With TEDGlobal just a week away, we’re continuing our weekly series of speaker profiles (see part 1 and part 2) with a walk on The Dark Side. The day’s third session, beginning at 3:15 pm, will explore the dark reaches of The Stuff of Life, looking at all types of deceit, from lies to torture and more.
First up is Pamela Meyer, an expert at detecting lies whose aim is to teach you to do the same. Her arsenal of weapons includes microexpression analysis (or the signals you don’t even realise your body is sending), interrogation, and interpretation of your behavior, body language, statements and emotions. Meyer says we’re lied to up to 200 times each day from all types of sources, online and off – if that’s the case, you can’t afford to miss what she has to say.
While we’re on the topic of lying and liars, if you believe that global warming is a hoax, vaccinations cause autism, or any of the other pseudoscientific tall tales out there, Ben Goldacre would like to set you straight. His job is to hunt down “bad science” wherever it lurks, whether it’s presented by scaremongering journalists, corporate-funded government reports, PR gurus and the like. It’s like debunking Uncle John’s Miracle Cure-all Potion in the 21st century.
Moving from corporate deception to something a bit more old-fashioned and, let’s say, familial, journalist Misha Glenny exposed the seedy underbelly of criminal globalisation in his 2008 book McMafia. If you think the mafia is all about fat Dons whacking local wise guys, think again – Glenny hypothesises that up to 15% of the global GDP may be accounted for by these global underground organisations. His newest focus, cybercrime, effects all of us – unless you’ve never received an email from a well to do Nigerian prince?
Sticking with all things cyber, the next speaker, Mikko Hypponen, is an expert in viruses, but not the type that will leave you bedridden. He’s well known in the world of cybersecurity for hunting down some nasty bugs, including the famous Stuxnet worm that nearly took out Iranian nuclear facilities recently. But rather than just annihilating viruses when they happen, Hypponen prefers to predict where the next outbreak will start, whether it’s a lone hacker or a massive government-backed operation.
From the world of the virtual to the world of the painfully real, we go to activist Karen Tse. The founder of International Bridges to Justice, she works tirelessly to promote human rights for prisoners in places where torture is still a routine part of imprisonment. Part activist, part criminal law expert, she has helped countless prisoners escape abusive situations, first for the UN and now through her organisation.
Finally, the day’s third session ends with singer/songwriter Eddi Reader. Brits may remember her from her band Fairground Attraction in the 80s, while the rest of us may have seen her during her 2003 TED performance. Her newest album, called Peacetime, offers her interpretation of Robert Burns’ poetry set to quiet acoustic arrangements.
Stay tuned for next week’s final preview, and be sure to mark July 13th in your calendars for TEDxKrakówLive!