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New ways to understand life in a pandemic | Aaron Maniam

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Poet and policymaker Aaron Maniam describes how the language we use to explain COVID-19 shapes the way we think about it — whether it’s as a “war,” a “journey” or, as he suggests, an “ecology.” He encourages us to…

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Poet and policymaker Aaron Maniam describes how the language we use to explain COVID-19 shapes the way we think about it — whether it’s as a “war,” a “journey” or, as he suggests, an “ecology.” He encourages us to explore a range of imaginative, interlocking metaphors to gain a deeper understanding of the pandemic — and shows how this can help us to envision a better, more inclusive future. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED’s head of curation Helen Walters and arts and design curator Chee Pearlman, was recorded June 10, 2020.)

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62 Comments

  1. Sandcastle •

    August 20, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    New ways to understand that old people are more likely to die and that everyone has to be in a recession because of it.

    • Sandcastle •

      August 20, 2020 at 5:40 pm

      @Lymn Brawner old. Pensioners. Old people.

    • Lymn Brawner

      August 21, 2020 at 2:27 am

      @Sandcastle • 💃🏻 I’m happy I’ll make it to the recession, rather than the alternative.

    • Sandcastle •

      August 21, 2020 at 2:24 pm

      @Lymn Brawner just don’t binge on the chips during the recession, because fatties are getting it too.
      Who would’ve thought that being unhealthy is bad for your health.

    • Lymn Brawner

      August 21, 2020 at 9:16 pm

      @Sandcastle • right on 😆

    • Lymn Brawner

      August 21, 2020 at 9:22 pm

      have you heard Tom Macdonald. he’s a fairly artist. he dropped his new video this morning 🤣 please look him up….
      he is truly my favorite rapper and I don’t like rap 😆💃🏻

  2. Irish_ Soldier124

    August 20, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    It’s really not that damn complicated….I live in NJ, one of the most densely populated states In the union….wear a mask, have a good day

    • Thank You

      August 20, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      Shove your mask up your are, it will have the same effect.

    • Honest Person

      August 20, 2020 at 5:37 pm

      There is no evidence that mask wearing protects you from whatever corona virus is floating on the air. Even Fauci said that masks were not protective earlier in the year, that seems to have got down the “memory hole”.

    • WakeUp WakeUp

      August 21, 2020 at 10:52 am

      @Honest Person No valid evidence for viruses either.

  3. Hi I'm Swiss

    August 20, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    Could someone explain to me why diversity is such an important part of it all? He’s been banging on about it, but I don’t get it. Feel like I missed something

    • Arcux

      August 20, 2020 at 5:26 pm

      @Honest Person Ideally. But the conquering part requires some solidarity, which is most-efficiently accomplished in a homogeneous group! Personally I like being on a winning team.

    • Honest Person

      August 20, 2020 at 6:06 pm

      @Arcux well unless your name is R0thschild, Gat3s, S0r0s, W1ndsor or R0ckerfeller then be prepared to be on the losing side.

    • Arcux

      August 20, 2020 at 6:18 pm

      @Honest Person Blackpilled much?

    • Honest Person

      August 20, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      @Arcux yep, plus throw in a STEM education and afew years working with psychopaths!

    • Arcux

      August 20, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      @Honest Person High pattern recognition is no excuse for despair.

  4. Jh Alva

    August 20, 2020 at 4:07 pm

    Algún latino por acá?

  5. Garrett Ederer

    August 20, 2020 at 4:27 pm

    My family has been taking care of a lot of monarch caterpillars until they become butterflies. You talk about metaphors and I think this is a good one about a pandemic life. Sometimes when we are alone for awhile we can go deeper in our thoughts and understanding. I think about the biblical example of non mature Christians needing spiritual milk – caterpillars (eating milkweed) and then later after Christ is formed in them their transformation is complete and they can live more free.

