Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

Translator: Ingrid Lezar Reviewer: Christo Crafford

Good morning. How are you?

Goeie môre. Hoe gaan dit?

(Audience) Good.

(Gelag)

It's been great, hasn't it?

Dis fantasties sover, of hoe?

I've been blown away by the whole thing.

Die hele ding het my stomgeslaan.

In fact, I'm leaving.

Eintlik is ek op pad.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

There have been three themes running through the conference,

Daar was drie temas sover,

deur die konferensie, wat betrekking het op my praatjie.

which are relevant to what I want to talk about.

One is the extraordinary evidence of human creativity

Een is die ongelooflike bewyse van menslike kreatiwiteit

in all of the presentations that we've had

in al die aanbiedings

and in all of the people here;

en in al die mense hier.

just the variety of it and the range of it.

Net die blote verskeidenheid en omvang daarvan.

The second is that it's put us in a place

Tweedens is ons op ’n plek

where we have no idea what's going to happen

waar ons geen idee het wat gaan gebeur nie,

in terms of the future.

ten opsigte van die toekoms.

No idea how this may play out.

Geen idee hoe dinge dalk sal verloop nie.

I have an interest in education.

Ek't ’n belang by opvoedkunde.

Actually, what I find is, everybody has an interest in education.

Eintlik het ons almal ’n belang by opvoedkunde.

Don't you?

Het julle nie?

I find this very interesting.

Dis baie interessant.

If you're at a dinner party, and you say you work in education --

As jy by ’n ete is,

en jy sê jy werk in opvoedkunde --

actually, you're not often at dinner parties, frankly.

eintlik, om die waarheid te sê, is jy nie gereeld by etes nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

If you work in education, you're not asked.

As jy in opvoedkunde werk, word jy nie genooi nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

And you're never asked back, curiously. That's strange to me.

En jy word nooit teruggenooi nie, snaaks genoeg. Dis vir my vreemd.

But if you are, and you say to somebody,

Maar as jy is, en iemand vra:

you know, they say, "What do you do?"

"Wat doen jy vir ’n lewe?"

and you say you work in education,

en jy sê jy werk in opvoedkunde,

you can see the blood run from their face.

sien jy hoe hulle verbleek.

Hulle's soos: "Aggenee, hoekom ek?"

They're like, "Oh my God. Why me?"

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"My one night out all week."

"My een aand uit hierdie hele week."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

But if you ask about their education, they pin you to the wall,

Maar as jy iemand vra oor hulle opvoeding, druk hulle jou in ’n hoek vas.

because it's one of those things that goes deep with people, am I right?

Want dis een van daai dinge wat mense na aan die hart lê, is ek reg?

Like religion and money and other things.

Soos geloof, en geld en ander dinge.

So I have a big interest in education, and I think we all do.

Ek't ’n groot belang by opvoedkunde en ek dink ons almal het --

We have a huge vested interest in it,

’n groot persoonlike belang --

partly because it's education that's meant to take us into this future

deels omdat dit opvoeding is

wat ons in hierdie onbegryplike toekoms moet in neem.

that we can't grasp.

If you think of it,

Dink net, kinders wat dié jaar skool begin

children starting school this year will be retiring in 2065.

tree af in 2065.

Nobody has a clue,

Niemand het ’n idee --

despite all the expertise that's been on parade for the past four days,

ten spyte van al die kennis wat die laaste vier dae hier vertoon is --

what the world will look like in five years' time.

hoe die wêreld gaan lyk oor vyf jaar nie.

En tog moet ons hulle daarvoor opvoed.

And yet, we're meant to be educating them for it.

So the unpredictability, I think, is extraordinary.

So die onvoorspelbaarheid is ongelooflik.

And the third part of this is that we've all agreed, nonetheless,

En die derde deel is dat

ons almal nietemin saamgestem het

on the really extraordinary capacities that children have --

oor die werklik buitengewone kapasiteite wat kinders het --

their capacities for innovation.

hulle kapasiteite vir innovasie.

I mean, Sirena last night was a marvel, wasn't she?

Sirena gisteraand was ongelooflik.

Just seeing what she could do.

Net om te sien wat sy kan doen.

