"Most of the things I'm going to tell you are going to be the opposite of your preconceptions."
So began Richard Saul Wurman, the self-proclaimed "information architect" and founder of Technology/Entertainment/Design — or TED — conferences, in his talk at the Rhode Island School of Design Auditorium Tuesday night. Wurman emphasized the importance of defying expectations and finding personal interests.
Wurman, 75, alternately sat in a small armchair on an otherwise empty stage and paced across it. Dressed eccentrically — in a leather jacket with a red interior, an elaborate scarf, with untouched gold spectacles dangling from his neck — Wurman spoke without notes to a mesmerized audience.
He conducted the speech informally, chatting with the audience and frequently interacting with students who asked questions. He also allowed the audience two moments at which they could leave if they had "heard enough." He explained, "I told (RISD President John Maeda) that I would stay however long people would want to listen."
Wurman criticized a system of education in which students are taught to "memorize things (they are) not interested in, bulimically put them on the test and then forget them. … That's not enough for me," he said. "Learning is remembering what you're interested in — and I know how glib that sounds."
"If I have any message to give you tonight, it's that if there's something that interests you, do it. Don't wait for Papa to tell you to do it," he said. "I've done 82 books, and no one has ever asked me to do one of them."
Wurman also stressed the importance of acknowledging the things we do not understand. "I am more powerful than anyone in this room for one reason: I know how stupid I am," he said. "You all try to impress each other with your expertise — we're all trying to ‘uh-huh' each other … It's only by knowing what it's like not to understand that we can really do something about it."
Wurman discussed an upcoming project of his called Five By Five By Five, which will discuss different forms of health care by analyzing five countries, five ailments and five different income levels. For example, in Japan, Wurman said, Extra Strength Tylenol is outlawed because it lessens pain too much. "I don't understand that," he said. "And that is really a wonderful moment, when you understand that you don't understand something."
Harrison Telyan, a freshman at RISD and the founder of the group that presented Wurman's lecture, said the event came about after he spoke with Maeda, who knows Wurman personally, at an alumni dinner over the summer about his idea for the group, called STEAM. STEAM — which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math — is an initiative aimed to emphasize the role of art within other fields.
"Without creative minds, we can't move forward because we don't have different perspectives," Telyan said. "Scientists and artists in the same room — that's a potent mix."
Telyan hopes to make these lectures a monthly event for the group.
Alex Cohen, a senior at RISD, said it was clear that Wurman was "really speaking from his heart, which really made it more engaging." Cohen added that the speech was "at times hard to relate to," but said the "crux of what he was saying — to do what you're interested in" is "so valuable to students."
Dustin Sohn, a junior at RISD, said he agreed with Wurman's ideas. "His philosophies are the answers to fighting depression and (how) to keep your life interesting," he said. "It's about doing things to give meaning and purpose to your life."
Telyan said the speech was nothing like he expected. "But," he added, "that's what I was expecting."
