What comes after the end?
What do you do when the Sun comes up the day after it was all supposed to be over?

In the past few years we've all heard news stories predicting the end – of civilization, of mankind, of the entire universe. Yet after a breathless news cycle each of these predicted Doomsdays is now in our rear-view mirror. Whether you call it Armageddon, Y2K, the Apocalypse, Ragnarok, or the end of the 12th B'ak'tun, we're still here!

At first, we thought of just having fun with this Theme. "Look, it's after December 21st, and we're still here. Nyah Nyah." But as we discussed it we realized there are interesting issues to explore. We've found great talks predicting global doomsday, and others explaining how we will avoid it. There are talks about personal doomsdays, and talks about astronomical and anthropological threats. We've also found talks that provide a humorous perspective.

Together we'll explore endings that failed to end, ponder new beginnings, and visit the times after “end times.” Our event Theme has led us to a day that will be both whimsical and serious, but not terrifying. Our goal is to feed our brains, and to encourage thoughtful discussion, all in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere.

INSPIRATION:
There are over 1,200 TED talks up on TED.com, and over 17,000 talks from TEDx events. TEDxSunnyvale exists to bring some of the best of those talks together with passionate people to view, and to ignite discussion.

LIVE ATTENDEES, NOT LIVE SPEAKERS:
So while we will have live attendees, we will have no live speakers. We’ll watch together and talk about what we’ve seen. We’ll network and meet new people.

Our event is structured just like any other TEDx event – with a Theme, and Sessions of talks lasting roughly an hour and a half. But in our event all the talks will be watched on video, taken from both the TED and TEDx archives. This is an experiment – all the other TEDx events in the Bay Area focus mainly on live speakers. By taking this lower-key approach to a TEDx event, we are able to keep the costs very low, and we are able to hold multiple events in a year. We’re not trying to replace any of the other great Bay Area TEDx events; instead we add another dimension to TED in the Bay Area, and another way to participate and contribute to the greater TEDx and TED communities.

After this event we will publish our Playlist so that anybody can watch the same content at their convenience, alone or with others.

OTHER DETAILS:
We have a stress-free policy for our committee and our attendees. We keep the process of attending simple and casual. We ask that you plan to be an active participant at the event.

Free WiFi provided by TechShop San Jose.

TechShop San Jose
300 South 2nd Street
San Jose, California, 95113
United States