ph.D.
Apollo's Angels: Why Ballet Matters
Why should we care about ballet? Jennifer Homans told TEDxNashville what ballet means to her, as a dancer and as a historian, and why she has devoted her life to understanding this beautiful and civilizing art.

Tyehimba Jess
Syncopated Sonnets: Mille and Christine McKoy
Tyehimba told TEDxNashville the story of the McKoy Sisters who were conjoined through the hips. Each possessed her own arms, legs, and respiratory systems. They were born into slavery, rented out as freak show attractions by the age of 3, kidnapped to Britain, and then returned to American slavery. After the Civil War they traveled around the world as multilingual dancing, singing, piano playing stars.

Ashley Judd
My Life's Work as an Act of Worship
Ashley spoke to TEDxNashville about making one's life's work an act of worship and integrating one's activities on the soul level—and the wonders that occur when we have the guts to show up from our hearts and souls.

Jimmy Wayne
Meet Me Halfway
Last year Jimmy completed his "Meet Me Halfway" campaign, a 1,700 mile solo hike from Nashville to Phoenix to raise awareness about foster kids who are aging out of the system. Wayne spoke to TEDxNashville about his trek across America and shared his own story about how his life was changed through the kindness of one couple…and how that elderly couple planted the seed in Jimmy that inspired a sense of wonder and led him to where he is today.

TPAC's Polk Theater
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, Tennessee, 37219
United States