Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte
-
0:00 - 0:03(Portuguese): The lovely and hospitable capital
-
0:03 - 0:05of the state of Minas Gerais.
-
0:18 - 0:21Good afternoon,
-
0:21 - 0:23I won't speak in Portuguese because
-
0:23 - 0:26I don't speak Portuguese.
-
0:26 - 0:30And I don't want to invent
the first talk in Portuñol. -
0:30 - 0:33So I'm going to speak English.
-
0:41 - 0:44I come from Mexico.
-
0:44 - 0:48So, thirty years ago,
I was born in Mexico City -
0:49 - 0:53and as you may know,
Mexico is the country where corn, -
0:53 - 0:58maize, was born centuries ago.
-
0:59 - 1:01We call it the land of corn.
-
1:01 - 1:04And actually, corn is very important
in our culture, -
1:05 - 1:07but not just in our culture,
-
1:07 - 1:10but mainly in our gastronomy.
-
1:10 - 1:12And maybe some of you have been going to
-
1:12 - 1:15Mexican restaurants, eating tacos, maybe.
-
1:16 - 1:18Maybe burritos, although burritos
-
1:18 - 1:21are not really Mexican, sorry.
-
1:22 - 1:24But they mostly use what we have here,
-
1:24 - 1:26which are tortillas.
-
1:26 - 1:30These tortillas are made out of corn,
and in Mexico, -
1:30 - 1:32corn consumption is quite big.
-
1:32 - 1:35As you can see there,
from the statistics from the FAO, -
1:35 - 1:37per person, per year, a Mexican
-
1:37 - 1:41eats around 120 kg of corn.
-
1:42 - 1:45So, it's not just important
in terms of the culture, -
1:45 - 1:48but is very important
in terms of nutrition. -
1:49 - 1:53So, by knowing that,
when I was 15 years old -
1:53 - 1:58I started having dreams,
and my dream at that stage was -
1:59 - 2:03to help creating an enhancement,
-
2:03 - 2:06a nutritious enhancement in corn.
-
2:06 - 2:10So, my fellow citizens,
Mexicans that eat a lot of tortillas -
2:10 - 2:15every day, like bread,
will have a better nutrition, ok? -
2:15 - 2:18That was my dream when I was 15.
-
2:19 - 2:23And I suppose people like me
when I was 15 -
2:23 - 2:26and you have a dream like that,
the first thing you start to do -
2:26 - 2:29is to decide to study science,
engineering, -
2:29 - 2:31so that's what I did.
-
2:31 - 2:35So step by step I started
studying biochemical engineering, -
2:36 - 2:39graduated, and quite fast,
at the age of 23, -
2:39 - 2:43I was already working
as a research associate -
2:43 - 2:45at the University of Canterbury
-
2:45 - 2:47in the Biological Science Department.
-
2:47 - 2:51I quickly started to participate in projects
-
2:54 - 2:58related to research
on biotechnology, which made sense, -
2:58 - 3:01if I come back to my previous dream.
-
3:10 - 3:15So, I don't know, if you think
a lot about inflexions in life, -
3:15 - 3:19those moments that suddenly
change the direction, -
3:19 - 3:22the current trend of your life,
and transforming -
3:22 - 3:25all deviating into a new one.
-
3:25 - 3:28To me, this happened in 2005.
-
3:29 - 3:33In 2005 I had the opportunity
to go to the Solomon Islands. -
3:35 - 3:38I don’t know if many of you
know the Solomon Islands. -
3:39 - 3:42Well, the Solomon Islands
is actually a country, -
3:42 - 3:45that is situated in the Pacific.
-
3:45 - 3:48It is part of the Pacific Islands.
-
3:49 - 3:52So, this is a picture
that I took from the plane, -
3:52 - 3:55this is what it looks like.
-
3:55 - 3:58It is a very interesting place
with the highest concentration -
3:58 - 4:01of ethnicities and languages in the world.
