4 reasons to learn a new language (Maria Ticó)

John McWhorter claims that nowadays English is becoming more important due to globalization: we all try to speak it because it's the language of finance, the Internet, air traffic control… In fact, although we all know mandarin Chinese is the language that has more speakers in the world, studies have shown that there are more Chinese people learning English than English people learning Chinese. In addition, it is predicted that by the end of this century, there will just be some hundreds of languages left, plus the fact that we will have instant translation. McWhorter makes us wonder why would we want to learn a new language then?

The answer lays in many reasons: firstly, he points out that a language channels your thoughts, so it's better to have a worldview over more than one language. Secondly, when you move to a new country, you tend to want to assimilate their customs and culture. One way to do that is by learning their native language, so you have something in common with the people who are not foreigners. Another reason is that it is demonstrated that if you speak two or more languages, you are less likely to have dementia and you will probably be a better multitasker, so that proves that bilingualism is healthy. Furthermore, languages are fun, you may find some difficulties when you are learning them but when you do, you enjoy the variations that make them special. Finally, the last reason he gives us is that we have reached a point where we don't have to assist a class to learn a new language, for you can study at home by your own by just having your computer and some useful webs, such as Rosetta Stone, Glossika or Dilbert., whenever you want to and however you want to.

To conclude, I'd like to add the quote he used to finish his talk: "Languages won't change your mind, but they will certainly blow your mind". We should try to learn new languages because it's the best time to do it, it's fun and practical. 

Maria Ticó Burguera

by Sanford Biggers (Laura Casamitjana)

Sanford Biggers is a conceptual artist, who wants to express their conversations difficult and hard to through painting, sculpture, the filmed material and direct in action. But regardless of these media, their favorites are the story and dialogue. In 2007 I think the "Lotus" is a work of 2 meters in diameter, that represents a flower of Lotus of 272 kg in glass. This symbol belongs to the Buddhism of transcendence, represents the purity of mind and spirit. But if you look more closely, we can see that in each petal is a cross section of a slave ship. It represents the British slavery. To create the lotus have carved more than 6000 figures., to create the Eagle Academy for young people, a school for black and Latino students. I taught a figure where you shoot, and explains that many black have dead in hands of the police. To destroy them returns to recreate and bathes them in bronze carrying the brands of its violent creation by way of wounds or scars of war. Laura Casamitjana

Corruption Meet Global's Hidden Players, by Charmian Gooch (Lluís Baldirà)

Charmian Gooch: Corruption MEET GLOBAL'S HIDDEN PLAYERS When we imagine corruption, it tends to be a minister or despot of a small overseas nation, living in fabulous luxury. Charmian lists a few perfect examples of this behaviour. However, these people cannot operate without support from the rest of the world. Their mansions and art purchases are arranged through global banks, and despots in oil-rich nations must do deals with the largest oil companies. Many corrupt leaders make their profits through anonymous shell companies, which they secretly own. They are commonly used around the world to avoid paying taxes, but can also be used steal massive amounts of money from poor countries. A recent example involved Democratic Republic of Congo selling off state owned mining assets to a shell company, which quickly sold them for massive profits. The people of Congo lost $1.3 billion from these deals – more then twice their education and health budgets combined. Charmian investigated the deal but many of the details are locked away in the shell companies. There’s a view that corruption just happens, and it is impossible to change. But 2/3 of oil & mining companies (by value) are now covered by a transparency standard because groups demanded it. In a globalized world, corruption is a global business that needs solutions right here. Lluís Baldirà

Drawings Showing the Beauty and Fragility of the Earth, by Zaria Forman (Albert Puig)

“ZARIA FORMAN: DRAWINGS SHOWING THE BEAUTY AND FRAGILITY OF THE EARTH” Zaria Forman is an artist and uses visual art to connect people with the impact of the climate change. Zaria Form has always lived surrounded by an artistic atmosphere and has grown to love the earth, then her mission in life is to warn people of such a serious problem as climate change but in a very special way: through the photographs that to in his travels, she realized drawings (some nearly full scale) made from chalk and her hands in showing the beauty of the landscape, so people to contemplate the beauty of our world came to be made aware of the problem resulting and increasingly it affects us more. She started this mission to make several trips to areas of the world in great danger from climate change as northern Arctic, southern Ecuador and recently Greenland in which he could experience through an expedition led by herself, the real problems of melting icebergs as it could affect us in the not too distant future. Finally I can only say that I decided to make my comment about this video in particular because I believe that climate change is a problem that affects us more than we think and can affect our lives and our environment in a way that we are not able to see, other than Zaria Forman shows us the best way possible is art. Albert Puig

Why genetic research must be more diverse, by Keolu Fox (Aina Castelló)

Keolu Fox is a Hawaiian that when he was little he was curious about a illness, leprosy, that affect a Hawaiian colony, Kakaupapa.

