I.

Unit 1: Embrace Stress

1. Ted-Talk Summary
Kelly McGonial is psychologist at Stanford University. She is interested in helping people
understand and apply the latest scientific findings in Psychology, neuroscience and medicine.
In the first part of the Ted-talk, McGonigal conducted a study to review his entire approach to
stress. The results showed that people who experienced a lot of stress in the past year had a 43%
increased risk of death. The speaker illustrates how those drowning in stress can recover from the
daily pressure tests they face through a change in outlook. The ability to share and care for each
other is the most powerful weapon we have against the daily battle of stress. When you share
your problems and help each other you find new perspective into your old problems.
The results of stress are change by your mindset. When you think of stress ass a benefit it acts
that way. When you help others, you build residence to stress.
2. Reading
All generations have one thing in common is that they are suffering from stress. A recent poll
by APA shows that age groups now report higher levels of stress than in the past and the stress
levels of young people are higher than average.
Their stress results from the risk of modern technology and social media. Over time,
information overload can become uncontrollable and can cause chronic stress. Furthermore,
being overprotected by their parents leaves them with no problem-solving skill as well as fear of
failure once they are away from home.
However, the poll also indicates that people’s stress is decreasing as they get older. This seems
to imply that the ability to manage effectively comes with age because people are more likely to
seek professional help to reduce their stress and anxiety levels.

II. Unit 2: Media Influences

1. Ted-Talk summary
Colin Stokes is a former actor and graphic designer who currently takes up both parenting and
working for a non-profit education organization.
As a parent of a girl and a boy, he is concerned about how movie characters and topics impact
on his children. When his 3-year-old son caught a glimpse of Star Wars, he was instantly
obsessed. In his Ted-talk, he evaluates recent and classic children’s films, many of which involve
a search for where the characters go on a journey to achieve their goals. However, Stokes
realizes that both the heroic and the villainous characters in most of these movies are male, so
what he desires is to see more female characters. He supposes that this is not only important for
the girls, it is for the boys as well. Besides, it is suggested that parents should look for movies
with more female characters so that both their sons and their daughters can have positive female
role models. In conclusion, his massage worth spreading is that movies should feature men who
respect women and work with them, rather than men who use violence to rescue female
characters.
2. Reading summary
There is a definite fact that superheroes appears everywhere in life so what influences do
superheroes make on our behaviors? A virtual reality experiment by a research team at Stanford
University indicates that heroic behavior in a virtual environment might transfer to helpful
behavior in the real world.
Firstly, Dr. Amy Balley claims that superheroes may considerably affect children as
pretending to be a superhero allows a child to act out and reduce underlying fears. However,
there is a risk that children’s activities become out of control and they are probably immersed in
to these roles. It’s advisable that parents let their children focus on positive characteristics of
their favorite heroes.
Besides, other psychologists point out a big difference in the movie superhero nowadays and
the old comic book superhero through a comparison between Iron Man and Superman.
According to Jeff Greenberg, who is less critical of modern superheroes, superheroes foster
children’s confidence and can deliver a positive moral message.
In conclusion, it is believed that superheroes are giving us all the power to be more empathetic
and helpful in the real world.

Unit 3: Development
1. TED Talk summary
Hans Rosling is a global health expert from Sweden who is well-known for the creative ways
of presenting information about global health and economic issues. He has given several TED
talks.
In this Ted talk, Hans Rosling explains the global population crisis by looking at how
socioeconomic categories have changed over the last 50 years. Firstly, he clarifies what the gap
between rich and poor globally looked like when he was young – the wealthy aspired for cars,
and the poor aspires for shoes. He indicates that now the global map has changed considerably
because of emerging countries with growing economic strength. However, there is still an
expanding divide between the poorest and the richest. It is that gap between the poorest two
billion and the rest of the world that has to be closed in order to stop population growth, and it
begins with education, alleviating poverty as well as better health care so that the child survival
rate improves in poor countries. Once this improves, fewer people will be born and the world
population will stabilize.
2. Reading summary
While we all need money to afford the basic necessities to lay the foundation for a good life,
does having the basic requirements of well-being mean we are happier? There is a debate around
this question. In 1974, the Easterlin paradox showed through research that more individual
wealth only translates to a monetary, rather than long-term, rise in one’s level of happiness. Yet a
study from 2013 showed that happiness did improve as income rose. Psychologists say that our
happiness level is also connected to those around us, so if wealth is not evenly distributed, we
won’t be as happy even if we are rich. This points to the importance of income equality in order
for a society to be happy.

