TEDxNASA: Details Revealed

Keith, the reason 'normal' people haven't received invites (or even been able to register) to/for this event seems clear, according to the official Facebook page:

"We want an audience that is all about passion, laughter, beauty, brilliance, ingenuity, innovation, contribution, and, most importantly, ideas capable of changing the world."

TruSpeak: We invited everyone we thought was cool. If you think you are cool and rich enough (ie; hip) to skip work and travel on short notice, you can try to get tickets, starting on the 14th.

This is the 'Gen Y' (or 'the entitlement generation') doing what it does best. I'm not the least bit surprised at this.

-Greg

Any idea of who selected speakers for this event? TED has such a tremendous YouTube audience this could be extremely influential for an extended period -- not the typical crowd of combovers preaching to Trekkies.

"digerati at NASA all profess to be supportive of openness, being inclusive, and live blogging and webcasting...not allow agency resources to be used on events that only a certain, select few people can benefit from."

yet which taxpayers fund! Well said Keith

Techno-elitism at work. I guess they're too superior for the true involvement by the public. At least the tickets are free. Didn't people like this set up the League of Nations 90 years ago?

Elitists are elitist again, film at 11.

I am glad to see that you received some good feedback on the event and your questions have been answered. I believe that this event will be quite exciting, and I think that NASA/NIA are to be commended for "thinking outside of the box". This was a risky venture, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. This event will allow those in the Hampton Roads community to hear "ideas worth spreading" in the areas of Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and this would NOT have been possible if NASA/NIA had not taken a "step of faith". Kudos to NASA and the NIA!

"quantum physics
and bio-energetics practitioner Dr. Sue Morter."

Excuse me, but are they frickin' serious? From what I can tell, she is a chiropractic/self-help/quack.I hope the organizers don't take any of her advice on "self-help quantum physics" whatever that is. Here's a blurb about one of her radio appearances:

"Dr. Sue Morter has been speaking, teaching and training for the past 20 years both nationwide and abroad on the concepts of user-friendly Quantum Physics, Bio-Energetics, and their application to evolving Human Consciousness. She illuminates how old belief systems that were established early on in our lives often contribute to habits and dynamics that interfere with our lives today.
By understanding the relationship between human energy fields, our conscious thoughts, and our subconscious memory, audiences begin to see how change is a natural flow, a Universal Law, and an opening to freedom. She shows us how we self-sabotage but more importantly, how we can end this cycle and become again, who we really are.
Living the very ideas she speaks of, Dr. Sue has never taken an antibiotic for an illness of any kind. She shares this possibility with others in her Focused Care Treatment Programs which reveal the power of conscious self-healing."

I think I understand and agree with Keith's issue. It's not that TED is a techno-elite event for insiders and connected people only, this is understood. The issue is that a government agency, NASA, is sponsoring the event and therefore taxpayer dollars are certainly being spent on this event. NASA shouldn't be spending tax dollars on such an event. Oh, they certainly can have closed events, conferences and meetings for internal business and other things. But to put on such an event is a misuse of taxpayer funds. When NASA tries to be cool, they end up screwing things up.

I have to wonder if NASA is spending already scarce dollars on this and would be curious to know if speakers are being the the non-NASA and non-NIA speakers are being paid.

I am guessing this is part of the effort at LaRC to try and make NASA seem cool.

If so, cool technical accomplishments might be better.

Here is a list of speakers sent out recently to LaRC employees:

***************

Some of our speakers include:
celebrated author Mitch Allbom
neuroscientist Dr. Paul Aravich
experimental artist Chakaia Booker
creativity and innovation coach Greg Fraley
robotics inventor Dr. Dennis Hong
planetary and atmospheric scientist Dr. Joel Levine
astronaut Leland Melvin from the International Space Station
aerospace engineer Anna McGowan
quantum physics and bio-energetics practitioner Dr. Sue Morter
humorous guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn
space illustrator and designer Pat Rawlings
Oprah & Friends radio host John St. Augustine

If you have questions, contact Cheryl Cleghorn, Event Manager, at 757-864-2497 or by email at cheryl.w.cleghorn@nasa.gov.

Check out http://tedx-nasa.org in the coming days for the most up-to-date event information.

**************************

Some of these speakers, after some digging, seem a little marginal but I guess one could argue they are inspirational, etc.