    • Rebecca Leeman

      August 24, 2020 at 2:27 am

      Christ is an interesting metaphor

    • Garrett Ederer

      August 24, 2020 at 4:59 pm

      Rebecca Leeman especially when you experience him and see that the metaphor is way more real than you thought. 🙂

  6. HareKrishna HareRama

    August 20, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    Disappointed with the content. All speculations are blurry. meh

  7. Gabriel Barbosa

    August 20, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    😱😱..Acho que sou o unico Brasileiro ?

    • Anderson Araujo

      August 24, 2020 at 9:52 am

      ahahaha nao.

  8. Arcux

    August 20, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    “The most resilient ecology, in nature for example, is usually the most diverse. How do we use this moment to make sure diversity is part of the world’s recovery?” (This sounds appealing to the modern sensibilities, but THINK about the analogy for a second)
    Diversity in nature doesn’t ensure individual organism or species survival. Diversity just means more stuff for everything else to EAT (as in kill and destroy). Ecological diversity is not a good analog nor model for social or ethnic diversity within an individual species population. Diversity + proximity = conflict. Bees don’t thrive in a wasp-diverse environment.

  9. Honest Person

    August 20, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    Lockstep – that is where we are heading.

  10. Tekane Chaitanya

    August 20, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    #TekaneChaitanya

  11. Phi M

    August 20, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    People should check out this video. She posted it September 4th 2019.
    Watch “Revelation 12 tells us that the Rapture will be in 2020” on YouTube

    ,

  12. RichieFromBoston

    August 20, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    want to cure covid? TURN OFF THE MAINSTREAM NEWS

  13. The Third Eye

    August 20, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    Saw Monika Lewinsky’s TED talk just now, but the comments were turned off. I just wanted to post a thanks . For letting me know about a brave woman and making me a better person today. 😊.

    • Honest Person

      August 21, 2020 at 1:02 pm

      She was probably being used as a distraction to hide Bill’s real interest (hint: Laura Silsby).

  14. twn5858

    August 20, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    Are people starting to see through this hoax “pandemic” yet?

    • SurfByShootin

      August 20, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      The yuppies havnt.

    • Honest Person

      August 21, 2020 at 1:04 pm

      The UK government haven’t, but the right questions are being asked:

  15. Grey Knight

    August 20, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    Almost like…a great reset…to…a new normal…The war metaphor is meant to force compliance through self-policing.
    Now imagine hundreds of thousands of people dying with flu-like symptoms, who tested positive for flu, and Covid, but Covid test also test positive from common cold corona virus. The average age of death being between 75-82 years old. It almost sounds like a joke, but maybe it is a tragedy…

    • Honest Person

      August 21, 2020 at 1:00 pm

      Has any country in the world demonstrated a single one of the 4 Koch’s postulates?

  16. Chuck Brenner Indianashogman

    August 20, 2020 at 7:08 pm

    If it were a REAL pandemic, everyone would understand.

  17. greg pratt

    August 20, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    Hoax

  18. Martin Havens

    August 21, 2020 at 12:14 am

    He lost me 5 minutes in.

  19. Lil _Kidflash

    August 21, 2020 at 12:18 am

    When will Ted talk

  20. Startup Funding Event Global

    August 21, 2020 at 1:41 am

    Not sure if covid would be a good subject for creative writing

    • Rouge Starlight

      August 24, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      Why not?

  21. Goran Stajic

    August 21, 2020 at 6:16 am

    TED FAKE NEWS ……no pandemic …When 12% population died that is PANDEMIC…This fol talking about life in pandemic

    • The Wee Norn Iron Woman

      August 23, 2020 at 1:43 am

      Pandemic means a infectious disease that has spread around the world. It doesn’t actually have to kill anyone to be a pandemic, just be infectious on every inhabited continent.
      Once most of the population of a country is exposed and has some level of immunity, it becomes endemic, like the domainant strain of flu, or colds.
      Epidemics are outbreaks of something contained to an area, like the yearly bird flu epidemics that occur among the bird population. Millions of birds are culled yearly to control outbreaks.