And she's exceptional, but I think she's not, so to speak,

En sy's uitsonderlik, maar ek dink nie

sy's uitsonderlik in die geheel van kindwees nie.

exceptional in the whole of childhood.

What you have there is a person of extraordinary dedication

Sy's ’n buitengewoon toegewyde persoon

who found a talent.

wat ’n talent gevind het.

Ek voer aan dat alle kinders geweldige talente het.

And my contention is, all kids have tremendous talents,

and we squander them, pretty ruthlessly.

En ons vermors dit, nogal meedoënloos.

So I want to talk about education,

So ek wil praat oor opvoedkunde

and I want to talk about creativity.

en ek wil praat oor kreatiwiteit.

My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy,

Kreatiwiteit is nou net so belangrik soos geletterheid in opvoeding

and we should treat it with the same status.

en ons moet dit dieselfde status toeken.

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applous) Dankie.

(Applause)

(Applous)

That was it, by the way. Thank you very much.

Dit was dit, terloops.

(Laughter)

Baie dankie.

(Gelag)

So, 15 minutes left.

So, nog 15 minute.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"Well, I was born ... "

Wel, ek is gebore... nee.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Ek't onlangs ’n storie gehoor -- ek vertel dit graag --

I heard a great story recently -- I love telling it --

of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson.

van ’n dogtertjie in ’n tekenklas.

She was six, and she was at the back, drawing,

Sy was ses, agter in die klas, aan't teken,

and the teacher said this girl hardly ever paid attention,

en die juffrou het gesê dié kind het omtrent nooit aandag gegee nie,

maar in dié tekenklas het sy.

and in this drawing lesson, she did.

The teacher was fascinated.

Die juffrou was gefassineerd.

She went over to her, and she said, "What are you drawing?"

Sy't haar gaan vra: "Wat teken jy?"

And the girl said, "I'm drawing a picture of God."

Die kind sê toe: "Ek teken ’n prentjie van God."

And the teacher said, "But nobody knows what God looks like."

En die juffrou sê: "Maar niemand weet hoe God lyk nie."

And the girl said, "They will in a minute."

En die dogtertjie sê toe: "Hulle sal nou-nou."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

When my son was four in England --

Toe my seun vier was in Engeland --

actually, he was four everywhere, to be honest.

eintlik was hy eerlikwaar oral vier.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

If we're being strict about it, wherever he went, he was four that year.

Strenggesproke, waarookal hy gegaan het, was hy vier daai jaar.

He was in the Nativity play. Do you remember the story?

Hy was in die Kersspel. Onthou julle die storie?

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

No, it was big, it was a big story.

Dit was ’n grote.

Mel Gibson did the sequel, you may have seen it.

Mel Gibson het die opvolg gedoen.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"Nativity II."

"Kersspel II."

But James got the part of Joseph, which we were thrilled about.

James was Josef; ons was in ons noppies.

We considered this to be one of the lead parts.

Een van die hoofrolle!

We had the place crammed full of agents in T-shirts:

Ons't agente met T-hemde gehad:

"James Robinson IS Joseph!"

"James Robinson IS Josef!" (Gelag)

(Laughter)

He didn't have to speak, but you know the bit where the three kings come in?

Hy moes niks sê nie, maar julle weet mos,

wanneer die drie wyse manne inkom?

They come in bearing gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Hulle bring goud, wierook [frankincense] en mirre.

This really happened.

Dit het rêrig gebeur.

We were sitting there, and I think they just went out of sequence,

Ek dink hulle't net uit beurt uit gegaan,

because we talked to the little boy afterward and said,

want ons't die seuntjie later gevra:

"Was jy OK daarmee?" En hy't gesê: "Ja. Was dit dan verkeerd?"

"You OK with that?" They said, "Yeah, why? Was that wrong?"

Hulle't net geruil.

They just switched.

Die drie seuns kom in --

The three boys came in, four-year-olds with tea towels on their heads.

vierjariges met vatdoeke om hulle koppe --

en hulle sit die bokse neer,

They put these boxes down, and the first boy said, "I bring you gold."

en die eerste een sê: "Ek bring vir U goud."

And the second boy said, "I bring you myrrh."

Die tweede een sê: "Ek bring vir U mirre."

And the third boy said, "Frank sent this."