Unit 4: Secrets and Lies

1. TED Talks
Pamela Meyer is the CEO of social networking company Simpatico Netwworks. She has
researched lies for many years and has written a bestselling book called Liespotting.
It is definitely undeniable that everyone lies. In fact, we can lie up to 200 times a day. As an
experienced liespotter, Pamela Meyer knows how to recognize verbal and nonverbal cues that
give away a liar. She shares some of these with her TED audience, explaining that what reveals a
lie is probably not what most people think. She explains that attitude is the most important
indicator. When they people lie, they give too much detail, they won’t be able to retell their story
the same way twice, they lower their voices. By learning to spot a liar, we can all encourage a
more honest world by not letting others get away with lies.
In general, her idea worth spreading is that by learning to recognize lies through speech and
body language, we can help to build a more truthful world.
2. Readings
Most psychologists agree that there are some situations where it’s okay to be dishonest is the
lie is a pro-social one. Pro-social lies don’t hurt others, while antisocial lies do. Sometimes we
tell pro-social lies to show our support for others, such as liking a post on Facebook even if we
aren’t really interested in the content. Psychologists agree that sometimes white lies and
stretching the truth are necessary in order to avoid hurting others. Lying may even be part of our
biological wiring, since even young babies and apes been caught in lies! While antisocial lies
harm our relationships with others, pro-social ones tend to improve our social connections.

Unit 5: To the Edge

1. TED talks summary
David Blaine is a world-famous magician and endurance artist who became well-known for
doing street magic in the late 1990s. Then he went on to perform amazing stunts. Blaine has been
obsessed with both magic and endurance since he was a child – especially the underwater
challenges of the great magician Harry Hounidi.
In his TED talk, David Blaine tells the story of challenging the record for the longest time that
a human has held their breath underwater. He goes into detail about how he trained for the stunt,
and then explains the intense performance that led to him holding the world record. While people
may think that magicians create illusions that aren’t real, Blaine is focused on proving that he
can do what medical knowledge says humans can’t do. And he has learned to accomplish such
tasks through dedicated training and physical and mental preparation.
2. Reading summary
From a young age, David Blaine was fascinated both by magical performances and by tests of
endurance. He was particularly focused on underwater challenges, and trained himself to stay
underwater for as long as his idol, magician Harry Houdini. Blaine started his career as a street
magician, but his entertaining performances soon landed him on TV and allowed him to elevate
his shows into grander and risker performances. He has since gone a series of high-risk stunts
oive on TV, most of which involved exciting endurance challenges. In the process, David Blaine
has made magic a popular form of entertainment, as well as an exciting career choice.
UNIT 6: MONEY
1. TED talks summary
Bill and Melinda Gates run the largest privately funded charity in the world.
In an interview with the TED moderator, the Gates share their story about how raising a
family with incredible wealth has given them a clear sense of responsibility toward their role as
philanthropists. They also explain how they’ve gotten other billionaires to give away their wealth
to help improve the lives of those who are less fortunate.
Wealthy entrepreneurs can use their business acumen and success to help make the world
better place.
2. Reading summary
Many celebrities give to charities, but some have made it their life’s passion to give much of
the wealth they’ve attained to those who less fortunate. Two such couples are introduced in more
detail: musician Shakira and soccer star Gerard Piques, and TES speakers Melinda and Bill
Gates. Shakira and Piques focus especially on issues related to children in poorer countries,
while the Gates are focused on healthcare, reducing poverty, and increasing access to education
and technology worldwide.