This Saturday, TEDxBoulder offers a mental break from the flood with its fourth event, “Fear and Loathing.” Seventeen speakers will discuss various topics related to the dark side of innovation, including game addiction, civil resistance and homophobia.
The event will also emphasize the strength of Boulder’s community in the aftermath of last week’s flood, according to the event program.
Take a mental break from the flood by attending TEDxBoulder tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Macky Auditorium. Seventeen speakers will discuss the dark side of innovation. (Photo Courtesy of Travis Percival)
Over 200 speakers applied to be a part of the event this year. Most applicants find out about the opportunity through word of mouth, but the TEDx team also reached out to people around town who would fit the event. The team doesn’t focus on well-known or experienced speakers but, instead, anyone who would make the event the best it can be.
“What we’ve found is that people that don’t have a lot of speaking experience put a lot more effort into it, and they usually deliver a really great performance,” George Morris, co-organizer of TEDxBoulder, said.
Morris said he was especially looking forward to Josh Stanley’s presentation at this year’s event. Stanley, who was recently featured on CNN, and his brothers found a way to remove THC from marijuana, allowing patients using medical marijuana to receive the therapeutic benefits without the psychedelic effects. Stanley used his findings to reduce the amount of seizures children with epilepsy had, including children in Colorado.
“I believe 20 to 25 of those children will be in attendance on Saturday,” Morris said.
In the past, the Boulder community has come together to pack TEDxBoulder, which usually sells out the day before the event. Morris said that this year the TEDx team was worried about turnout because of a conflicting event at Chautauqua featuring Ira Glass, the creator of “This American Life.”
“We actually thought we would lose a good chunk of audience to Chautauqua because that same night and time Ira Glass is presenting there, and Chautauqua holds about 1400 people,” Morris said. “But we’re probably going to have a sold out show.”
Morris said he feels the event’s typical audience is a good representation of Boulder.
“Boulder is definitely different,” said Morris. “This is a very active and engaged community.”
The event was nearly sold out on Friday. Morris says that not only does the size of the audience create an engaging experience for the event, it puts the event on the world stage.
“We put on one of the largest TEDxs in the world,” Morris said. “There’s about 4,000 TEDxs overall, and we’re usually in the top 10 in terms of our size.”
TEDxBoulder will present at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 in Macky Auditorium. Tickets range from $30 to $100, if there are any left.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Ainslee Mac Naughton at Ainslee.macnaughton@colorado.edu.
