Dr. John Shufeldt, TEDxASU Speaker
I am so excited to be talking at TEDxASU, for a variety of reasons. First off, ASU is one of my alma maters and I have learned so much from ASU and the ASU community. Secondly, I have also learned a lot from TEDx. I have watched TEDx talks for years and the people that I have seen and been inspired by are really ranked with the most phenominal people in the world. Like my group of cohorts that are presenting here at this event. We’re going to learn how bacteria and viruses are our friends from the gentleman who is developing the HIV vaccine, and also, can you teach a dolphin to read? I don’t know about you but that’s been at the forefront of my mind for nearly forever. So thank you for inviting me, I’m glad to participate and we’re going to have a great time.
What are you talking about at TEDxASU?
So I’m really excited about presenting at TEDxASU. The topic of this talk is “what not to ask our children”. The “our” is collective children, not individual children.
So let me ask you a question, what’s your major? What are you going to be when you grow up? Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? All these questions make people think and particularly our children think that they have to have some definitive plan that they are going to stick to like a straight line. I think that line is kind of self-defeating, because oftentimes our futures are covered as we move through life. And so, pinning it down to one thing, particularly when you’re at the formative years, and I’m still in my formative years, makes it really difficult. So let’s quit asking people that question and let them come to us and say “wouldn’t it be cool if…” and let them fill in the blank.