TED video reflections and reflection on issues

honestly, i watch all the videos twice, but somehow i can't really remember what i watched, other than the fact that all of them were kind of shocking and puzzling to a certain extent.




VIDEO REFLECTIONS
for Don Norman's vid, i totally agree that people should work in FUN environments! something new i learned was the fact that there are 2 types of problem solving methods. but what i don't agree is the speed to solve problems under and not under pressure. he mentioned that there was the narrow focus problem solving and the broad base problem solving. while UNDER pressure, people go into intense solving using one solution for one problem to solve it as fast possible. while NOT UNDER pressure, people take the broad base approach to find different ways to solve one problem. maybe it's just me, but i find that i can still continue thinking of different ways to 'solve' the problem. it's very irritating. actually this is sort of a know fact? until he mentioned it, then only did i conciously realise it. goes to show how much we actually put our thoughts into processable terms..hmm.

for Alex Steffen's vid, there wasn't much that i can remember...i'm not sure if its the right image, but i think it had to do with the earth and land and something like that.

but for Chris Jordan's vid, i could remember quite clearly. he was talking about millions and millions of waste or actions that humans use/do that affect the earth eventually in the long run, and he wanted to show the little things that people don't notice themselves doing, that affect the earth in a collective manner. he also picked on the habits of people, like plastic surgery and smoking. like the use of plastic cups an airline uses per flight. some i couldn't remember the concept he wanted to show, like the one with coins, annd the one with tubes and prison clothes(for this one, i think it was the number of criminals that get sent to jail each year. but the clearest thing i remember is that he said his parents' said that he finally washed his clothes. -_-'')

Sustainability and Green Design
since i'm a lazy kid, i'm just gonna write what i know so far about these stuff and maybe, do some research next time. (emphasis on the 'next') anyway, everyone almost says the same thing anyway, so it doesn't really matter. its what you DO that matters, not all the talk.
as the world's resources detoriate, designers are more and more limited and restrained in the kind of materials that they use to make their products. to be able to survive in the world, notice must be taken as well as action. should designers concern themselves with such issues? some think not, some think obviously yes. as deisgners, they are people who are the communiation link to tell stories through images and are one of the most powerful tool that the world has to propagate ideals and news and whatnot that needs to be told. actions, of course, are another matter altogether. it's like seeing a child being mistreated by their parents or another kid and no one interferes at all. while knowing the mistreating act is wrong, they do not want to interefere, because of various reasons. it could be that they are afraid of being a public display, or they don't know what to do, or they think that it has absolutely nothing to do with them. and all they can do is say and talk. people are not proactive enough. so using design, we can pass messages from the people who know what to do to help, and pass it down to people who don't.

how my marketing product could be more green:
- have part of the money earned sent to organizations with various causes that help the earth
- since our product is a bed, employ people from poorer countries to have good cotton farms, so as to create better employment.
- make the bed more recycle-able friendly.
 p.s. this was done a looong time ago. back in the september hols...

monaay :(

a) Aside from the definitions of money you may have heard of or already know, I’d like you to ask this question of yourself, and others: “What is money?” Write your thoughts down in your own words about what the function of money, what you think it is. Consider what does money mean to you? Or – what is your relationship to money?

my relationship with money is complicated :D (imagine seeing the label on facebook, relationship status: it's complicated. hahaha!) the function of money is a replacement for barter trade, a single unit to be compared to the aount of goods to be bought and weighed against.

b, c)Consider: Money makes the world go round, Money is the root of all evil
very contradicting sentences, but true all the same. but it is man who has to take a stand or decide which applies to them better. 
d, e)What else?: Money is …

money is something you have to have, even if you don't like. 
"too little money also cannot, too much money also cannot. so ma fan =_="

f) Do you care about money? Why/not? What would happen if you didn’t have money at all? What would happen if you got a million dollars?
i guess i do care about money, more than i really should be. there was this one time, can't remember who told me this though... anyway, i was told "why you bother so much? is also not you earning the money! why you want to care so much! don't be  so kaypoh!"
if i had no money, i guess i would start by going to earn some. how, i dunno, maybe by playing music? drawing? really feel useless, after rethinking and going around in circles TT_TT
if i got a million dollars. haha! as if that would ever happen. anyway, IF it does, i guess it would go to my parents' control first, no? give my grandparents part of it, and to my cousins who need it for my uncle's operation, let my parents go on a holiday. the rest, i guess i would put inside a trust fund or bank. maybe i'll buy a little something to treat myself..haha. like El..:D dream on~


g) List down all your ideas and assumptions about Money, and examine them. How did you come to these conclusions? When did you start to think of money that way? Who influenced you to think that way? Was/is that always true?
ideals, can't really say much. always had this hovering thought that money is very important. without it, i cannot be happy. such is the impression that most teenagers have, thanks to the economy and brainwashing of the society. its a bit like studies. we're told from young, if we don't study hard, we won't get anywhere to be a big person in the adult world. but once we study finish, where do we go? what do we want to do? half of us don't knwo what we want, all we know is that we want a high paying job. sell your to the money devil, what an apt despcription.
my parents has brainwashed us such that all of us children are frugal and know what to spend on and not. mostly. feel that me and my sis are very kiam siap.we are very nitpicky on what we spend on, and we'll think long and hard if the money is going to be well spent if we're goning to buy something. to put it shortly, "only spend on the nessecity, no luxuries" by luxuries, it means like movies, books, shopping, no eating out as much as possible. i seriously never ever went shopping outside, and only shopped during new year. for what? new year clothes. i didn't even have my own handphone and line till i reached poly. i swear! you can go ask my classmates in sec sch, they don't even know my number, thank gosh. i was 6 or 7 when i first opened a bank account. so you could say my parents started our savings pretty early. we weren't allowed to keep and use the money we got during new year's, it all went into the bank. so when people say they were allowed to use theirs, i was surprised, because i'd always thought parents took and hid your money away from you. oh well, goes to show how naive and dumb i was. i guess its good, that i was taught, or rather brainwashed to spend as little as possible. the motto is "save save save". ...feels like some motto to save lives as much as possible. haha.


