Series of brief talks forms giant brainstorm

Seems like study guides exist for everything these days, even life.

Tim Nisly, the curator and host of TEDxABQ, said the short, carefully prepared talks given at Saturday’s event at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino are “the Cliff’s Notes for life.”

“The idea is if you put a lot of intelligent people in a room and help them share ideas … the conversation as a result will make a major difference in the world,” Nisly said.

TED, a non-profit organization that began nearly 25 years ago, brings the brightest minds together to spark innovation, Nisly said, and he hoped the ignition would occur in Albuquerque.

Among the plethora of minds who attended the event were mathematicians, scientists, artists, engineers, professional dancers, opera singers, business owners and graphic designers.

Created to stimulate ideas about the interconnected worlds of technology, entertainment and design, it’s no wonder that Nisly, himself, is an inspiration.

He works with the South Valley Economic Development Center helping small businesses get off their feet.
Estevan Rael-Galvez, the director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, spoke at Saturday’s event. He said New Mexico has a collection of great ideas often neglected.

“New Mexico has a lot of wonderful stories and innovative ideas to share with the world, and we sometimes don’t all have a stage to do that, so that’s part of why it is important,” Rael-Galvez said.

Both Nisly and Rael-Galvez emphasized the importance of TED for UNM students.

“What we have done here is distilled some of the greatest lessons down to very short talks,” Nisly said. “So you walk out of a TED event with 15 to 18 fantastic ideas that someone has spent a lot of time and energy putting together — 20 years thinking about, 18 minutes to present.”

Max McGuire, a mass communication and English major at UNM, attended the event Saturday and said what he took away from Saturday is invaluable.

“TED brings different dialogues together,” he said. “I don’t think I will bring only one specific thing away from today’s dialogue. They are all so interconnected.”