Friday, May 22, 2020

Machiavelli Essay - 953 Words

The Prince MAJOR THEME Machiavelli had a true and abiding love for Florence. He wanted to make Florence great and also find himself a job, as he lost his when the Medici family came into power. He dedicated his book on political science, The Prince, to Lorenzo Medici in the hopes that Lorenzo would be impressed and offer him a job. However, Lorenzo ignored the book and Machiavelli. The Prince is a didactic examination of political power, how to achieve it, maintain it, and expand it. Machiavelli does not take into consideration what is morally right, or amoral, only what is useful and useless. The book is more like a technical manual, and technical manuals only state the facts. The book defines what turns a mere man into a great†¦show more content†¦As Isiah Berlin says in his essay, Machiavelli admired these heroes because they were high-minded, tough, and tough enough to use brutality against the few, to help the public good of the princedom. He especially admired Moses because he was worthy to talk to God. Moses had the opportunity to create a new civilization with the Israelites because they were being treated badly by the Pharoah. Therefore, Moses took advantage of their discontent with their new master and led them in a revolt. Eventually creating a new civilization. Machiavelli admired Moses because of his strength of character that carried him through the difficult trouble of gaining power. 3. Discuss Machiavelliamp;#8217;s opinions on the uses of cruelty to accomplish certain goals. The Prince is about the ways to achieve political power, with no preference for the way in which it is achieved. Machiavelli does not advocate unnecessary cruelty. His book is only about how to obtain and keep a princedom. Machiavelli believes that cruelty is sometimes necessary to aquire or/and keep political power. Machiavelli recognized that in the time he lived a political ruler would have to use cruelty, he writes, amp;#8220;The new prince, above all princes, cannot possibly avoid the name of cruelty;. He also states in Chapter VIII that cruelty may be useful sometimes in achieving certain ends, but it would bring no glory. 1. What doesShow MoreRelated Machiavelli Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pages quot;The term Machiavellian refers to someone who is unscrupulous, cunning, cynical, and unprincipledquot;(Goods 1998). Many scholars agree that this particular adjective would have dismayed Niccolo Machiavelli, the man from whom the term is derived. In reality he has been attributed as being one of the brightest lights of the Italian Renaissance through his works as not only a writer, but also as an influential philosopher of history and political thought. His most famous work The Prince hasRead MoreThe Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince2348 Words   |  10 PagesI have always found great interest in the infamous Niccolo Machiavelli and his ways of thinking; my eye was drawn to him long before I knew I would be studying at Colorado State and even before I had any interest in politics. It was from young man know as Tupac Shakur, and let me tell you it is great to finally understand who Machiavelli is and the things he has done for the outlook on politics after hearing about how much respect and praise he got from the iconic rapper of the 1990s. In this paperRead MorePrinciples Of Machiavelli1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn the 16th century Niccolo Machiavelli presented Lorenzo de Medici with his most prized possession, â€Å"The Prince†. At this time, it was custom to present the prince with your most prized possession, in order to gain their friendship. Machiavelli spent much time studying past rulers and wrote â€Å"The Prince† in which he describes how one acquires and maintains power. At the time, The Prince was not well accepted as it went perceived to go against the Catholic Church. However, today the prince has beenRead MoreMachiavelli as a Humanist1886 Words   |  8 Pageswho is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans. Niccolo’ Machiavelli can be thought of as a humanist. Although opinions on this differ greatly depending on whom you speak with. Machiavelli’s life consists of so many examples and lessons that he has learned throughout his life. Through my paper, I intend to examine his perception of morality based on his political writings and life experiences. Niccolo’ Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 and died in 1527. Although we do not knowRead MoreAnalysis Of Machiavelli774 Words   |  4 PagesChasity L Wireman Dr. Michael A. Lazarus HIS 102-W1: Western Civilization II 10/25/2017 There are many reasons why Machiavelli is widely considered the beginner of modern political thought, one of the many is he studied strictly the politicians, and businessmen. Machiavelli recognized the political playing field as a vile place only for the most dominating and cunning of political giants. One of Machiavelli’s most famous work, On Principalities, or known by the other title, The PrinceRead More Machiavelli Essay1438 Words   |  6 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the great political minds of the 15th century, accomplished what many mathematicians today only dream of, having one’s name used as an adjective. To be Machiavellian is to demonstrate characteristics of