    • Goran Stajic

      August 23, 2020 at 5:40 am

      @The Wee Norn Iron Woman Every year we have flu pandemic /epidemic on all continents. A number died from COVID-19 in the world is in the limits died people from flu. 750.000. There is no pandemic and newer happened that everything is SHUT DOWN. Behind everything is $$$$$$ and human population’s control.

    • The Wee Norn Iron Woman

      August 23, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      @Goran Stajic the link refers specifically to flu. Flu is a DNA virus. Covid 19 is an RNA virus in the Corona virus category, which comprises of two sub groups, the 4 common cold Corona viruses, and 3 beta Corona viruses, SARS, MERS, SARS COV 2.

    • Goran Stajic

      August 23, 2020 at 4:52 pm

      @The Wee Norn Iron Woman You are right and coronavirus was patented 2017 year. The bottom line for me is to see Bill Gates and Dr. FaQuci in jail for a crime against humanity. Agree?

    • The Wee Norn Iron Woman

      August 23, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      @Goran Stajic Corona viruses were discovered by scientists in the 60’s. The first four were basic common colds. It estimated they have been around for thousands of years by some.
      SARS came along in 2003, a new more deadly type of Corona virus, so it was labelled a beta Corona virus. MERS appeared around 2012 ish. SARS COV 2 appeared in 2019 according to current data.
      Feel free to check.

  22. WakeUp WakeUp

    August 21, 2020 at 10:53 am

    Shame on you. Hope you are just unknowingly full of it.

  23. tinkle think

    August 21, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    what a ponce

  24. Enlightened Beings

    August 21, 2020 at 2:33 pm

    wow…quite insightful video..
    #EnlightenedBeings

  25. question ade

    August 21, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    Bullshit

  26. Virgin_Mary _In_Islam

    August 22, 2020 at 8:04 am

    “Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children – like the example of a rain whose [resulting] plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes [scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion”

    [Quran 57 : 20]

  27. Chillminds Music

    August 22, 2020 at 8:21 am

    I pray to God for everyone’s well being and for everyone’s dreams. Do support me in my journey of positivity. Life will give you more in return. If you subscribe, it will make my day, even my week. ❤️❤️

  28. ChillMinds - Relaxing Music

    August 22, 2020 at 8:21 am

    I pray to God for everyone’s well being and for everyone’s dreams. Do support me in my journey of positivity. Life will give you more in return. If you subscribe, it will make my day, even my week. ❤️❤️

  29. Graff Kim

    August 25, 2020 at 7:48 am

    #SaveTEDRussia жмоты

  30. Just _ TeamPlayer

    August 25, 2020 at 10:58 am

    You exchanged money for the DEVELOPMENT of the Russian-speaking audience. By blocking the Russian-language TED, you have deprived 834,000 viewers of improved self-awareness and historical stories. SHAME!
    #saveTEDRussia

  31. Danil Borisovich

    August 25, 2020 at 11:40 am

    Ted на русском и в правду преддогает хорошие переводы.

  32. Andrew Ilchenko

    August 25, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    #savetedrussia 🙏🙏🙏
    Ваша задача – просвещать человечество, не надо это запрещать! Не все люди знают английский язык, а канал “TED на русском языке” это доступное просвещение для нашей страны!
    Your mission is to educate Humanity, please don’t forbid «TED на русском языке», it’s great education channel for those who doesn’t know English language good

  33. Baisal Osmonov

    August 26, 2020 at 6:54 am

    #savetedrussia

  34. Дмитрий Тумасов

    August 26, 2020 at 7:09 am

    Don’t close “TED на русском языке» yt channel! Stop!!!

  35. Br0

    August 26, 2020 at 2:42 pm

    #savetedrussia

  36. gjc

    August 26, 2020 at 2:58 pm

    #saveTEDRussia

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