En die derde een sê: "Frank sent this." (Gelag)

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

What these things have in common is that kids will take a chance.

Dit alles om te sê: kinders sal ’n kans vat.

If they don't know, they'll have a go.

As hulle nie weet nie, sal hulle probeer.

Am I right? They're not frightened of being wrong.

Nie waar nie? Hulle's nie bang om verkeerd te wees nie.

I don't mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative.

Ek bedoel nie dat verkeerd wees en kreatief wees dieselfde is nie.

What we do know is, if you're not prepared to be wrong,

Maar as jy nie bereid is om verkeerd te wees nie,

you'll never come up with anything original --

sal jy nooit iets oorspronklik uitdink nie --

if you're not prepared to be wrong.

as jy nie bereid is om verkeerd te wees nie.

And by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity.

Teen die tyd wat hulle groot is, het meeste kinders dié kapasiteit verloor.

They have become frightened of being wrong.

Hulle word bang om verkeerd te wees.

And we run our companies like this.

En ons bestuur ons maatskappye so.

We stigmatize mistakes.

Ons stigmatiseer foute.

And we're now running national education systems

En nou bedryf ons nasionale opvoedingstelsels

where mistakes are the worst thing you can make.

waar foute die ergste ding is wat ’n mens kan maak.

And the result is that we are educating people

En die gevolg is dat

out of their creative capacities.

ons mense uit hulle kreatiewe kapasiteite uit opvoed.

Picasso once said this, he said that all children are born artists.

Picasso het gesê dat alle kinders gebore kunstenaars is.

The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.

Die probleem is om een te bly soos ons grootword.

I believe this passionately, that we don't grow into creativity,

Ek glo vas: Ons groei nie in kreatiwiteit in nie,

we grow out of it.

ons groei uit dit uit.

Or rather, we get educated out of it.

Of ons word uit dit uit opgevoed.

So why is this?

So hoekom is dit so?

I lived in Stratford-on-Avon until about five years ago.

Ek't tot vyf jaar gelede op Stratford-op-Avon gewoon.

In fact, we moved from Stratford to Los Angeles.

Ons't van Stratford na Los Angeles getrek.

So you can imagine what a seamless transition this was.

So julle kan julle indink wat ’n seepgladde oorgang dit was.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Eintlik het ons in Snitterfield gewoon,

Actually, we lived in a place called Snitterfield,

just outside Stratford,

net buite Stratford,

which is where Shakespeare's father was born.

en dis waar Shakespeare se pa gebore is.

Are you struck by a new thought? I was.

Is julle getref deur ’n nuwe gedagte? Ek is.

You don't think of Shakespeare having a father, do you?

Mens dink nie aan Shakespeare as iemand met ’n pa nie.

Do you?

Because you don't think of Shakespeare being a child, do you?

Want mens dink nie aan Shakespeare as ’n kind nie.

Shakespeare being seven?

Shakespeare op sewe?

I never thought of it.

Nooit nie.

I mean, he was seven at some point.

Hy was tog op ’n kol sewe.

He was in somebody's English class, wasn't he?

In iemand se Engelse klas.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

How annoying would that be?

Hoe irriterend moet dit nie wees nie?

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"Must try harder."

"Moet harder probeer."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Being sent to bed by his dad, to Shakespeare, "Go to bed, now!"

Word bed toe gestuur deur sy pa, "Klim in die bed, nou!

To William Shakespeare.

"And put the pencil down!"

"Een sit neer daai potlood."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"And stop speaking like that."

"En hou op om so te praat."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"It's confusing everybody."

"Dit verwar almal."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Anyway, we moved from Stratford to Los Angeles,

In elk geval, ons't getrek van Statford na Los Angeles,

and I just want to say a word about the transition.

en ek wil net iets sê oor die oorgang.

Actually, my son didn't want to come.

My seun wou nie kom nie.

I've got two kids; he's 21 now, my daughter's 16.

Ek't twee kinders. Hy's nou 21; my dogter is 16.

He didn't want to come to Los Angeles.

Hy wou nie Los Angeles toe kom nie.

He loved it, but he had a girlfriend in England.

Hy was mal daaroor, maar hy't ’n meisie in Engeland gehad.

This was the love of his life, Sarah.