expediency, deceit, and cunning and as Machiavelli wrote in, The Prince, these are the qualities of a great leader. The Prince was published in 1531, creating great controversy with other political thinkers of the time. Machiavelli completely ignored theRead MoreThe Relat ionship Between Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince1075 Words   |  5 Pagesand turmoil, philosophers are able to give their critiques on government and human nature as a whole. Socrates and Machiavelli, both philosophers in what it means to be a proper leader and the role of the people within a society, share contrasting views. Machiavelli, alive during the time of great political turmoil in Italy, is immortalized through his writings in The Prince. Machiavelli was able to use what the political shortcomings he witnesses during his time period as a guide to deciphering theRead MoreThe Prince, By Machiavelli1517 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Prince, Machiavelli doesn’t hesitate to recommend that a ruler employ conventionally immoral methods against his own subjects to maintain authority over them, but he does imply that whatever a ruler does should ultimately benefit the community. A Prince’s actions may be cruel, manipulative, or otherwise immoral, but they put him in the position to govern. On occasion, Machiavelli even suggests that gaining power through immoral acts is the best way to improve a community because immoralityRead MoreThe Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli1472 Words   |  6 PagesPrince by: Niccolo Machiavelli really tries and is successful at dividing politics and ethics to decipher the characteristics of a good and bad political/government ruling leader in this novel. In this reading, I seen 5 points that Machiavelli talked about, and those were: Free Will, Being Hated vs Goodwill, Virtue, A Good Military, and finally Human Nature. These are a necessity to the recipe that Machiavelli is making in this book. In the first few chapters of the book, Machiavelli begins to talkRead More Machiavelli And Plato Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pages Niccolio Machiavelli (Born May 3rd, 1469 amp;#8211; 1527 Florence, Italy.) His writings have been the source of dispute amongst scholars due to the ambiguity of his analogy of the amp;#8216;Nature of Politics; and the implication of morality. The Prince, has been criticised due to itamp;#8217;s seemingly amoral political suggestiveness, however after further scrutiny of other works such as The Discourses, one can argue that it was Machiavelliamp;#8217;s intention to infact imply a positive

Friday, May 8, 2020

Leadership Communication and Generation Essay - 1110 Words

Leadership Communication Communication is an essential part in a leaders daily work life, and without it, effective leadership does not exist. However, it is possible to be able to communicate without having to lead. These interactions can consist of transmitting communication through messages, pictures via email or text messages. For most humans it comes natural to interact through communication and shared symbols. Leaders can face barriers of communication, but finding new methods or tools that work appropriately in order to transmit their information is a crucial factor. The Way a Leader Communicates The way a leader communicates is not dependent from his or her age/generation. The classification of generations are chart by their birth†¦show more content†¦My leadership style has flourished by my hard work in hopes to leave an imprint and a legacy for my children. Unlike the past generations that were work obsessed, I have learned to be patient and empathetic. My empathetic leadership may be my flaw but for now, this has worked for me in the health care field. My primarily focus in my communication style is based on listening first and then thinking before I speak in order to give an appropriate answer or solution. My generation finds it easy to value change and innovation. For me, being a leader is not about delegating work but about coaching, teaching, and mentoring subordinates. It brings me joy to see one of my subordinates develop new skills and become promotable, due to my help in training him/her. I believe this is due to being an empathetic leader since another l eader took a chance in my earlier years, and ingrained in me that I too could be a leader someday with his coaching. My formal written communication style may not currently be up to par with my verbal communication. However, it is something that I am currently working on. For example, it takes me twice as long to write a formal email compared to an informal email. This is because I know the informal recipient. Not knowing my recipient personally is what affects the trust in my writing. This hesitation comes with doubt, writer’s block, stress, and worry. Once, I overcome myShow MoreRelatedLeadership and Communication: How Each Generation Communicates906 Words   |  4 PagesLeadership and Communication A leader’s age and generation plays a significant role in the way they communicate. When different generations come together they bring with them their own worldviews and expectations. An effective leader is able to step out of their generational preferences and customize the way they communicate to the other generations. By effectively addressing and taking advantage of those