#constructiveinterference

T

Do you clear your schedule every year to livestream the WWDC? Does an evening of freeing up your RAM sound like your perfect Friday night? Do you use carbon fiber thread to tie your shoes? In the event of a fire, would you have difficulty deciding between saving your 3D printer or your Google Glass? Did you know the term Constructive Interference before hearing about this year’s theme?

Technology refers to all of these things, and so much more. It can be as simple as wondering what crazy inventions could continue to shape our world.  Maybe you read ‘Technology’ and think instead about those chimps and their termite sticks.  Or do you identify with the T because you’re the person that your family calls every time someone’s computer crashes? Technology is constantly growing more prevalent in our lives, and there are endless ways to interface with it. So, are you a T?

E

Are you someone who sings loudly in dorm showers a la Glee? Are Louie and Carlin your philosophical north stars? Did you first see Gangnam Style before it hit 10,000 views? Are you deciding between UCB and The Second City as the next step on the way to your inevitable Lorne meeting? Do you dream of the day when you can finally launch your self-named dance company? Did you spend more of your childhood hanging out backstage than you did in your backyard?

Entertainment takes many forms, and goes well beyond what immediately comes to mind. You don’t have to see your name in the program to be an entertainer.  Maybe you worked out your stand-up material as class clown in high school.  Or it could be that landing that solo in orchestra inspired you to audition for a concerto. Whether in Lincoln Center or in your parents’ living room, you’ll give 110% to the performance just the same.  If you love to amuse, to entrance, or to inspire in any setting, then maybe you count yourself an entertainer, too.

D

Are you a self-proclaimed design enthusiast? Does the rampant misuse of the word “font” make you want to cry? (It’s technically “typeface,” in case you were wondering!) Is arranging your food/homework/clothes/life in visually appealing ways so you can instagram it your raison d'être? Do Mies van der Rohe and/or Frank Stella mean anything to you? Do you have strong opinions on Gotham v. Helvetica? Do you frequent creativebloq?

Even if none of these things apply to you, there are endless ways you can utilize and identify with art and design. Maybe you are an architect, an urban designer, a painter, a sculptor. Maybe you enjoy going to museums or downloading artistic desktops. Design can be expressed in myriad ways, from the purely aesthetic to the strictly utilitarian. You can work across disciplines to create endless solutions to problems. While 2 + 2 pretty much always equals 4, two people painting with blue paint and green paint will essentially never yield the same result, and that’s pretty exciting.

x

We know that TED could not have encompassed everyone in their simple acronym. If you’d like create your own definition, x can be anything you want it to be. Perhaps x=biological sciences, x=contribution, x=faith. X speaks to your values, yourself, your experience.