13 September 2010
Events - General (Good)
Anousheh Ansari and Lori Garver in NYC, Sept. 14
TEDx lecture series about space, starting this month
by Carol Pinchefsky
The TED Conference lecture series includes anecdotes and stories from the movers and shakers of the world, such as Richard Branson and Benoit Mandelbrot, as well as other people with tales to tell. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, but TED has come to mean “ideas worth spreading.”

The TED series is so popular that it has branched into smaller lectures organized on a community level, called TEDx, some of which have less general, more specific topics.

Like space.

September 14th’s event TEDx event in New York City, called TEDxMidtownNY, is proudly presenting Anousheh Ansari, the world’s fourth spaceflight participant to the International Space Station ( ISS) and sponsor of the eponymously named Ansari X-Prize, as well as Lori Garver, the deputy administrator of NASA. TED speakers have eighteen minutes or less to share the ideas that inspired them and led them to their success.

To hold TED lecture series on space is a genius move on the part of the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF), who are sponsoring this and future TEDxMidtownNY events. To paraphrase, TED believes that an idea is free yet can change a person’s view of the world and alter his/her behavior. Space advocates like the SFF believe that hearing about space and space tourism from its most accomplished proponents can only inspire listeners to think about it themselves. These ideas can create a revolution.

According to the TEDxMidtownNY press release, “The evening will also feature videos by Carolyn Porco, an expert on on the exploration of the outer solar system and planetary scientist in charge of the Cassini Mission and Steve Truglia who is preparing to break the record for extreme-high-altitude parachute jump, from a balloon at 120,000 feet.”

The event will be held at the Explorers Club, 46 E. 70th Street, NY, NY 10021, and tickets cost $20. The doors open at 6 pm, and the event starts at 7pm. The Space Frontier Foundation asks that you reserve your seat ahead of time here.

Come to the Explorer’s Club to listen about space from people who merely want to go to space—listen to people who have “been there” and are “doing that.”

For more information, see the TEDxMidtownNY website.
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Carol Pinchefsky 13 September 2010
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