Die liefde van sy lewe, Sarah.

He'd known her for a month.

Hy't haar al ’n maand geken.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Mind you, they'd had their fourth anniversary,

Maar hulle't al vier herdenkings gevier,

because it's a long time when you're 16.

want dis ’n lang tyd op 16.

He was really upset on the plane.

Hy was ontsteld op die vlug,

He said, "I'll never find another girl like Sarah."

hy't gesê: "Ek sal nooit weer ’n meisie soos Sarah kry nie."

And we were rather pleased about that, frankly --

Ons was nogals opgemaak daaroor, om die waarheid te sê --

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

because she was the main reason we were leaving the country.

Sy was die hoofrede hoekom ons landuit is.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Maar iets tref jou wanneer jy Amerika toe trek

But something strikes you when you move to America

and travel around the world:

en om die wêreld reis:

every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects.

Elke opvoedingstelsel op aarde het dieselfde hiërargie van vakke.

Every one. Doesn't matter where you go.

Elke een.

Jy sou dink dis anders, maar nee.

You'd think it would be otherwise, but it isn't.

Heel bo is wiskunde en tale,

At the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities.

dan die wysbegeerte, en heel onder is die kunste.

At the bottom are the arts. Everywhere on earth.

Orals op aarde.

En in min of meer elke stelsel is daar ook ’n hiërargie binne die kunste

And in pretty much every system, too, there's a hierarchy within the arts.

Art and music are normally given a higher status in schools

Kuns en musiek kry gewoonlik ’n hoër status in skole

than drama and dance.

as drama en dans.

There isn't an education system on the planet

Daar's geen opvoedingstelsel

that teaches dance every day to children

wat dans elke dag vir kinders leer

the way we teach them mathematics.

soos ons vir hulle wiskunde leer nie. Hoekom?

Why?

Why not?

Hoekom nie? Ek dink dis nogal belangrik.

I think this is rather important.

I think math is very important, but so is dance.

Wiskunde is belangrik, maar dans is ook.

Children dance all the time if they're allowed to, we all do.

Kinders dans baie as hulle mag, ons almal doen dit.

Ons het almal liggame, of hoe? Het ek ’n vergadering misgeloop?

We all have bodies, don't we? Did I miss a meeting?

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Truthfully, what happens is, as children grow up,

Wat waarlik gebeur is, soos kinders grootword,

we start to educate them progressively from the waist up.

begin ons hulle geleidelik van die middellyf af boontoe opvoed.

And then we focus on their heads.

En dan fokus ons op hulle koppe.

And slightly to one side.

En effens na een kant toe.

If you were to visit education as an alien

As jy opvoeding sou besoek, as ’n ruimtewese,

and say "What's it for, public education?"

en sê: "Waarvoor is openbare opvoeding?"

I think you'd have to conclude, if you look at the output,

sou jy moes aflei -- as jy kyk na die uitset,

who really succeeds by this,

wie behaal sukses hierdeur,

who does everything they should,

wie doen alles wat hulle moet,

who gets all the brownie points, who are the winners --

wie kry al die "brownie points", wie is die wenners --

I think you'd have to conclude the whole purpose of public education

sou jy moes aflei dat die hele doel van openbare opvoeding

throughout the world

regoor die wêreld

is to produce university professors.

is om universiteitsprofessors te lewer.

Isn't it?

Of hoe?

They're the people who come out the top.

Hulle's die mense wat bo uitkom.

And I used to be one, so there.

En ek was een, so vat so.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

And I like university professors,

En ek hou van hulle, maar julle weet,

but, you know, we shouldn't hold them up

ons moet hulle nie as die hoogtepunt

as the high-water mark of all human achievement.

van alle prestasie voorhou nie.

They're just a form of life.

Hulle's net ’n vorm van lewe,

Another form of life.

nog ’n vorm van lewe.

But they're rather curious.

Maar hulle's nogal vreemd, en ek sê dit uit toegeneentheid.

And I say this out of affection for them:

there's something curious about professors.

Daar's iets vreemd omtrent hulle in my ervaring --

In my experience -- not all of them, but typically -- they live in their heads.

nie almal nie, maar tipies, lewe hulle in hul koppe.

They live up there and slightly to one side.

