On Saturday, a few of us FLUID colleagues got up bright and early, excited to attend the TEDxTalk at the Technical University Munich (TUM). The title of the event „Conscious Reflection“ resonated with us and naturally drew us to the event.
The day was divided into three parts: the first one related to "Conscious Transformation", with a diverse range of speakers talking about how they are making an impact by addressing socially relevant issues that exist today. The topics ranged from understanding how to collect data in order to enable us to create more sustainable urban environments, to dealing with waste management in developing countries and questioning how we consume power today.
The second part gave us insightful information related to "Conscious Creation". The speakers here came from varied backgrounds which resulted in a lot of diversity in the nature of the talks. We heard about how we should rethink the manufacturing process to simulate nature. A talk by a biologist on understanding muscles and the way they bah has made us look at house flies in a whole new way.
One of the talks that impressed us deeply was given by Ralph Ammer, who stood out with his beautiful and poetic presentation addressing the value of visual thinking. This talk especially stuck with all of us as the content reflected a lot of what we do as well on a daily basis. The beauty of his illustrations and the simplicity in the message made it all the more memorable.
The last part was about "Creating Conscious Communities", with talks that made us think about commuting in the future and why our brain sometimes behaves and makes strange decisions ???? , followed by a violin player who focuses on blurring boundaries across music styles. The last talk of the evening emphasized the importance of breaking mental barriers associated with disability as a first step to creating a more universally accessible environment.
It was a great Saturday well spent: a day full of inspiring, interesting thoughts and topics for discussion and also a tap-dance class trial voucher that we are looking forward to using in the near future!
