What Fear Can Teach Us
Karen Thompson Walker is a novelist who is somewhat famous for her 2012 book The Age of Miracles, a young girl and her family awake one morning to discover that the rotation of the Earth has suddenly slowed down, stretching the length of the 24-hour day and throwing the natural world into apart. It's a big, speculative book, but it's a simple human drama, told through the eyes of an adolescent girl. Karen was a former book editor at Simon & Schuster, and she worked on the novel for three years, an hour each morning before work. Since then, the bestselling, much-awarded book has been translated into 29 languages. Her ted talk that I analyzed What Fear Can Teach US filmed in June 2012 explores the connection between fear and the imagination. In her speech she commonly relates fear back to the famous tale about Moby Dick where the attacked sailors had a choice between which route they would take to escape their near death interaction.
Karen's key argument was that people think that fear is all negative and its recurring fate that will never leave you in your life. As they grow up, they are often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness. She believes that it's no accident that people think this way. Neuroscientists have shown that human beings are hard-wired to be optimists. What caught my eye was when Karen preached, "In English, fear is something we conquer. It's something we fight. It's something we overcome". For some humans this statement is true and at the end they do overcome their fear ,but with others it will linger with them the rest of their lives. Some of us she said naturally read our fears more closely than others. Walker had read about a study recently of successful entrepreneurs, and the author found that these people shared a habit that he called "productive paranoia," which meant that these people, instead of dismissing their fears, these people read them closely, they studied them, and then they translated that fear into preparation and action. So that way, if their worst fears came true, their businesses were ready. So for instance these people read their fears in "English" and instead of worrying about them they fought them head on. The last point Walker hit was sometimes, peoples worst fears do come true. That's one of the things that is so extraordinary about fear. Once in a while, our fears can predict the future. But, we can't possibly prepare for all of the fears that our imagination creates. But, if maybe if humans all tried to read their fears, they too would be less often swayed by the most salacious among them. Maybe then they would spend less time worrying about serial killers and plane crashes, and more concerned with the slower disasters we face. This Ted Talk did not have a counter argument due that it was an informative presentation.
Personal Statement: In the classic novel The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger Holden Caulfield a struggling sixteen year old is struggling with the concept of growing up. He feels that the world is coming down on him and his signs showed that he could not handle it to well. To contemplate for all the pressure he received from whether it be Pencey Prep or even pressure at home he has three major negatives. First he has a compulsive smoking addiction which leads him always smoking or even asking for a cigarette. Second he abuses alcohol due he is able to obtain it due to his six foot two figure. Lastly, he is sex crazed wanting to have sex ,but suddenly not able to pull it through when the true moment comes. all these factors combine to cause Holden to suffer a common cold of depression. These are all negative effects that came from the tragic death of his brother Allie who died suddenly due to Leukemia. Little things in our lives with pop up no matter if you want it or not ,but its your chose on how you react to it. Moving up to adulthood is not an easy thing. Howsoever, it is up to you if want to analyze it or let it destroy you.
Karen's key argument was that people think that fear is all negative and its recurring fate that will never leave you in your life. As they grow up, they are often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness. She believes that it's no accident that people think this way. Neuroscientists have shown that human beings are hard-wired to be optimists. What caught my eye was when Karen preached, "In English, fear is something we conquer. It's something we fight. It's something we overcome". For some humans this statement is true and at the end they do overcome their fear ,but with others it will linger with them the rest of their lives. Some of us she said naturally read our fears more closely than others. Walker had read about a study recently of successful entrepreneurs, and the author found that these people shared a habit that he called "productive paranoia," which meant that these people, instead of dismissing their fears, these people read them closely, they studied them, and then they translated that fear into preparation and action. So that way, if their worst fears came true, their businesses were ready. So for instance these people read their fears in "English" and instead of worrying about them they fought them head on. The last point Walker hit was sometimes, peoples worst fears do come true. That's one of the things that is so extraordinary about fear. Once in a while, our fears can predict the future. But, we can't possibly prepare for all of the fears that our imagination creates. But, if maybe if humans all tried to read their fears, they too would be less often swayed by the most salacious among them. Maybe then they would spend less time worrying about serial killers and plane crashes, and more concerned with the slower disasters we face. This Ted Talk did not have a counter argument due that it was an informative presentation.
Personal Statement: In the classic novel The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger Holden Caulfield a struggling sixteen year old is struggling with the concept of growing up. He feels that the world is coming down on him and his signs showed that he could not handle it to well. To contemplate for all the pressure he received from whether it be Pencey Prep or even pressure at home he has three major negatives. First he has a compulsive smoking addiction which leads him always smoking or even asking for a cigarette. Second he abuses alcohol due he is able to obtain it due to his six foot two figure. Lastly, he is sex crazed wanting to have sex ,but suddenly not able to pull it through when the true moment comes. all these factors combine to cause Holden to suffer a common cold of depression. These are all negative effects that came from the tragic death of his brother Allie who died suddenly due to Leukemia. Little things in our lives with pop up no matter if you want it or not ,but its your chose on how you react to it. Moving up to adulthood is not an easy thing. Howsoever, it is up to you if want to analyze it or let it destroy you.