Hulle lewe daar bo, en effens na een kant toe.

They're disembodied, you know, in a kind of literal way.

Hulle's ontliggaam, julle weet, op ’n soortvan letterlike manier.

They look upon their body as a form of transport for their heads.

Hulle sien hul liggame as ’n vervoermiddel vir hul koppe.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Don't they?

Of hoe?

It's a way of getting their head to meetings.

Dis ’n manier om hulle koppe by vergaderings te kry.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

If you want real evidence of out-of-body experiences, by the way,

As julle ware bewys soek van buiteliggaamlike ervarings,

get yourself along to a residential conference of senior academics

besoek ’n residensiële konferensie van senior akademici,

and pop into the discotheque on the final night.

en maak ’n draai by die sokkie op die laaste aand.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

And there, you will see it.

En daar sal julle dit sien.

Grown men and women writhing uncontrollably, off the beat.

Volwasse mans en vroue wat ritmeloos wriemel.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Waiting until it ends, so they can go home and write a paper about it.

In afwagting van die einde om tuis ’n artikel daaroor te gaan skryf.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Ons opvoedingstelsel berus op die idee van akademiese vaardigheid.

Our education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability.

And there's a reason.

En daar's ’n rede daarvoor.

Around the world, there were no public systems of education,

Regoor die wêreld was daar geen openbare opvoedingstelsels

really, before the 19th century.

voor die 19de eeu nie.

They all came into being to meet the needs of industrialism.

Hulle't almal moes in die behoeftes van industrialisme voorsien.

So the hierarchy is rooted on two ideas.

Die hierargie is gewortel in twee idees.

Number one, that the most useful subjects for work are at the top.

Een, dat die mees nuttige vakke vir werk heel bo is.

So you were probably steered benignly away from things at school

So op skool is jy waarskynlik goedgunstiglik van

when you were a kid,

goed waarvan jy gehou het weggestuur,

things you liked,

on the grounds you would never get a job doing that.

op grond daarvan dat jy nooit ’n werk daardeur sou kry nie. Nè?

Is that right?

Nie musiek nie, jy sal nie ’n musikant word nie;

"Don't do music, you're not going to be a musician;

nie kuns nie, jy sal nie ’n kunstenaar word nie.

don't do art, you won't be an artist."

Goedgunstige advies -- nou, uiters verkeerd.

Benign advice -- now, profoundly mistaken.

The whole world is engulfed in a revolution.

Die hele wêreld is verswelg in ’n rewolusie.

And the second is academic ability,

En die tweede is akademiese vaardigheid,

which has really come to dominate our view of intelligence,

wat ons idee van intelligensie oorskadu,

omdat die universiteite die stelsel na hul eie beeld ontwerp het.

because the universities design the system in their image.

Die hele stelsel regoor die wêreld

If you think of it,

the whole system of public education around the world is a protracted process

is ’n uitgerekte proses van universiteitstoelating.

of university entrance.

En die gevolg is dat baie uiters talentvolle,

And the consequence is that many highly talented,

brilliant, creative people think they're not,

briljante, kreatiewe mense dink dat hulle nie is nie,

because the thing they were good at at school

omdat dit waarin hulle goed was op skool

nie waardeer is nie, of selfs gestigmatiseer is.

wasn't valued, or was actually stigmatized.

And I think we can't afford to go on that way.

En ons kan bekostig om so voort te gaan nie.

In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO,

In die volgende 30 jaar, volgens UNESCO,

more people worldwide will be graduating through education

gaan meer mense wêreldwyd deur opvoeding gradueer

than since the beginning of history.

as sedert die begin van geskiedenis.

More people.

And it's the combination of all the things we've talked about:

En dis die kombinasie van al ons temas --

tegnologie en hoe dit werk getransformeer het,

technology and its transformational effect on work,

en demografie en die massiewe bevolkingsontploffing.

and demography and the huge explosion in population.

Suddenly, degrees aren't worth anything.

Skielik is grade niks werd nie.

Isn't that true?

Nie waar nie?

When I was a student, if you had a degree, you had a job.

Toe ek ’n student was, het jy met ’n graad ’n werk gehad.

If you didn't have a job, it's because you didn't want one.

As jy nie ’n werk gehad het nie, wou jy nie een hê nie.