unique generational differences they can bridge the generations together to create a collaborativeRead MoreRole of Technology and the Information Age in Contemporary Leadership Communication884 Words   |  4 Pagesor her age/generation. I fully agree with this statement. In this paper, I evaluate the truth in this statement (with proof) by first describing the characteristics of my generation in regard to leadership and communication. I do this by using specific examples and reasons. Also evaluated is whether technology and the Information Age play a role in how leaders today communicate. The paper al so investigates if there are basic communication skills that are needed and used in all generations of leadershipRead MoreEngaging Others With Leadership. The Healthcare System1551 Words   |  7 PagesEngaging Others with Leadership The healthcare system includes multiple individuals with unique leadership skills to improve the quality of care for the patients. Leadership can be defined as identifying a goal to motivate others to act a certain way and provide support (Daly, Jackson. Rumsey, Patterson, Davidson, 2015). Nursing leadership combines both personal traits and theories that depend on the personality of the leader (Scully, 2015). A positive outcome from nursing leadership is that it canRead MoreThe Common Goals Of Nurses Essay1377 Words   |  6 Pagesworkforce needs to work in unity to build an organized team. A team is important and a nurse needs to practice leadership to facilitate team processes, job satisfaction and work performance to accomplish clinical objectives of the organization. Multiple Generations Nursing workforce consists of the 4 generations, which are the Traditionalist, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Each generation has it own distinctive personality, beliefs, values and perceptions towards work. Knowledge and technologiesRead MoreHistory Of Participatory Management ( Rau Foster, 2017 )1533 Words   |  7 Pagesrun. Below is a list is common characteristics of the Baby Boomers leadership styles: †¢ Democratic †¢ Believed in chain of command †¢ Goal oriented †¢ Create stability †¢ Respect Loyalty Generation X Generation X (1965-1980) are taking hold in the workforce today (Schullery, 2013, p.235). The current age range for this generation is 28-43. This generation is known for Watergate, the energy crisis, end of the Cold War and Y2K. Generation X have many core values they adhere by. Some of those values includeRead MoreThe Generational Shift in Communication Essay1132 Words   |  5 PagesI believe that one’s age and generation do not affect their leadership style nearly as much as there life experience, motivation, and knowledge. A leader can be successful at any age, if they are willing and eager to constantly adapt their communication styles to accommodate their followers’ needs. However, within each generation there are different values and management styles and if an individual resists adapting to newer methods and neglects to embrace change they will not be a successful leaderRead MoreWorkplace Diversity: Communication between Management and Employees1517 Words à ‚  |  7 PagesWorkplace Diversity: Communication between Management and Employees Workplace challenges come in many forms. One of those challenges is communication, whether verbal or nonverbal, between co-workers or between management and employees. Businesses currently are being affected by communication issues that are hindering production, satisfaction, and employee retention (Salahuddin, 2010). Communication is a vital key to effective and good management. Face-to-face communication is always the bestRead MoreLeadership and Communication Across Generational Lines Essay example1016 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent generations working together it is clear that each group has their own preference for communication. Throughout the context of this paper I will explore the generational differences, and describe the characteristics of my generation with regard to leadership and communication styles. I will also describe how technology and the information age play a role in how leaders communicate. Finally, I will identify basic communication skills that are needed and used in generational leadership. DoRead MoreThe Timeless Quality of the Foundations of Excellent Leadership1177 Words   |  5 PagesFoundations of Excellent Leadership Are Timeless Introduction It is often said that a manager is what one does and leader is who one is. This is especially the case during times of turbulent economic, social and political change. In the debate of whether the effectiveness of a leaders communication skills is dependent on their age or generation, one must take into account one of the most critical skills in any leaders skill set, and that is emotional intelligence (EI) (Avolio, Yammarino, 2002)Read MoreAuthentic Leadership for Age Diversity800 Words   |  4 PagesAuthentic Leadership for Age Diversity In the article â€Å"Bridging the Gap Between Gen X and Gen Y: Lessons From Authentic Leadership,† the authors highlight the issues of age diversity with a specific focus on issues between Generation X and Generation Y in the United States. They state that there are several attitudes, preferences, and characteristics that define each generation and create a fertile ground for organizational conflict. They argue that the solution for leaders with age diversity dilemmas