-
4:01 - 4:03And despite of all of that
we don’t know it too much. -
4:03 - 4:06We actually know more
about the Solomon Islands -
4:06 - 4:09because this was the place
where lots of the navel battles -
4:09 - 4:13during the Second World War happened
-
4:13 - 4:15and lots of divers go, for example,
-
4:15 - 4:17but not many other people.
-
4:17 - 4:22So, I was actually invited there
by a conservation biologist -
4:22 - 4:26from the Solomon’s
called Patrick Pikacha. -
4:26 - 4:29He brought me to an island
that is called Choiseul Island, -
4:29 - 4:31which it is in the Solomon Islands
but it is next to the border -
4:31 - 4:35with Papua New Guinea,
and this is how it looks. -
4:35 - 4:39Very beautiful
and it will probably look like -
4:39 - 4:42some other places here also in Brazil.
-
4:42 - 4:45So, we went there
because Patrick was doing some work, -
4:45 - 4:47trying to monitor a native species,
-
4:47 - 4:50in particular he likes to study frogs.
-
4:50 - 4:54So, I don’t know why,
but scientists like him, -
4:54 - 4:58biologists, like to work
at night, maybe because frogs -
4:59 - 5:01usually go out at night
-
5:01 - 5:05like some people here
also in Brazil, and Latin America. -
5:05 - 5:10Well, just like frogs, we had to go
outside at night, -
5:10 - 5:14with Patrick, and we were looking
for these frogs -
5:14 - 5:18and just after 30 seconds
of getting out of the field station, -
5:18 - 5:21I realized that this was
not my environment, completely. -
5:21 - 5:26I was completely blind.
Imagine this dark to me, -
5:26 - 5:28I was completely like a blind man.
-
5:28 - 5:31I already wear glasses.
Imagine me in here. -
5:31 - 5:33Because I am very used to cities,
for example, -
5:33 - 5:36but not really this kind of environment.
-
5:36 - 5:39It was even more interesting,
my experience, -
5:39 - 5:44when I started to see that Patrick
was using his lantern on the river, -
5:44 - 5:46starting to spot some
of the different frogs. -
5:46 - 5:49For me, it was completely invisible.
-
5:49 - 5:53But the most interesting thing here,
is that the boy, -
5:53 - 5:56the teenager that was leading
the expedition, -
5:56 - 6:00he was actually spotting
the place where organisms -
6:00 - 6:02were going to appear,
even before the expert, -
6:02 - 6:05even before Patrick.
-
6:05 - 6:07And at that moment I started to realize
-
6:07 - 6:09that something interesting was happening,
-
6:09 - 6:14and I started to look on
how this non-expert, this teenager, -
6:14 - 6:18had a different sight, definitely,
compared to mine, -
6:18 - 6:23but also different from
the real expert, from Patrick. -
6:23 - 6:26But the Solomon Islands
do not only have a forest, -
6:26 - 6:28they also have cities.
-
6:28 - 6:32And in the city of Honiara,
which is the capital, -
6:32 - 6:35we and some colleagues
from the University of Canterbury, -
6:35 - 6:38like professor Jack Hyneman,
my friend and colleague -
6:38 - 6:40from the Solomon Islands Paul Roughan,
-
6:40 - 6:42started to organize some
-
6:42 - 6:46capacity building initiatives
to discuss biotechnology -
6:46 - 6:50in the Solomon Islands
and discuss biology in general. -
6:50 - 6:53The person you see here is Naneth Tutua.
-
6:53 - 6:58She is a business woman
from the Solomon Islands. -
6:58 - 7:02What she is [holding] there
is a DNA extraction -
7:02 - 7:04from a papaya.
-
7:04 - 7:07She was able to visualize DNA.
-
7:07 - 7:09So how did this happen?
