In praise of TED Circles – Guest post by TED Circle Attendee – Adam Zuba

January 2020

Introduction/Background
Adam Zuba asked Richard Lucas, TEDxKazimierz Curator, how he could help with TED Circles, and he suggested writing a blog post. Here it is.

What a TEDCircle looks like, and who will enjoy them?

I’ll share with you my experience with TEDxCircles run by Richard Lucas in Krakow Poland.  I had the pleasure to be a participant of two of these meetings.

The first one I’ve joined (TED Circles #2) was a meeting with the main topic around the importance of legal system and its current problems primarily in the US. Even thought the videos that we’ve watched touched on the situation of the unfairly sentenced people (and the inspiring efforts people trying to make changes) were from a distant continent I found great value in it.
Discussing how systems are made somewhere far away  helped me to look and think at how they look  in our local environment and gain a new perspective.
Especially interesting were the perspectives voiced by people in the TED Circle coming from different cultural background (Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Hungary ).
The second meeting – TED Circles #4 “Money Matters” talked about the problems of the current economic system within the US (but relevant for many other countries). The meeting was held in Richard’s house, but we were also connected with a second group in Tel Aviv and one remote person in Kraków.

TED Circle with live link to Tel Aviv Israel from Krakow Poland

Obviously, the TED talk was great, and you might think, “I might as well have just watched it at home”. But it’s not the same.
The greatest value of this meeting, again, was the unique perspective of many people coming from different backgrounds who voiced their views.  It is mind-opening. We might have this biased feeling that we know how it is, that we’ve figured out our one way to look at things. But then, a person with their unique cultural, work-background, politics  and beliefs share theirs. and it changes your thinking for a second, to question if what you think now, is really the only way that’s right. Or if it’s right at all. TEDCircles are indeed  a great opportunity to broaden your worldview. I know, not everyone will enjoy them. If you don’t like talking about ideas. If you like having fixed views, and don’t like changing your mind about something (when proven with arguments), it probably won’t be a meeting for you (in my opinion). On the other hand, I believe that open-minded, life-long learners will find it very valuable, as I did.

Adam Zuba www.linkedin.com/in/apzuba

Proof reading and editing by Richard Lucas

Details of the next TED Circle in Krakow here www.facebook.com/events/2244016749233677