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

School Kills Creativity †Ken Robinson Free Essays

1. I agree with this statement, my explanation is that everybody got an education since they was born. First, you have to define the word â€Å"education†. We will write a custom essay sample on School Kills Creativity – Ken Robinson or any similar topic only for you Order Now In my opinion education is same as imitation because everyone learns by imitate from what people have done. Students learn mathematic by the method that ancient people made, baby or kids learn everything from what they have seen. You can see that when we were young, we imitated the way we speak from our parents, and we drew the picture from what we see. In that time, we enjoyed that moment. So, we can say that education is in our instinct. 2. 3. What he say happen to us because we have been taught to live in the same pattern, we have to do something in the same way, we have to do something in the same pattern, to make mistake is prohibited. If you learn from history, many things come from the mistaken; Alfred Nobel found Dynamite when he tries to make other thing. Another reason why I agree with his word is that we’re all taught by the same way, so after graduated, we’ll be something like a textbook that you can find it easily. Creativity is the thing that can’t be taught. It has in everyone but education system obstruct it. School kills creativity – Ken Robinson In his speech at the TED conference in February 2006, Sir Ken Robinson claims for a reformation of the current creativity retarding worldwide education system. His point of departure is that children are born with huge talents, wasted by the contemporary education system. While children are not afraid of being wrong, school and the ecological system eliminate this attitude. Read also  How Powerful Do You Find Atticus Finch’s Closing Speech? Robinson thinks that this, making mistakes, is the only way to develop new ideas, although getting on in life means not making mistakes. People, especially children, should have more space to be wrong, accordingly to possibilities of creating something new. Being developed in the 19th century, the education system is focused on providing the requirements for a job in the industry and academic ability. The orator points out that the hierarchy of subjects around the world is the same: first comes math and languages, followed by humanities and concluded by the arts, especially usic and art, after that drama and dance. In Robinson’s opinion this is the right order of priorities for a scientific career, but not for people of the future which have to solute the world problems in a more creative way. Talented people do not get the sense of achievement, because things they are good at are not valued at school; hence, their high creative potentials are wasted. Furthermore Sir Ken Robin son mentions an â€Å"academic inflation† around the world, since conditions for job entrance referring to one’s academic degree are raised. Intelligence is diversely based on visual, tonal, kinesthetically, dynamic and abstract influences as a result it is the interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things. That is why the whole body has to be educated to use the whole spectrum of human capacity. Therefore fundamental principles of the education system have to be changed in order to send the next generation into a better future. In my personal experience, around two years ago when I was in high school, I lost all of my confidence and didn’t know what I have to do. My score were lower than other students in the class. The teachers used to ignore me and treated me as a troublemaker. After finishing some internship in America, I’ve realized that I was not that kind. People who I had met in America, especially my boss and my co-worker, encourage me to do what I really want to do. And finally I have a confidence that I can do everything if I want to. Good morning. How are you? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve been blown away by the whole thing. In fact, I’m leaving. (Laughter)  There have been three themes, haven’t there,  running through the conference, which are relevant  to what I want to talk about. One is the extraordinary evidence of human creativity  in all of the presentations that we’ve had  and in all of the people here. Just the variety of it  and the range of it. The second is that  it’s put us in a place where we have no idea what’s going to happen,  idea how I have an interest in education —  actually, what I find is everybody has an interest in education. Don’t you? I find this very interesting. say you  actually, you’re not often at dinner parties, frankly, if you work in education. (Laughter) You’re not asked. And you’re never asked back, curiously. That’s strange to me. But if you are, and you say to somebody,  you know, they say, â€Å"What do you do? †Ã‚  and you say you work in education,  you can see the blood run from their face. They’re like,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh my God,† you know, â€Å"Why me? My one night out all week. † (Laughter)  But if you ask about their education,  they pin you to the wall. Because it’s one of those things  that goes deep with people, am I right? Like religion, and money and other things. I have