-
7:09 - 7:12Because Solomon Islands is considered
-
7:12 - 7:15one of the least developed places
in the world. -
7:15 - 7:18So, there are no real laboratories
for molecular biology there. -
7:19 - 7:22But what we had to do is to improvise.
-
7:22 - 7:26To do a different kind
of experiment in order to extract DNA -
7:27 - 7:32and so, Ms. Naneth
could see what DNA looks like, -
7:32 - 7:37and by looking at this,
she was able to demystify DNA. -
7:37 - 7:39And DNA was just not something
-
7:39 - 7:42that is abstract
and she cannot understand, -
7:42 - 7:45this time she was able to see it,
understand it, -
7:45 - 7:48and when someone wants
to talk about biotechnology, -
7:48 - 7:52she has somehow,
some confidence to talk about this. -
7:52 - 7:55She seems quite proud
of doing her extraction. -
7:56 - 7:59And naturally, DNA extractions,
I don’t know if you know, -
7:59 - 8:01but are quite easy to do.
-
8:01 - 8:05You just need salt,
detergent and alcohol. -
8:05 - 8:08So I started to use
these three ingredients, -
8:08 - 8:11put it in my bag
and started to travel around, -
8:11 - 8:14doing exactly what we did
in the Solomon’s, -
8:14 - 8:16repeating the experience, bringing
-
8:16 - 8:19the demystification of DNA.
-
8:19 - 8:22This happens in different places
of the world -
8:22 - 8:25but definitely my
most important experience -
8:28 - 8:33was when last November,
a DNA extraction was featured -
8:33 - 8:37in a Chilean soap opera
called Decibel 110. -
8:39 - 8:41A low cost kitchen DNA extraction
-
8:42 - 8:46was part of this meet-up
between Francisco -
8:46 - 8:49and his prohibited love, Cindy.
-
8:51 - 8:55We didn’t stop at the DNA extraction,
we suddenly started to play also -
8:55 - 8:58with instruments of molecular biology.
-
8:58 - 9:01Here you have some pictures of workshops
-
9:01 - 9:04that we’ve performed
in Philippines, where we actually -
9:04 - 9:07started to develop basic
molecular lab equipment, -
9:07 - 9:09as you can see there,
it looks quite basic, -
9:09 - 9:11but it's actually
some of the equipment -
9:11 - 9:14that is mostly used in laboratories.
-
9:19 - 9:23So, once I started to build up
this kind of motion -
9:23 - 9:25and instrument and trying to work out
-
9:25 - 9:30with these local's technology,
and the demystification -
9:30 - 9:33and with all those travels,
-
9:33 - 9:36I suddenly found myself in West Africa.
-
9:36 - 9:39And West Africa was also
an inflexion point for me. -
9:39 - 9:41The reason for that,
is that in West Africa -
9:41 - 9:45I found for the first time
a hub of people -
9:45 - 9:47that were thinking a bit like me.
-
9:47 - 9:52That were asking questions
about the experts, -
9:52 - 9:55that were asking questions
about technology. -
9:55 - 9:57What kind of technology?
For whom? -
9:57 - 9:59They were asking questions about
-
9:59 - 10:02what Africa can bring to the world.
-
10:02 - 10:04The interesting thing here,
is that they were -
10:04 - 10:07mainly social scientists,
but also farmers, -
10:07 - 10:11and artists, talking about this.
-
10:11 - 10:15So we decided to stay more,
and I’ve been going -
10:15 - 10:19to West Africa every year since 2007.
-
10:19 - 10:24And the basic question of it,
is based on this picture. -
10:24 - 10:26As you can see we have a plane.
-
10:26 - 10:29A plane represents technology, I think,
-
10:29 - 10:32and as we can agree,
planes have changed -
10:32 - 10:35the way we move,
the way we communicate, -
10:35 - 10:38but also the way diseases are transmitted
-
10:38 - 10:39and also passed.
-
10:39 - 10:42But what is important here
is not just to look at the technology, -
10:42 - 10:45but to look at the context surrounding it.
