Why you should make useless things | Simone Giertz

TED
TED
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Published 2018-05-09
In this joyful, heartfelt talk featuring demos of her wonderfully wacky creations, Simone Giertz shares her craft: making useless robots. Her inventions -- designed to chop vegetables, cut hair, apply lipstick and more -- rarely (if ever) succeed, and that's the point. "The true beauty of making useless things [is] this acknowledgment that you don't always know what the best answer is," Giertz says. "It turns off that voice in your head that tells you that you know exactly how the world works. Maybe a toothbrush helmet isn't the answer, but at least you're asking the question."

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All Comments (21)
  • @pojo_quiet
    Simone: gets asked if she's ever going to build something useful Simone: buils TRUCKLA
  • @thinthle
    Because as we all know the easiest way to be at the top of your field is to choose a very small field. ~Simone Giertz 2018
  • @CMSixSeven
    Hey, Simone, future here. You built Truckla. Great job.
  • @TEDEd
    Simone Giertz, you're our hero!
  • @ATM648
    At the time of this talk, she had a golf ball sized brain tumor, and just about three weeks after this she had brain surgery to remove it. And she still delivered this inspiring talk about shity robots. She is incredible!
  • @aashni23
    "Isn't it a beautiful time to be alive?" :') This woman is AWESOME 😍
  • @merlina2330
    the purpose of this talk is don't be boring, don't be scare, play, do what you want, and with practice maybe you get there, if not, you had fun in the process and you lived
  • @diegosierra
    "I'm not an engineer" Oh I'm afraid you are indeed. You may just not have an engineering degree.
  • @marymiller752
    "Sold to the nervous girl in the googly eye shirt" this is making my day.
  • @dragonk6910
    Man, this viewpoint is really something. I'm not an engineer, but I am studying science, and I'm also an artist. The notion of this fearless creativity, a way to defeat performance anxiety and the need to succeed at everything which a lot of us (myself included) deal with, is really powerful I think.
  • @conan_chen
    If your goal is failing and: You succeed at failing, then you have succeeded If you fail at failing, that means you have also succeded technically It's a win win!
  • @The8BitGuy
    I admire her because she actually wants to use her brain to do things that are constructive and learn about things. It seems so many today are content to let everyone else do their thinking for them.
  • @Lets-ask1215
    Simone: We should make useless things. My Parents: create me
  • @CableGirl35
    I’ve been watching TEDx talks for years trying to get inspiration about where to go in my life. How ironic is it that this useless talk probably has had the most substantial difference on me? 🤔☺️
  • @samsmullen991
    Thank you Simone. I'm a baby boomer and an engineer. You have shown me the enthusiasm that was missing in my life. I realized I lived my life as a robot instead of designing and building a robot. You inspired me to built useless things.
  • @ekelly2573
    This is why I’m taking maths and physics for engineering next year, I’m scared of being the only girl, but I love making things and want to make school fun
  • @matnovak
    I like how this is an even split between a stand-up routine and a very useful lecture on creative design