Translator: Leonardo Silva
Reviewer: Cristina Bufi-Pöcksteiner Let me tell you what I know. I know that you've watched and enjoyed
some very inspiring TED Talks. And it's also true that you understand
and for the most part accept the various cases made by the presenters. But the truth is this: very few, if any of you,
have changed your behavior based on that knowledge. If you did, if we all did, it would profoundly change
the world in which we live. So, let me be the first to confess. I've watched Sir Ken Robinson
make his very moving case for an education system
that encourages and nurtures creativity. And I wholeheartedly agree with him, but I haven't done a thing
to help make that a reality. I've listened to Brené Brown describe passionately
the power of vulnerability. And I agree with her too, but I'm still quite guarded. And I've watched Amy Cuddy articulate
how our body language shapes who we are, but I've got to tell you,
I did not take a power pose before I walked out on the stage to boost my testosterone
and confidence level. I think maybe I should have, you know. (Laughter) Let me tell what else:
I don't get enough sleep; I use too many paper towels, I know that; (Laughter) I sit at my desk for hours
on end, without moving; and I still buy bottled water. What am I doing? What are we all doing? Now, Gandhi said the difference
between what we are doing and what we are capable of doing would solve most of the world's problems. I know this difference firsthand. I mean, just recently, I was encouraged to hear from executives
at a well-known organization that they fully understood and agreed
with the advice I provided. Yet, when I returned later
to review their progress, I found that they had done
the exact opposite. They'd gone right back
to those stifling routines that existed before I got there. Now, I'm sure you've experienced similar
disappointments in your life, right? A loved one who continued to smoke
or abuse drugs, despite the facts, or a friend who resisted change
in the face of overwhelming evidence. So why don't we do
what we know we should do, what we're capable of doing, and solve our problems? Why don't we take the knowledge
we gain from TED Talks and change our world? What's wrong with us? You see, to me, there seems
to be a disconnect between what we watch, read and hear,
let's call it the data input, and our subsequent actions,
the behavioral output. Are we all broken computers?
Is that what the problem is? You see, I don't think so. I think it's that metaphor that's broken. It's a faulty metaphor,
that the brain is a computer. It's not. Computers are lifeless machines
which deal in facts, they execute static programs. They don't care, machines don't care,
computers don't care about their perceptions,
their changing desires, whether they look good
to themselves or to others. They're not driven at all
by their futures or their desires. They don't crave control. Human beings are amazing
warm-blooded creatures who deal in their personal truths. Our minds are dynamic systems, which, like other animals, are influenced by our changing
perceptions and desires. That's the nature of who we are. And you know, you understand this.
You do. Intuitively, you get it. And that's why when comedians
make this apparent to us, we start laughing, don't we? Take a look at this and tell me. If you were a computer, would you suddenly desire
to eat this menacing-looking creature simply because someone changed its name? No. A computer wouldn't do that, right? It makes no sense. But human beings do. In 1977, a fish wholesaler named Lee Lance was first exposed
to this crazy-looking fish, the Patagonian toothfish, which at the time, fishermen considered junk, throwaway. I mean, if you were reeling this thing in,
wouldn't you throw it away? I'd throw it away. But Lance, he sensed that people
would enjoy its white flesh and mild taste but not its name. So he began selling this cold-water cod as Chilean sea bass. (Laughter) Now, you heard me right. It's not even a bass, it's cod, right? (Laughter) Now, is this important?
Why is this important? Or is it just a fish story? It's very important to understand, because it tells us how human beings
respond in the world and how they make decisions. To me, Mark Twain put it best. He said, "When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear
and life stands explained." We are not fleshy machines
who make decisions based on facts. We're mad, feeling creatures who are being pushed and pulled
by our environment, by our instincts, our truths. I know what you're probably thinking,
some of you, maybe most of you, "Facts, truth, come one.