And I didn't want one, frankly.

En ek wou nie een hê nie, om die waarheid te sê. (Gelag)

(Laughter)

But now kids with degrees are often heading home

Maar deesdae is kinders met grade

gereeld oppad huis toe om verder te gaan TV speletjies speel,

to carry on playing video games,

because you need an MA where the previous job required a BA,

omdat jy ’n MA nodig het waar ’n BA voorheen voldoende was,

and now you need a PhD for the other.

en ’n PhD vir die volgende een.

It's a process of academic inflation.

Dis ’n proses van akademiese inflasie.

And it indicates the whole structure of education is shifting beneath our feet.

Die hele struktuur van opvoeding

is besig om onder ons te skuif.

We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.

Ons moet ons siening van intelligensie hersien.

Ons weet drie dinge.

We know three things about intelligence.

Een, dis divers.

One, it's diverse.

Ons dink oor die wêreld op al die maniere wat ons dit ervaar.

We think about the world in all the ways that we experience it.

Ons dink visueel, ons dink in klank, ons dink kineties.

We think visually, we think in sound, we think kinesthetically.

Ons dink in abstrakte terme, ons dink in beweging.

We think in abstract terms, we think in movement.

Secondly, intelligence is dynamic.

Tweedens, intelligensie is dinamies.

If you look at the interactions of a human brain,

Kyk na die interaksies van ’n menslike brein:

as we heard yesterday from a number of presentations,

soos ons gister tydens heelwat aanbiedings gehoor het,

intelligence is wonderfully interactive.

is intelligensie wonderlik interaktief.

The brain isn't divided into compartments.

Die brein is nie opgedeel in kompartemente nie.

In fact, creativity --

Inderwaarheid, is kreatiwiteit --

which I define as the process of having original ideas that have value --

wat ek definieer as die proses van oorspronklike idees met waarde hê --

more often than not comes about

gewoonlik iets wat gebeur deur die interaksie

through the interaction of different disciplinary ways of seeing things.

van verskillende maniere van dinge sien.

By the way, there's a shaft of nerves that joins the two halves of the brain,

Daar's ’n senuweebundel wat die twee helftes van die brein verbind:

called the corpus callosum.

die corpus callosum.

It's thicker in women.

Dis dikker by vroue.

Following off from Helen yesterday,

Om aan te sluit by Helen gister:

this is probably why women are better at multitasking.

Dis waarskynlik hoekom vroue beter is met "multi-tasking".

Because you are, aren't you?

Want julle is mos, nè?

There's a raft of research, but I know it from my personal life.

Daar's baie navorsing, maar ek ervaar dit persoonlik.

If my wife is cooking a meal at home, which is not often ...

As my vrou tuis iets kook -- nie gereeld nie, dankie tog.

thankfully.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

No, she's good at some things.

Nee, sy het talente -- maar as sy kook,

But if she's cooking, she's dealing with people on the phone,

hanteer sy foonoproepe,

she's talking to the kids, she's painting the ceiling --

praat sy met die kinders, verf sy die plafon.

(Laughter)

Sy doen ’n oophart-operasie hier.

she's doing open-heart surgery over here.

If I'm cooking, the door is shut, the kids are out,

As ek kook, is die deur toe, die kinders is uit,

the phone's on the hook,

die foon is op die mik, as sy inkom raak ek geïrriteerd.

if she comes in, I get annoyed.

I say, "Terry, please, I'm trying to fry an egg in here."

Ek sê: "Terry, asseblief, ek probeer ’n eier bak hier."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

"Give me a break."

"Gee my tog ’n kans."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Actually, do you know that old philosophical thing,

Ken julle daai ou filosofiese ding,

"If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody hears it, did it happen?"

as ’n boom in die bos val en niemand hoor dit nie, het dit gebeur?

Remember that old chestnut?

Onthou julle daai ou sê-ding?

I saw a great T-shirt recently, which said,

Ek't onlangs ’n goeie T-hemp gesien:

"If a man speaks his mind in a forest, and no woman hears him,

"As ’n man homself uitspreek in ’n bos, en geen vrou hoor hom nie,

is he still wrong?"

is hy steeds verkeerd?"

