SAHIL HANDA

UNLOCKING THE REAL POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL MEDIA

My name is Sahil Handa and I am a pre-frosh from London. My talk is based on the idea that social media has gone from being a potential tool for open conversation, honest storytelling, and human connection, to being fertile ground for homogenized thinking, echo chambers, and insecurity. I want to help start a revolution in the way that we use social media, which means: 1) Recognising that these platforms are not inherently positive or negative. 2) Acknowledging that we each have a responsibility to post the truth, including what might be considered unpopular. 3) Taking it upon ourselves to follow people who hold views and have lifestyles that we disagree with. The members of the Harvard community were the first people ever to use Facebook, so let’s be the first to utilize its real potential.

 

ALAN BIDART

HOW TO SOLVE INTERNET CRIMES FASTER THAN THE POLICE

My name is Alan Bidart and I am a rising senior from Argentina. My dream career is to be a rock-star, but in my spare time I like to study the internet. Earlier this summer, one of my best friends who just graduated from the college fell for a fake job listing that was posted on one of Harvard's website. Her story compelled me to prepare a talk focused on red flags you should look out for during online communication, and the simple tools you can use to guarantee that the person you are talking too is the person they say they are. A word of caution, this talk will not contain buzzwords like disruption, groundbreaking or innovation.

 

JESSICA HUANG

SCREW EUREKA: WHAT'S THE TRUE NATURE OF REASONING? 

My name is Jess and I'm a rising sophomore in Harvard's Mather House. Have you ever wondered why we reach insights while crossing the street or sleeping? In this talk, I’ll share what I’ve learned about the true nature of reasoning – featuring sleep insights, mental blocks, pressure bombs, and more. Through personal stories, I’ll explore various mental states that enhance and inhibit problem solving.

 

SWATHI SRINIVASAN

INSPIRATION CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE

AJAS17-511 copy.jpg

My name is Swathi, and I'm a rising freshman at the College. In this TED talk, I hope to discuss inspiration—especially the fact that it can be found anywhere, in anyone, and anything. I start by describing one of my own processes of invention: the development of an infant warmer to target hypothermia, for which I found inspiration in the often-disregarded heating power of resistors. At the same time, I conducted Alzheimer's research, due to my love for Grey's Anatomy. If given the opportunity for a full TED talk, I'd love discuss these two endeavors further, and, more importantly, show the simple joy and power of being inspired.

 

FLORIANE KAMENI

5 STEPS TO DRAWING A REALISTIC PORTRAIT

FK_portrait_TedxHC.png

Hi! My name is Floriane Kameni, and I’m a senior at the college studying Neurobiology.  Along with participating in varsity track and field and doing many science things, I like to spend time drawing portraits in the basement of Dunster House! In the theme of TedxHarvardCollege’s 2017 event to exert creativity and pursue out-of-the-box and pioneering thinking, I hope to show 5 simple steps to achieving a realistic portrait drawing. This, as a gentle way to promote the arts in our daily lives, and to remind us all of a simple truth about what makes us great at what we do and what we yearn to do.