Pints, Punts, and Presentations. What Would You Like to See in the Upcoming Special TEDGlobal Issue of design mind?

With the TEDGlobal conference right around the corner, the design mind editorial team is gearing up for plenty of fun in the sun….. er, wait, we’re going to England….

With the TEDGlobal conference right around the corner, we’re gearing up for plenty of fun in the grey and drizzly (note the British spelling of “grey” as opposed to “gray”; we’re nerding up for loads more fun with the U.K.-U.S. language subtleties such as honor vs. honour, tire vs. tyre, and my favorite, oriented vs. orientated).

Events begin in just under two weeks, and the theme of the conference is “The Substance of Things Not Seen.” The plan is to go and see what most people aren’t seeing and then put it in a special issue of our design mind magazine so that we can all take a look at what we missed.

Yes, we want to know what quantum theorist David Deutsch means when he talks about the “multiverse,” why balloonist Bertrand Piccard wants to re-circle the globe in a solar-powered airplane, and what Steve Truglia will be thinking about as he tries to become the first person to sky dive from space (technically 120,000 feet). They’ll all be on stage, along with 50 other amazing minds, adventurers, teachers, designers, and entertainers from around the world.

But the good people at TED have the stage covered (as you can see on their superb Web site TED.com). We’re more interested in what happens back stage or afterhours or before hours (there’s a Wednesday morning run; will Alain de Botton wax about the sorrows and pleasures of shin splints as we circle the Keble College quad?).

We have some plans, such as visits to a nearby nuclear fusion laboratory, the local MINI car factory, and the literary haunts of Oxford. But if you were going to TED in Oxford, what would you like to bring back with you? Any secret pathways or pubs we should know about? Is Tolkien’s ghost punting the Cherwell? Are there any questions you might ask some of the speakers (list here) or the attendees? What about the world should we be seeing that we’re not?

Put your thoughts and observations in a comment box below and we’ll put a page in the next issue from you, our readers, about what you see when you look at TED when you’re not there.

— Sam Martin, Editor-in-Chief, design mind