a big interest in education, and I think we all do. We have a huge vested interest in it,  partly because it’s education that’s meant to  take us into this future that we can’t grasp. If you think of it, children starting school this year  will be retiring in 2065. Nobody has a clue –despite all the expertise that’s been on parade for the past four days —  what the world will look like  in five years’ time. And yet we’re meant  to be educating them for it. So the unpredictability, I think,  is extraordinary. And the third part of this is that  we’ve all agreed, nonetheless, on the  really extraordinary capacities that children have —  their capacities for innovation. I mean, Sirena last night was a marvel,  wasn’t she? Just seeing what she could do. And she’s exceptional, but I think she’s not, so to speak,  exceptional in the whole of childhood. What you have there is a person of extraordinary dedication  who found a talent. And my contention is,  all kids have tremendous talents. And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly. So I want to talk about education and  I want to talk about creativity. My contention is that  creativity now is as important in education as literacy,  and we should treat it with the same status. (Applause) Thank you. That was it, by the way. left. Well I heard a great story recently — I love telling it —  of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson. She was six  and she was at the back, drawing,  and the teacher said this little girl hardly ever  paid attention, and in this drawing lesson she did. The teacher was fascinated and she went over to her  and she said, â€Å"What are you drawing? †Ã‚  And the girl said, â€Å"I’m drawing a picture of God. †Ã‚  And the teacher said, â€Å"But nobody knows what God looks like. †Ã‚  And the girl said, â€Å"They will in a minute. †Ã‚  (Laughter) When my son was four in England —  actually he was four everywhere, to be honest. Laughter)  If we’re being strict about it, wherever he went, he was four that year. He was in the Nativity play. Do you remember the story? No, it was big. It was a big story. Mel Gibson did the sequel. You may have seen it: â€Å"Nativity II. † But James got the part of Joseph,  which we were thrilled about. We considered this to be one of the lead parts. We had the place crammed full of agents in T-shirts:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"James Robinson IS Joseph! † (Laughter)He didn’t have to speak, but you know the bit  where the three kings come in. They come in bearing gifts,  and they bring gold, frankincense and myrhh. This really happened. We were sitting there  and I think they just went out of sequence,  because we talked to the little boy afterward and we said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"You OK with that? † And he said, â€Å"Yeah, why? Was that wrong? â€Å"They just switched, that was it. Anyway, the three boys came in —  four-year-olds with tea towels on their heads —  and they put these boxes down,  and the first boy said, â€Å"I bring you gold. †Ã‚  And the second boy said, â€Å"I bring you myrhh. †Ã‚  And the third boy said, â€Å"Frank sent this. † (Laughter) What these things have in common is that kids will take a chance. If they don’t know, they’ll have a go. Am I right? They’re not frightened of being wrong. Now, I don’t mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative. What we do know is,  if you’re not prepared to be wrong,  you’ll never come up with anything original —  if you’re not prepared to be wrong. And by the time they get to be adults,  most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong. way. We  where mistakes  And the result is that we are educating people out of  their creative capacities. Picasso once said this —  he said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately,  that we don’t grow into creativity,  we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it. So why is this? I lived in Stratford-on-Avon until about five years ago. In fact, we moved from Stratford to Los Angeles. So you can imagine what a seamless transition that was. Actually, we  just outside Stratford, which is where  Shakespeare’s father was born. Are you struck by a new thought? I was. You don’t think of Shakespeare having a father, do you? Do you? Because you don’t think of  Shakespeare being a child, do you? Shakespeare being seven? I never thought of it. I mean, he was  seven at some point. He was in  somebody’s English class, wasn’t he? How annoying would that be? (Laughter) â€Å"Must try harder. † Being sent to bed by his dad, you know,  to Shakespeare, â€Å"Go to bed, now,†Ã‚  to William Shakespeare, â€Å"and put the pencil down. And stop speaking like that. It’s confusing everybody. †Ã‚  (Laughter) Anyway, we moved from Stratford to Los Angeles,  and I just want to say a word about the transition, actually. My son didn’t want to come. I’ve got two kids. He’s 21 now; my daughter’s 16. He didn’t want to come to Los Angeles. He loved it,  but he had a girlfriend in England. This was the love of his life, Sarah. He’d known her for a month. Mind you, they’d had their fourth anniversary,  because it’s a long time when you’re 16. Anyway, he was really upset on the plane,  and he said, â€Å"I’ll never find another girl like Sarah. †Ã‚  And we were rather pleased about that, frankly,  because she was the main reason we were