One, however, that is totally not in line with NASA is Dr. Sue Morter.

Check out her web site:

http://www.mortersupplements.com/dr-ted-morter/dr-sue-morter.html

and related:

http://www.morter.com/

This is pseudo-science at best and nothing but a joke at worst. I can see it now. Dr. Sue Morter telling her patients and the world about how NASA called upon her to talk to them about her BEST health care method. New NASA Deputy Administrator is also supposed to attend (Speak?)

Check out

http://www.morter.com/what_is_best.php

for yourselves.

Who reviewed the speaker list???

Hopefully, someone objective and not connected to the organizers, etc. will attend this thing and post back as to what happened at this event.

yes I logged in to comment on these wackos too

who the hell are they???

THIS IS FUNNY!!! : )))) WHHHOO who could have thought this up!

"one of today’s messengers with tomorrow’s message. Her Intentional Living Seminar"
"America’s intrigue expert"
"For a NASA-commissioned memorial project, she disassembled a tire once used by the ill-fated space shuttle"
"will explore the behaviors that empower creativity, and discuss how to maximize your creative potential." [thanks, can't wait]
"The Math Lady from Outer Space"
“the universe between our ears.”
"Have a Little Faith, For One More Day,The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, and six other books on sports."
"He will use his astounding guitar creations, uproarious songs and presentation skills to encourage, challenge and inspire"
"will share his thoughts on how important it is to recognize the defining moments in life."
"helps individuals and businesses realize their full potential with less effort and more personal satisfaction."
"combines laughter, wisdom and her million-selling songs into an interactive experience that generates fun and positive action...‘psychotherapy you can dance to.’”
"multicultural children’s book, “Am I a Color Too?”"..."doesn’t believe in labeling people, especially as it relates to the color of one’s skin, and will be communicating her passion that, when we view others only by what is seen on the outside, we negate the true essence of our humanity."

ARE THEY INTERESTED IN SPACE?????

this is what the first wave of a civilization in decline looks like -- dilettantes with wishful thinking and forty year old platitudes.

if we need this kind of "outside voice" commentary on America's space program we could turn on The View or surf through psychotics on YouTube. This is ridiculous. Embarrassing.

Incredible that our "space program" has devolved to subsidizing this low brow crap. Someone needs to determine if NASA employees are taking vacation time for this freakin' nonsense or are actually paid for travel and participation in this negative IQ garbage

Maybe those who say we might as well do something easy like return to the moon before attempting Mars -- because undertaking a 30 year Mars settlement program will only result in 30 years of Power Points, or Tedx fruitcakery -- are right.

Only thing worse than these speakers will be the audience which shows up IN PERSON for FREE tickets. LOL Can't wait.

(Loretta being the exception...)

list of idiots:
http://www.tedx-nasa.org/speaker.html

someone needs to be FIRED IMMEDIATELY for this!

Agreed, NASA and NIA should be commended for bringing the TED experience to Hampton Roads. Tickets to a national or international TED event are impossible to get and VERY expensive, if you can access one.

If you check out the TEDTalks videos on iTunes or the TED.com website, you can see what an enormous opportunity we have for Hampton Roads to be noticed on a global stage. Who better to pull off this regional event than NASA and NIA.

Also, if you're a fan of TED as I am, then you know that not all of the talks are of "rocket science" caliber. TEDTalks represent all that life on Earth, beyond, below and within, has to offer.

I'm live-blogging from the event (no affiliation, got my ticket the same way you can, via their website) and hope to be inspired by what's going on in Hampton Roads as much as, if not more than, a presenter from elsewhere. We have a lot to offer here, and TEDxNASA will help put the focus on Hampton Roads on Friday, November 20!

What little bit of money has been put into this event will be well worth it and paid back in spades in innovative ideas and connections. Thanks NASA and NIA!

Gotta chime in here again. I teach, among other things, science courses for non-science majors .... in many cases it's the only science class that a student will have in college, and I spend a lot of time on what distinguishes science from pseudo-science. It drives me nuts that an event that is at least by appearance NASA-sponsored has participants with such questionable pseudo-scientific backgrounds. This one particularly bugs me. It is classic: throw in a bunch of scientific jargon to prove your ideas have some cred by analogy. This at the same time that NASA is working hard to debunk the 2012 nonsense. Shameful.