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

And the third thing about intelligence is,

En die derde ding omtrent intelligensie is,

it's distinct.

dis spesifiek.

I'm doing a new book at the moment called "Epiphany,"

Ek skryf tans aan ’n nuwe boek -- "Epiphany" --

which is based on a series of interviews with people

gebaseer op ’n reeks onderhoude met mense

oor hoe hulle hul talent ontdek het.

about how they discovered their talent.

I'm fascinated by how people got to be there.

Dis fassinerend hoe mense daar uitgekom het.

It's really prompted by a conversation I had with a wonderful woman

Dis aangespoor deur ’n gesprek met ’n wonderlike vrou

wat baie mense nie ken nie, Gillian Lynne.

who maybe most people have never heard of, Gillian Lynne.

Al gehoor? Sommige het.

Have you heard of her? Some have.

She's a choreographer, and everybody knows her work.

Sy's ’n choreograaf; almal ken haar werk.

Sy't "Cats" en "Phantom of the Opera" gedoen.

She did "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera."

Sy's wonderlik.

She's wonderful.

Ek was van te vore raadslid van die Koninklike Ballet,

I used to be on the board of The Royal Ballet, as you can see.

soos julle kan sien.

(Laughter)

Gillian and I had lunch one day. I said, "How did you get to be a dancer?"

Ek't haar eendag gevra:

"Gillian, hoe't jy ’n danser geword?"

It was interesting.

Dit was interessant.

Toe sy op skool was, was sy rêrig hopeloos.

When she was at school, she was really hopeless.

En die skool, in die 30's, skryf toe vir haar ouers:

And the school, in the '30s, wrote to her parents and said,

"Ons dink Gillian het ’n leerprobleem."

"We think Gillian has a learning disorder."

Sy kon nie konsentreer nie, sy't gevroetel.

She couldn't concentrate; she was fidgeting.

Ek dink deesdae sou hulle sê sy't AGHS. Sou julle nie ook nie?

I think now they'd say she had ADHD.

Wouldn't you?

But this was the 1930s, and ADHD hadn't been invented at this point.

Maar dit was die 1930's, en aandagafleibaarheid

It wasn't an available condition.

was nog nie ’n beskikbare kwaal nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

People weren't aware they could have that.

Mense was nie bewus hulle kon daaraan ly nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Anyway, she went to see this specialist.

In elk geval, sy gaan sien toe ’n spesialis.

So, this oak-paneled room, and she was there with her mother,

So sy's in ’n eikepaneel kamer met haar ma

and she was led and sat on this chair at the end,

en sy't op ’n stoel se punt gaan sit,

and she sat on her hands for 20 minutes,

op haar hande vir 20 minute, terwyl die man met haar ma praat

while this man talked to her mother

oor al die probleme wat Gillian by die skool het.

about all the problems Gillian was having at school,

because she was disturbing people, her homework was always late, and so on.

Want sy't ander ontwrig; huiswerk altyd laat; ens. --

kleine kind van agt.

Little kid of eight.

In the end, the doctor went and sat next to Gillian and said,

Op die ou end, gaan sit die dokter langs Gillian en sê:

"I've listened to all these things your mother's told me.

"Gillian, ek't nou geluister na alles wat jou ma my vertel het,

I need to speak to her privately.

nou moet ek privaat met haar gesels.

Wait here. We'll be back. We won't be very long,"

"Wag hier, ons is nou-nou terug."

and they went and left her.

En hulle't haar daar gelos.

But as they went out of the room,

Maar soos hulle uitgegaan het,

he turned on the radio that was sitting on his desk.

het hy die radio op sy lessenaar aangesit.

And when they got out of the room,

En toe hulle uit is, sê hy vir haar ma: "Hou haar net dop."

he said to her mother, "Just stand and watch her."

And the minute they left the room,

En die oomblik toe hulle uit is,

she was on her feet, moving to the music.

was sy op haar voete, bewegend op die maat van die musiek.

And they watched for a few minutes, and he turned to her mother and said,

Hulle't vir ’n paar minute gekyk en toe sê hy vir haar ma:

"Mev. Lynne, Gillian is nie siek nie; sy's ’n danser.

"Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn't sick.

She's a dancer.

Take her to a dance school."

"Neem haar na ’n dansskool toe."

