I thought this one was cool - Louis Van Ahn on the history of Captcha and how it's used to help train computers to see -
https://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_massive_scale_online_collaboration/transcript?language=enThis one, is also short, and cute, by Drew Dudley, reminds me that as someone who wears a yarmulka in public, I am a walking breathing living example of what a "Jew" is.
https://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership/transcript?language=enRegardless of whether I'm wearing a kapota, or a white shirt and black pants, or a pair of jeans, and whether I like it or not, there are people who will see me and my actions and use me as a proxy for all jews. I also know that how I act, and who I interact with, can impact others far beyond my expectations. Just like Mr. Dudley, who put a young woman at ease on her first day of college and introduced her to the man who'd become her husband, I realize that my interactions with someone can have a lasting impact, that I might never learn about for years, or even ever.
Case in point, an example from my dad A"H - (The abridged version), when he was a kid, he was hospitalized for a serious heart operation. He was in the hospital for several months. He wore his yarmulka everyday, insisted on eating kosher, and enjoyed friday visits from his Rebbi and classmates. Many years later, he met a man at parent-teachers conferences for my brother's school. The man said - you probably don't remember me, but proceeded to tell my dad that he spent a couple of weeks in the children's ward with him when he was a kid. Not growing up religious, he was curious about my dad and his commitment to Yiddishkeit, which caused him to go along his own journey of frumkeit, to the point where his son and my brother were classmates. My dad wasn't trying to be mikarev anyone, but simply being his true self.
Drew's story, plus this one (and several others from my dad), remind me that my actions impact far beyond the moment, and far beyond myself.