-
10:45 - 10:49And maybe for some of you
this will look quite nice. -
10:49 - 10:53For me, it allows me to make
the questions about -
10:53 - 10:56what is the context about.
-
10:56 - 10:59What this technology
can offer to the context? -
10:59 - 11:02Does this technology fit into the context?
-
11:02 - 11:04And those were the questions used
-
11:04 - 11:07as a base for our documentary:
-
11:07 - 11:10(Music)
-
11:15 - 11:18(Video) Man (French): If science say so,
it counts as "the gospel". -
11:20 - 11:22Science is made by man.
-
11:22 - 11:25Science must be made by man
-
11:25 - 11:26for man.
-
11:26 - 11:28Woman: Why do we do research?
-
11:28 - 11:30Who does the research?
-
11:30 - 11:32For what purpose?
-
11:33 - 11:36Man: And the specialists hide
-
11:36 - 11:38in their offices, in their sects,
-
11:38 - 11:40to decide for everybody.
-
11:41 - 11:43Man: To create an agricultural policy,
-
11:43 - 11:45without the farmers
-
11:45 - 11:47it means that we are not discussing
agriculture. -
11:47 - 11:50Man: The farmer needs to consider himself
as a researcher -
11:50 - 11:52as someone who works in a laboratory.
-
11:52 - 11:55Woman: It is not enough to research
inside a laboratory. -
11:55 - 11:58Man: Today, we will extract DNA
from plants. -
11:58 - 12:02Woman: Is not enough to do research
inside an institution. -
12:02 - 12:04Man: We will use some salt,
-
12:04 - 12:06some detergent,
-
12:06 - 12:08we have alcohol and test tubes.
-
12:08 - 12:10We are able to extract DNA.
We saw it. -
12:10 - 12:13I saw the DNA,
our friends saw the DNA. -
12:13 - 12:16Without any electron
or optical microscope. -
12:16 - 12:20Woman: We have to deinstitutionalize
the research! -
12:20 - 12:24Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran: So,
this is just a fragment of the documentary -
12:24 - 12:27“Autrement” (“Differently”),
that we did in West Africa, -
12:27 - 12:30and, as you can see,
it just raises questions -
12:30 - 12:34about technology, science,
but based on the context in West Africa. -
12:34 - 12:36And as you can see there is
an empowerment of it. -
12:36 - 12:38There is a message that Africans
want to say -
12:38 - 12:41about what they can offer.
-
12:42 - 12:46So, after building kind of a boat,
-
12:46 - 12:50with instruments and methods,
we started to use them -
12:50 - 12:51in different parts of the globe,
-
12:51 - 12:54then I decided also to observe.
-
12:54 - 12:59And this comes from
a so called expert that is known -
13:01 - 13:05now to talk about the non-experts.
-
13:05 - 13:09Usually the non-experts
are kind of invisible -
13:09 - 13:12in this generation of knowledge.
-
13:12 - 13:17Mostly, non experts are consumers or users
-
13:17 - 13:21of knowledge, of technology, of science.
-
13:21 - 13:24We have had several
technological revolutions -
13:24 - 13:28starting with Information Technology,
-
13:28 - 13:32starting also in agriculture,
lots of technical revolutions. -
13:32 - 13:36But most of the people in the world,
and I'm talking here also of countries, -
13:36 - 13:40have been mostly consumers and users.
-
13:40 - 13:43This is a list of the technologies
-
13:45 - 13:48that Peter Diamandis,
from Singularity University, -
13:48 - 13:51proposed at the last TED.
-
13:52 - 13:55This list, which is quite interesting,
-
13:55 - 13:58he proposes are the technologies
that will change -
13:58 - 14:01and that are already changing the future.