I said, "What happened?"

Ek vra: "En toe?"

She said, "She did. I can't tell you how wonderful it was.

"Sy het. Ek kan nie vir jou sê hoe wonderlik dit was nie.

We walked in this room, and it was full of people like me --

"Ons't in ’n kamer ingeloop en dit was vol mense soos ek.

people who couldn't sit still,

"Mense wat nie kon stilsit nie.

people who had to move to think."

"Mense wat moes beweeg om te dink."

Who had to move to think.

They did ballet, they did tap, jazz; they did modern; they did contemporary.

Hulle't ballet gedoen, en tap, jazz en moderne en kontemporêre dans.

She was eventually auditioned for the Royal Ballet School.

Sy't vir die Koninklike Ballet oudisie gedoen;

She became a soloist; she had a wonderful career at the Royal Ballet.

’n solois geword; ’n wonderlike loopbaan daar gehad.

Sy't gegradueer van die Koninklike Balletskool,

She eventually graduated from the Royal Ballet School,

die Gillian Lynne Dance Company gestig,

founded the Gillian Lynne Dance Company,

en Andrew Lloyd Weber ontmoet.

met Andrew Lloyd Webber.

She's been responsible for

Sy's verantwoordelik

some of the most successful musical theater productions in history,

vir van die suksesvolste musikale teater produksies ooit,

she's given pleasure to millions,

sy't al aan miljoene plesier gegee, en sy's ’n multi-millionêr.

and she's a multimillionaire.

Somebody else might have put her on medication and told her to calm down.

Iemand anders het haar dalk op medikasie gesit en gesê om te kalmeer.

(Applause)

(Applous)

What I think it comes to is this:

Waarop dit neerkom is dit:

Al Gore spoke the other night

Al Gore het die ander aand gepraat

oor ekologie en die rewolusie wat ontketen is deur Rachel Carson.

about ecology and the revolution that was triggered by Rachel Carson.

I believe our only hope for the future

Ek glo ons enigste hoop vir die toekoms

is to adopt a new conception of human ecology,

is om ’n nuwe idee van menslike ekologie aan te neem,

one in which we start to reconstitute our conception

een waarin ons begin om ons konsep

of the richness of human capacity.

van menslike kapasiteit se rykdom te hersien.

Our education system has mined our minds

Ons opvoedingstelsel het ons breine gemyn

in the way that we strip-mine the earth for a particular commodity.

soos ons die aarde stroopmyn: vir ’n spesifieke kommoditeit.

And for the future, it won't serve us.

En vir die toekoms, sal dit ons nie dien nie.

We have to rethink the fundamental principles

Ons moet die fundamentele beginsels

on which we're educating our children.

waarmee ons ons kinders opvoed, heroorweeg.

There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said,

Jonas Salk het gesê:

"If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth,

"As al die insekte van die aarde af sou verdwyn,

within 50 years, all life on Earth would end.

sou alle lewe op aarde binne 50 jaar uitsterf.

If all human beings disappeared from the Earth,

"As al die mense van die aarde af sou verdwyn,

within 50 years, all forms of life would flourish."

sou alle vorms van lewe binne 50 jaar floreer."

And he's right.

En hy's reg.

What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination.

Wat TED vier is die skat van die menselike verbeeldingsin.

We have to be careful now that we use this gift wisely,

Ons moet nou versigtig wees

dat ons dit met wysheid gebruik

and that we avert some of the scenarios that we've talked about.

en dat ons van die senarios vermy waaroor ons gepraat het.

And the only way we'll do it is by seeing our creative capacities

En die enigste manier is om ons kreatiewe kapasiteite te sien

for the richness they are

vir die rykdom wat hulle is

and seeing our children for the hope that they are.

en ons kinders te sien vir die hoop wat hulle is.

And our task is to educate their whole being,

Ons opdrag is om hulle hele wese op te voed,

so they can face this future.

om hierdie toekoms te kan trotseer.

By the way -- we may not see this future,

Ons sien dalk nie hierdie toekoms nie,

but they will.

maar hulle sal.

And our job is to help them make something of it.

En ons plig is om hulle te help om iets daarvan te maak.

Thank you very much.

Baie dankie.

(Applause)

(Applous)