He wanted to know more about this disease that affect that community. When he grow up realizes that all of the genetic medical investigations are only with European ancestry, specifically a 95% and only a 1% are with tribes. He proposes to make a genetic research more native. So for that shows us a little “computer” that can do the same function us in the laboratory with genomes sequenced but not with the same precision.

Now we have the technology to sequence the leprosy bacteria because of this. IndiGenomics is science for the people by the people, so Hawaiian colonies want his own research institute for his experiments and the education of the indigenous next generation scientists. 

In conclusion he wants  a genetic investigation for the Hawaiian people, because there’s not much investigation.

Aina Castelló

Clues to prehistoric times, found in blind cavefish (Carles Nicolás)

In this video the author explains the meaning of "YOLO" that is we only lives one time. For this reason the author wants to see  the hidden wonders of the world and discovering new species.

He explains that all vertebrates do, they lose their eyes and their eyesight until the end up like an eyeless cavefish like this one here.

Actually each cavefish species has evolved in a slightly different way and each one has a unique geological and biological story to tell us and that's why it's so exciting when we find a new species.

Then, they start to diverge when the Ohio River split them a few million years ago and in that time they developed these subtle differences in the genetic architecture behind their blindness.

In conclution he explain that he wants to save these fishes called cavefishes because according to him these fishes can tell usabout the geology and biology of the planet.

Carles Nicolás

Got a Meeting? Take a Walk (Laura Elena)

In this conference, the women talks about the sedentary. We have to move more because we spend hours sit approximately and it’s bad for our healthy. She has a new system to meet people who she work with and go walk while talk about work.

Laura Elena

Eight Secrets of the Success, by Richard St. John (Xavier Sanz)

This Ted Talks, speak about the eight secrets of the success. Analyst Richard St. John condenses years of interviews into a slideshow on the real secrets of success. Seven years ago, a poor friend of Richard questioned him “What leads to success” and he wasn’t able to give her a good answer. This had felt very badly and he decided to start a research to find these keys. After seven years and 500 interviews he founds. John thinks, these are the following:

1. Passion: Do it for love, not for money.
2. Work: Yes, it’s hard, but nothing comes easily, you need to enjoy.
3. Good: “To be successful put your nose down in something and get damn good at it” (Alex Garden). In a little word, practice.
4. Focus: You must focus in one thing.
5. Push: Believe in yourself.
6. Serve: Get a people something of value.
7. Ideas: Do simple things: listen, observe, be curious, ask questions, problem solve and make connections.
8. Persist: You never surrender, arrives to the end.

To sum up, if you are a person how research the success in your life, probably, with this keys can help to find it.

Xavier Sanz

RAINN WILSON : Ideas Worth Dating (Sergi Serrat)

In this video the author explain with humour a set of ideas who helped the people to search the awaited idea. A lot of times this idea produce frustration and depression in people because people feel like his life is incomplete and need this idea for motivate his life more. When people see that idea have an success they motivate more to interes more in the life and general and the benefits they can take.

 In the first example Ron Finley explain the importance of farming and the benefits to grown our food. This idea is very important because a lot of people is feeded with spoiled food of the big companys. This idea aims to revolucionate the food and who people feeded.

An other example explain the importance of take decisions independently of others because if you life depend of the decisions of others you don't have any power in your life. If you're don't have the power in your life you lose the motivation and if you lose the motivation you're entred and innecesary but hard depression who out the life.

In conclusion coat that have an idea o a set of ideas in life is important to don't feel like you're lost. If you're ideas it isn't very clearly it have the danger of you feel depressed and desmotivated because your ideas isn't completed. The importance of the video is that you catch a idea o set of ideas who motivate you to work hard for theme and you feel proud that what you do.

Sergi Serrat

4 reasons to learn a new language (Carlota Campa)

Title: 4 reasons to learn a new language John Mcworther starts his TED talk saying that English is the most important language in the world giving some real examples and making a comparison with Chinese that even though in China there're a high level of population in the world, still English is the most spoken language in the world. And so with this he adds how important is to speak another language that isn't english for a better future and one of the main reasons is that a language channels your thoughts. Another reason that he hates is that if you want to become part of a new culture or a new country, you have to control at some point the language from that country to really get involved into it. And the last reason he gave to the public is that its shown by researchers that a person that speaks another language more than English, is probably a better multitasker. He finishes his talk by saying how much a foreign language can help you to get better jobs and to work for any kind of internationals company or industries. Carlota Campa

by Andrew Mcafee (Patricia Vila)

Andrew Mcafee talks about how will future jobs. In this talk he says that in the future the machines will replace to the workers, and then people will not be necessary to do the jobs. He says “the age of the machine is coming”. Economically, on one hand, the technology increases the economy and also the quality, and would reduce prices. On the other hand, the evolution of the society because there is not work and fatigue. Costs of labor will be reducing. Andrew Mcafee think as a possible solution is an entry minimum to face the replacement. The education is another solution for the problems. He believes things will get better, so is optimistic. He says: “Abraham Lincoln stated that if given the truth it can depend on them to face any national crisis. PATRICIA VILA