-
14:02 - 14:03And among these technologies,
-
14:03 - 14:08he also talks about the crowd,
and the power of the crowd. -
14:08 - 14:12He actually introduced the term
cyber citizens, -
14:12 - 14:15which are normal citizens,
people like us, -
14:15 - 14:18that participate via online,
and in his example, -
14:18 - 14:22it was in a game of folding proteins.
-
14:22 - 14:26Not only for the pleasure
of playing a game -
14:26 - 14:28but actually to solve medical problems.
-
14:28 - 14:33And this is where we are now,
in a world where -
14:33 - 14:36the non experts are not just
consumers and users, -
14:36 - 14:40but they are transforming
themselves into contributors. -
14:40 - 14:44We heard today,
this morning, a very good example of it -
14:44 - 14:47happening here, in the Amazon.
-
14:47 - 14:51But some of these are also
what we call the Crowd-X, -
14:51 - 14:54or crowdsourcing, or crowdfunding.
-
14:54 - 14:57A very good example is Wikipedia.
-
14:57 - 15:00Wikipedia is a contribution
of the non-experts. -
15:00 - 15:03And we have lots of examples like that.
-
15:03 - 15:05The citizen science, the bio-hackers,
-
15:05 - 15:07this is happening right now.
-
15:07 - 15:09The Who is changing.
-
15:09 - 15:13The non-experts are contributing right now.
-
15:13 - 15:15However, I am here to propose
-
15:15 - 15:18something more radical,
than just being contributors. -
15:19 - 15:24I want also to raise questions
regarding the What. -
15:24 - 15:26What kind of technology?
-
15:26 - 15:30Is that the only list of technologies
that will shape the future? -
15:30 - 15:31I don’t think so.
-
15:31 - 15:34I don’t think there is only
one way to see -
15:34 - 15:36how we're going to develop
ourselves into the future. -
15:36 - 15:41I actually think that we need more
and we have more. -
15:41 - 15:45We need knowledge that starts to develop
-
15:45 - 15:48from the context, context-based.
-
15:48 - 15:50We heard some examples from West Africa
-
15:50 - 15:51and the Solomon's.
-
15:51 - 15:54Those are different contexts
and they can develop -
15:54 - 15:57new ways to see generation of knowledge.
-
15:57 - 16:01We probably need to unlabel,
-
16:01 - 16:03not to say: science is just this,
-
16:03 - 16:06and if you start to bring some
art into this, -
16:06 - 16:08then it's not science,
you can't talk about that. -
16:08 - 16:11Maybe we have to start unlabeling things.
-
16:11 - 16:14For example, in our documentary,
-
16:14 - 16:16we talk about science and development
-
16:16 - 16:19but we use contemporary African dance
to talk about that, why? -
16:19 - 16:23Because if you talk
about contemporary dance in Africa, -
16:23 - 16:25things make sense.
-
16:25 - 16:29If you don’t use the culture,
things do not make sense. -
16:30 - 16:34It is important to work out
in the demystification, -
16:34 - 16:38in the democratization, decentralization.
-
16:38 - 16:42I think we can have very good examples
for research -
16:42 - 16:44coming from these places.
-
16:44 - 16:47Solomon Islands,
this tiny archipelago, could become, -
16:47 - 16:50for example, the best observatory,
-
16:50 - 16:53monitoring of global changes in the world.
-
16:53 - 16:56And these could be
the new research centers -
16:56 - 16:58happening around the world,
-
16:58 - 17:01maybe these are the new contributors.
-
17:01 - 17:03I actually believe that we have passed
-
17:03 - 17:06from the technological revolution to,
right now, -
17:06 - 17:10in a crowd revolution,
but we need something else. -
17:10 - 17:14We need a humble revolution.
We need humbleness. -
17:14 - 17:18We need to reduce our ego.
-
17:18 - 17:22Those who consider themselves specialists,
or experts, -
17:22 - 17:24we need to reduce the ego.
-
17:24 - 17:28Once we reduce the ego,
we are able to identify -
17:28 - 17:31the potential among our peers,
-
17:31 - 17:34among those that we call the non-experts.
