(Emcee, Peter Roy: Past President of Whole Foods Market )
What a day! SNAP 2008 Day One had an amazing roster of speakers. We had everyone from Matt Bai – New York Times political analyst to Naomi Wolf. Terrific 20 minute talks interspersed with some amazing video pieces and musical acts. It's the TED talks on speed! There was so much content offered I could take the next week and blog 24/7 on what was presented. I can't do that, so I present to you the Cliffs Notes version…
In a nutshell, I learnt that:
1. Right brain thinkers (artistic, entrepreneurial, intuitive, empathetic, understand context not text) will now take over the world from the left brain thinkers (logical, linear, sequential analysis, engineer / lawyer type, spreadsheet loving MBA holding quant types) who have dominated to date. So by 9.20am, my MBA envy was all but gone and to all those blokes who derided my liberal Arts education, look out!
2. 70% of corn in the US is GMO and most of that is Monsanto's "BT Corn". This corn is registered as a pesticide not a food. Oh boy.
3. Mushrooms can save the planet.
4. Biologically, women look at food the way men look at sex. This proved a personal theory I have had for years!
5. 1950's marriages looked like McCain – Monica Lewinsky. Present day marriages look like Hilary Clinton – Bill Clinton
6. In politics, we have left the age of persuasion (read an article and I am open to be persuaded to this new point of view) to the age of confirmation (read the first 10 lines and if it confirms my current opinion, I keep reading. If it doesn't, then I search out content that does). I am so guilty of this…
7. The problem with the current election (other than it may have just been cancelled) is that it is all tactical (slogans, framing) and not about the substance of what a particular candidate will do once in office.
8. This guy is the next big thing in music – amazing voice. He makes John Mayer look like Mickey Mouse.
the early years 