leaving the country. (Laughter) But something strikes you when you move to America  and when you travel around the world:  Every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects. Every one. Doesn’t matter where you go. You’d think it would be otherwise, but it isn’t. At the top are mathematics and languages,  then the humanities, and the bottom are the arts. Everywhere on Earth. And in pretty much every system too,  there’s a hierarchy within the arts. Art and music are normally given a higher status in schools  than drama and dance. There isn’t an education system on the planet  that teaches dance everyday to children  the way we teach them mathematics. Why? Why not? I think this is rather important. I think math is very important, but so is dance. Children dance all the time if they’re allowed to, we all do. We all have bodies, don’t we? Did I miss a meeting? Laughter) Truthfully, what happens is,  as children grow up, we start to educate them  progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads. And slightly to one side. If you were to visit education, as an alien,  and say â€Å"What’s it for, public education? †Ã‚  I think you’d have to conclude — if you lo ok at the output,  who really succeeds by this,  who does everything that they should,  who gets all the brownie points, who are the winners —  I think you’d have to conclude the whole purpose of public education  throughout the world  is to produce university professors. Isn’t it? They’re the people who come out the top. And I used to be one, so there. (Laughter)  And I like university professors, but you know,  we shouldn’t hold them up as the high-water mark of all human achievement. life, another  them. There’s  not all of them, but typically — they live in their heads. They live up there, and slightly to one side. They’re disembodied, you know, in a kind of literal way. They look upon their body  as a form of transport for their heads, don’t they? meetings. If  by the way, get yourself along to a residential conference  of senior academics,  and pop into the discotheque on the final night. Laughter) And there you will see it — grown men and women  writhing uncontrollably, off the beat,  waiting until it ends so they can go home and write a paper about it. Now our education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability. And there’s a reason. The whole system was invented â₠¬â€ around the world, there were  no public systems of education, really, before the 19th century. They all came into being  to meet the needs of industrialism. So the hierarchy is rooted on two ideas. Number one, that the most useful subjects for work  are at the top. So you were probably steered benignly away  from things at school when you were a kid, things you liked,  on the grounds that you would  never get a job doing that. Is that right? Don’t do music, you’re not going to be a musician;  don’t do art, you won’t be an artist. Benign advice — now, profoundly mistaken. The whole world  is engulfed in a revolution. And the second is academic ability, which has really come to dominate  our view of intelligence,  because the universities designed the system in their image. If you think of it, the whole system  of public education around the world is a protracted process  of university entrance. And the consequence is that many highly talented,  brilliant, creative people think they’re not,  because the thing they were good at school  wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can’t afford to go on that way. In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO,  graduating through  combination of  technology and its transformation effect on work, and demography  and the huge explosion in population. Suddenly, degrees aren’t worth anything. Isn’t that true? When I was a student, if you had a degree, you had a job. If you didn’t have a job it’s because you didn’t want one. And I didn’t want one, frankly. (Laughter)  But now kids with degrees are often  heading home to carry on playing video games,  because you need an MA where the previous job required a BA,  other. It’s  And it indicates the whole structure of education  is shifting beneath our feet. We need to radically rethink  our view of intelligence. We know three things about intelligence. One, it’s diverse. We think about the world in all the ways  that we experience it. We think visually,  we think in sound, we think kinesthetically. We think in abstract terms, we think in movement. Secondly, intelligence is dynamic. If you look at the interactions of a human brain, as we heard  yesterday from a number of presentations,  intelligence is wonderfully interactive. The brain isn’t divided into compartments. In fact, creativity — which I define as the process  of having original ideas that have value —  more often than not comes about through the interaction  of different disciplinary ways of seeing things. The brain is intentionally — by the way,  there’s a shaft of nerves that joins the two halves of the brain  called the corpus callosum. It’s thicker in women. Following off from Helen yesterday, I think  this is probably why women are better at multi-tasking. Because you are, aren’t you? There’s a raft of research, but I know it from my personal life. If my wife is cooking a meal at home —  which is not often, thankfully. (Laughter)  But you know, she’s doing — no, she’s good at some