-
17:34 - 17:40And, by doing that,
we will be able to start new directions. -
17:40 - 17:43New directions for science, for technology,
-
17:45 - 17:48you can call it the way you want.
-
17:48 - 17:50I will just finish with this slide,
-
17:50 - 17:53which to me represents empowerment,
-
17:54 - 17:58because I am here,
standing in front of you, -
17:59 - 18:02and that dream that I had
when I was 15 years old, -
18:02 - 18:04I want you to remember,
that dream has changed. -
18:05 - 18:08That dream has actually expanded.
-
18:08 - 18:12I don’t want to build,
with a bunch of experts, -
18:13 - 18:17a technological tool to help
the population of my country. -
18:18 - 18:22I want to create something new.
-
18:22 - 18:26I want to expand my horizon,
and this is all. -
18:26 - 18:27Thank you very much.
-
18:27 - 18:30(Applause)
- Title:
- Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte
- Description:
-
According to Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran, a new definition of scientific and social progress is needed: one created by the people, based on their actual needs, cultures and traditions. He believes science must be demystified and made accessible to everyone, for only then can we move forward into a brighter future. Camilo founded the Taleo Initiative as an idealized system where ideas on global challenges can be conceptualized through observation and alternative thinking.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 18:39
TED edited English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Ivana Korom commented on English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Laura Díaz Aguirre edited English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte | ||
Laura Díaz Aguirre accepted English subtitles for Democratizing Science: Camilo Rodriguez-Beltran at TEDxBeloHorizonte |
Ivana Korom
Note: in the new editor, you can see the character length of each subtitle, as well as its reading speed (characters/second). For languages based on the Latin alphabet, the maximum subtitle length is 84 characters (subtitles over 42 characters need to be broken into two lines). The maximum reading speed should be less than 22 characters per second. You can access the new editor by clicking "Beta: Save and open in new editor" after opening the task in the old interface. To learn more about line length, line breaking and reading speed, watch this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvNQoD32Qqo //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I broke subtitles that were over 42 characters into two lines. I also fixed some line breaks in some subtitles to make the lines more balanced in length and/or to keep linguistic "wholes" together (e.g. keep the word "that" in the same line as the clause that it introduces as a relative pronoun). To learn more about why and how to break subtitles into lines, see this guide on OTPedia: http://translations.ted.org/wiki/How_to_break_lines
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The duration of a subtitle should not be over 7 seconds. I split some subtitles whose duration extended that limit (to split a subtitle, you can shorten the duration of the current subtitle and insert another subtitle into the resulting "gap").
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Generally, please don't include slips of the tongue and mid-sentence changes that do not alter the meaning of the whole sentence. For example, if the speaker says "I can see that there are some-- I can see some buildings here," just transcribe it as "I can see some buildings here" or "I can see that there are some buildings here," depending on which version would be more suitable in terms of reading speed.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I fixed the reading speed of the subtitles where it was over 21 characters per second. I did this by either compressing the text (see http://translations.ted.org/wiki/How_to_Compress_Subtitles) or by editing the timing of the subtitle. In some cases, I merged subtitles to create a bigger subtitle with the correct reading speed. In order to merge subtitles, copy the text of the second subtitle, delete the second subtitle, paste its text into the first subtitle and extended its time to cover the duration of the deleted subtitle. To learn more about line length, line breaking and reading speed, watch this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvNQoD32Qqo
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Gonna, wanna, kinda, sorta and 'cause are ways of pronouncing going to, want to, kind of, sort of and because, respectively. Do not use them in English subtitles. Instead, use the full form (e.g. going to where you hear gonna). For more info on similar issues, see the English style guide at http://translations.ted.org/wiki/English_Style_Guide
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
If there is a video within the talk, like here, you should transcribe the text because it adds information to the whole talk. Characters should be properly introduced.