h)What can money do (for you)? And what does money enable you to do? And what does money stop you from doing?
money is our speaker when we want to negotiate for items. universal tool of trade?  enables me to get what i want, if i have enough of it.

guess it stops me from getting what i want, most of the time. D:

i) How much are you worth? Try to imagine, and come up with a $ value/figure, and then explain why you are worth this amount. What emotions do you feel as you contemplate this question? What is the significance of this reaction?

i don't think i'm worth much. according to calculations, a child costs about $100,000 or close to a million to raise. so children are practically assests, investments to put money in to ensure your smooth retirement. so actually, everyone's base value in the market is about a million. haha. 
for me, yeah, don't feel like that, cause i'm more trouble than i'm help. ha. hopefully people will still hire me. hee!

j) Imagine a scenario where you were hired by a client to do a design job. How much would you charge for it? What if you doubled the amount? What if you halved the amount? What are your reactions to each price range? Would you do it for free? Why?

it would depend on circumstances and how long i would take to do it i guess...and their patience. like i do it free for my mom and dad (duh) and i haven't charged anyone for my designs since they never have asked for it. hee.so yeah, i'll reply this question when i get there again.

k)What is the significance of these reactions? How does your professional fee relate to your own self-image/self-worth?

there is a significant co-relation i guess. the higher you price ur work, the more, a)you think you are all that, or b)you know the value of ur work through experience. i guess it then boils down who is willing to hire

l) Relate your personal brand to your self-worth/professional price-value. Are you charging a fee worth your while, or you are working at a deficit? What can you do about it?

....don't think i am at that level yet..gyahah.

m) Now it's time to sum up your thoughts on money. Read the 3 online-articles on Money, and then Blog your thoughts about the role of money in your life, and the way you relate to it. Cheers!
sum up my thoughts? i thought i did that for the first question? o_o

1st post of 2010! :D

- What is your definition of a leader? What are some qualities of a leader?
to me, i think that a leader is someone who knows how to make decisions, knows how to make people comfortable within the group, knows how to connect with each group member. out of all the qualities, i think the part of knowing to make decisions is the hardest and the most essential one of all. because he/she has to make a final decision that all the group members agree to and are willing to work for, and he/she has to think about the repercussions of 'what if's that will happen eventually, one way or another. he/she will have to know how to distribute the workload evenly so that they themselves, or another one member of the group, will not be too overloaded with the amount of work to do. they should be willing to trust the quality of work that the memebers do. this also means that the leader cannot be a perfectionist, to a certain extent. they would have to know where to draw the line of friendship and work, giving sometimes harsh judgement in order to achieve the overall goals. and they must be willing to be hated, as this will happen.

- How have you been a leader (and not) in the time you have been in school? Reflect on your goals, and the gaps in your life, and the promises you have kept, and broken. How do you intend to restore those gaps, and do better in the next lap?

i do not feel that i have been a leader. even though i have held leadership positions before, it seemed to me that it was only the title i held and no real power to backup my decisions. the only 'leadership' i ever had was through being older. because a lot of people think like this: older = more knowledge + more responsible = know how to do alot of things = in-charge of smaller ones. i guess i do feel that i am forced, to some extent, to be a 'leader'. because i can't stand waiting, and perhaps partly because i am a perfectionist, and i want things to go perfectly. which sadly, never happens.

the amount of promises, sadly, i have not kept out weighs the number that i have kept. it seems to have increased over the years. most of them, the unkept promises, are to myself. but i feel guilty over the ones that i promised others but never made it. half the time, i don't want to make the promise, but they keep forcing a definete answer out of me, but i dont' have one! so i don't want to make one in the first place!...oh well.

- What are some areas you could lead in design? Be specific.
.....are you seriously asking me this question? i myself have absolutely no IDEA!!! how would i answer this question??? how to be specific? O_O

i guess if i really had to choose, it would be photography and illustration. possibly graphic design? maybee... firstly i would need a camera. and i would need a more commercial brain rather than a artistic one, since if i want photography as a job, commercial photography would be the only choice. the others...like photojournalists, require good people skills in order to capture emotion and stuff, and i don't have that. i would try, of course, but not likely. a dream job would be fashion photography. ahhh~ i want, but it requires...a lot of 'catty' skills and thick skin and people skills. 

in illustration, i think i would stick to a certain style, and its more manga-ish. i'm trying to perfect body proportions, but...i haven't been drawing. haha. i think once i perfect that, i would try to change it a little.

- How do you intend to be a leader in your upcoming assignment, career, and life? What are you going to do to make it happen?

i hope to be more of a backstage helper. haha.
stay backstage! :D