things —  but if she’s cooking, you know,  she’s dealing with people on the phone,  she’s talking to the kids, she’s painting the ceiling,  she’s doing open-heart surgery over here. If I’m cooking, the door is shut, the kids are out,  the phone’s on the hook, if she comes in I get annoyed. I say, â€Å"Terry, please, I’m trying to fry an egg in here. Give me a break. † (Laughter)  Actually, you know that old philosophical thing,  if a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it,  did it happen? Remember that old chestnut? I saw a great t-shirt really recently which said, â€Å"If a man speaks his mind  in a forest, and no woman hears him,  is he still wrong? † (Laughter) And the third thing about intelligence is,  it’s distinct. I’m doing a new book at the momentcalled â€Å"Epiphany,† which is based on a series of  interviews with people about how they discovered  their talent. I’m fascinated by how people got to be there. It’s really prompted by a conversation I had  with a wonderful woman who maybe most people  have never heard of; she’s called Gillian Lynne —  have you heard of her? Some have. She’s a choreographer  and everybody knows her work. She did â€Å"Cats† and â€Å"Phantom of the Opera. †Ã‚  She’s wonderful. I used to be on the board of the Royal Ballet in England,  as you can see. Anyway, Gillian and I had lunch one day and I said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Gillian, how’d you get to be a dancer? † And she said  it was interesting; when she was at school,  she was really hopeless. And the school, in the ’30s,  wrote to her parents and said, â€Å"We think  Gillian has a learning disorder. † She couldn’t concentrate;  she was fidgeting. I think now they’d say  she had ADHD. Wouldn’t you? But this was the 1930s,  and ADHD hadn’t been invented at this point. It wasn’t an available condition. (Laughter)  People weren’t aware they could have that. Anyway, she went to see this specialist. So, this oak-paneled room,  and she was there with her mother,  and she was led and sat on this chair at the end,  and she sat on her hands for 20 minutes while  this man talked to her mother about all  the problems Gillian was having at school. And at the end of it —  because she was disturbing people;  her homework was always late; and so on,  little kid of eight — in the end, the doctor went and sat  next to Gillian and said, â€Å"Gillian,  I’ve listened to all these things that your mother’s  told me, and I need to speak to her privately. †Ã‚  He said, â€Å"Wait here. We’ll be back; we won’t be very long,†Ã‚  and they went and left her. But as they went out the room, he turned on the radio  that was sitting on his desk. And when they  got out the room, he said to her mother,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Just stand and watch her. † And the minute they left the room,  she said, she was on her feet, moving to the music. And they watched for a few minutes  and he turned to her mother and said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn’t sick; she’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school. † I said, â€Å"What happened? †Ã‚  She said, â€Å"She did. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was. We walked in this room and it was full of  people like me. People who couldn’t sit still. People who had to move to think. † Who had to move to think. They did ballet; they did tap; they did jazz;  they did modern; they did contemporary. She was eventually auditioned for the Royal Ballet School;  she became a soloist; she had a wonderful career  at the Royal Ballet. She eventually graduated  from the Royal Ballet School and  founded her own company — the Gillian Lynne Dance Company —  met Andrew Lloyd Weber. She’s been responsible forsome of the most successful musical theater  productions in history; she’s given pleasure to millions;  and she’s a multi-millionaire. Somebody else  might have put her on medication and told her  to calm down. Now, I think †¦ (Applause) What I think it comes to is this:  Al Gore spoke the other nightabout ecology and the revolution that was triggered by Rachel Carson. I believe our only hope for the future  is to adopt a new conception of human ecology,  one in which we start to reconstitute our conception  of the richness of human capacity. Our education system has mined our minds in the way  that we strip-mine the earth: for a particular commodity. And for the future, it won’t serve us. We have to rethink the fundamental principles  on which we’re educating our children. There was  a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, â€Å"If all the insects  were to disappear from the earth,  within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth,  within 50 years all forms of life would flourish. â€Å"And he’s right. What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination. We have to be careful now that we use this gift  wisely and that we avert some of the scenarios  that we’ve talked about. And the only way  we’ll do it is by seeing our creative capacities  for the richness they are and seeing  our children for the hope that they are. And our task  is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future. By the way — we may not see this future,  but they will. And our job is to help  them make something of it. Thank you very much. How to cite School Kills Creativity – Ken Robinson, Papers