What's the difference?" Right? Trust me, there is a profound difference, and if you're interested in solving
your problems and changing the world, you need to be intimately aware
of what that difference is. The screenwriter Robert Mckee wrote, "What happens is fact, not truth. Truth is what we think
about what happens." So, here's a fact. You and I are outgrowths
of a huge living sphere that's rocketing through space right now
faster than a bullet shot out of a gun, around another ball of fire. (Laughter) That is a fact, but it is not your truth. You see, if it was your truth, if you defined yourself as the world rather than this little
short-term passenger on it, it would profoundly affect
how you live your life. Now listen, certainly we make
decisions based on facts. Let's end that debate right now, right? Like the price of a cup of coffee,
which I just read is going up. So go get your coffee now. But we only do that if those facts
support our personal truths, and primarily these three. Aesthetics, the look and feel
of what we perceive. Control, whether we believe we have
control over what we perceive. And identity, how the choices of what
we perceive will affect our futures, especially the evolving story of who we think we are
and who we want to become. Aesthetics, control, identity. So, let's start with aesthetics because in our environment,
that's where we usually start, what draws us in to anything new. So aesthetics is simply our desire
for sensory pleasure stimulation, the look, feel, taste and engagement
of stimuli in our environment. We're drawn to beautiful, fun
and entertaining objects and experiences, like an iPhone or
the latest blockbuster film. But here's the thing: like a field exploding with flowers, there's always a new, colorful,
enticing thing popping into our view, and it is in our nature to be drawn to it, and it's the nature of the evolving
marketplace to keep producing them. So, like bees and butterflies, we're being pushed and pulled
by our environment, and we are largely unaware of it. But, unlike simpler creatures, human beings have the amazing capacity
to imagine and construct our future. And that's why we're always
making predictions, right? Because we want to be able
to predict and steer our journeys. And what does the environment do? It responds to that desire, with devices, experience and data,
to help us do just that: to predict the results that we can expect and to help us measure
and optimize everything. Like, you know, our calories,
the expenditure of calories; our charitable contributions; even our travel plans. Now, I don't know,
I've been thinking a lot about this. Maybe measurement and data, maybe that will solve all of our problems. I don't know. What do you think?
I don't know. I have my doubts. A little while back, a couple months ago, I saw this guy at the gym
flat on his back, shaking his hands like this,
and I got really nervous. I walked over and I said,
"Hey, are you okay?" And he says, "Look, I'm fine! My family and my friends, we upload our
activity levels each night to the internet so we can track each other's progress." He had that little activity tracker
attached to the glove on his hand. (Laughter) He said, "I'm just adding
more steps to my workout." (Laughter) This is true! Why? Because he cared about his story, the story about him
and what other people thought. See, Mark Twain
and all the other humorous, they had it exactly right: we are all nuts people! And once we understand that,
everything starts to make sense! Now listen, just as our tastes
change and evolve, our sense of control waxes and wanes. It's like traveling, or any personal
or professional relationship, right? Sometimes, we're behind the wheel, we're in control, and at other times, we're passengers
on someone else's trip. So, a sense of control is important in that it helps us feel
engaged, empowered, but it's not enough to prevent us
from jumping off to a different vehicle. So, what keeps us interested,
engaged, even zealous? You know what your mind
is telling you does that? I know. It's that faulty metaphor
kicking in again, that dangerous thought that says, "I know what it is, it's information. If we can get just more data up there and do it in an engaging
and persuasive way, that will keep people
invested, passionate." But we've already learned that's not true because our brains
are not those types of machines that make decisions based on facts. So, what is it? What does it? It's not information. Information doesn't move us. Desire moves us, and desire is ignited and grows
around our most potent personal truth: our identity. The stories we tell ourselves
about ourselves, who we think we are, is why we do what we do. In 2013, I was fascinated by this little study
out of Stanford University. It was called Virtual Superheroes. So, the researchers gave participants
the ability to fly using virtual reality. Some were passengers in the helicopter. Others flew under their own power,
with their arms extended. What the researchers found
was that the people who flew like Superman were later more likely to help
other people in the real world. You know what their theory was? Their theory was that their
inner experiences inspired them to embody the role of superhero, without them having the slightest clue. Well, I'm here to tell you: it's not a theory, it's a universal truth. We embody our roles,
our values, our stories. We live in those stories
and we live according to them. We feel like rebels when we zip up our leather jacket
and we hop onto our motorcycles. We imagine ourselves as published authors when we grab another cup of coffee
and sit down to confront a blank page. And sadly, if we think of ourselves
as old and worn out, we become old and worn out. J. R. R. Tolkien wrote, "A single dream is more powerful
than a thousand realities." Those thousand realities, those are the facts, the data, and we are hypnotized
by a powerful and dangerous illusion that those realities
will cause us to care, agitate for change and improve lives. But they won't, because we're not rational-thinking
machines who deal with facts. We're amazing passionate creatures
who are moved by our personal truths. Yes, aesthetics, the visual
and the evocative, draws us in. And yes, the sense of control
makes us feel empowered and autonomous. But it's those imaginative,
invisible stories, our inspiring visions of the future, which turn us on and keep us lit up,
buzzing with possibility. So ask yourself, "Who am I? What story am I living?" Because it's our identity, it's our personal narratives
that move us to change the world, and to improve our lives
and the lives of others. Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause)
