Innovate for the Future by Developing a Makers Mindset | Berton Yang | TEDxYouth@GrandviewHeights

Summary

In this heartfelt narrative, a young boy recounts the most memorable toy of his childhood—a wooden puzzle crafted by his grandpa. This simple yet magical creation ignited his passion for engineering and creativity. Inspired by his grandpa's ingenuity, the boy embarks on his own journey of making, from a homemade Harry Potter wand to a personalized tablet, embracing the 'maker's mindset.' The story emphasizes the importance of creativity, problem-solving, and learning from failure, ultimately urging everyone to become makers of innovative solutions and a brighter future.

Takeaways

• 🎁 The best toy the speaker ever played with was a simple wooden puzzle made by their grandpa, which sparked their interest in engineering and creativity.
• 🧩 The wooden puzzle was a six-piece ball that the grandpa could assemble and disassemble, teaching the speaker about problem-solving and the joy of creation.
• 👨‍🔧 The grandpa is portrayed as a creative wizard and master maker, who inspired the speaker to think about and create unique and cool things.
• 🏔️ An experience of going skiing and observing the mechanics of a ski lift inspired the speaker and led to the grandpa creating a miniature version of it.
• 🛠️ The speaker learned that creating your own toys can be more special than any store-bought toy, and this realization led to a desire to be a maker.
• 📚 The speaker's interest in reading, particularly the Harry Potter series, led them to create their own wizard's wand from household items.
• 📱 The speaker created a customized tablet called the 'b-pad', which, despite being basic, was a unique creation that they took pride in.
• 🤔 The speaker emphasizes the importance of a 'maker's mindset', which involves creativity, problem-solving, and learning from failure.
• 💡 A maker's mindset is about more than just making things; it's about being curious, unlocking imagination, and finding innovative solutions to problems.
• 🌐 The speaker believes that the world needs people with a maker's mindset to solve the many challenges we face, requiring out-of-the-box thinking.
• 🔧 Developing a maker's mindset prepares individuals for the future by fostering the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn, which is crucial for adapting to new situations and opportunities.

Q & A

What was the narrator's initial reaction to the toy made by his grandpa?

The narrator was initially disappointed because the toy, consisting of six pieces of wood, did not look like a toy and seemed like something broken.

How did the grandpa transform the six pieces of wood into a toy?

The grandpa managed to assemble the six pieces of wood into a ball within a minute, which the narrator described as magical.

What was the challenge the narrator faced after receiving the wooden toy?

The challenge was to disassemble the wooden ball and then reassemble it, which the narrator initially found difficult and confusing.

How did the toy made by the grandpa impact the narrator's life?

The toy provided the narrator with hours of enjoyment and sparked his interest in engineering and creation, leading to his aspiration to become an engineer like his grandpa.

What event during a visit to Grouse Mountain inspired the narrator's grandpa?

The grandpa was inspired by the mechanics of the sky ride and the gondola being carried by cables, which he later recreated as a miniature model for the narrator.

What is the narrator's definition of a 'maker's mindset'?

A maker's mindset is defined by the narrator as creativity, curiosity, problem-solving, embracing failure, taking risks, and the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Why did the narrator create his own Harry Potter wand?

The narrator created his own wand because real wands were expensive and hard to come by, and he wanted to be a wizard without relying on store-bought toys.

What is the 'b-pad' and what does it represent for the narrator?

The 'b-pad' is the narrator's own customized tablet, representing his first creation and embodying the idea of uniqueness and personalization.

How does the narrator view failure in the context of having a maker's mindset?

The narrator views failure as an opportunity for learning, practicing, and developing perseverance, which are essential aspects of the maker's mindset.

What is the ultimate goal the narrator has for developing a maker's mindset?

The ultimate goal is to prepare for the future by becoming a creative and imaginative problem-solver, capable of developing innovative solutions to the world's challenges.

What message does the narrator convey in his closing statement about the future?

The narrator encourages everyone to develop a maker's mindset to create not just amazing things, but also a better and brighter future by being curious, imaginative, and proactive in solving problems.

Outlines

00:00

🎪 The Magic of Grandpa's Wooden Toy

The speaker fondly recalls the best toy they ever played with, which was a simple yet magical creation by their grandpa. Initially disappointed by the six pieces of wood, they were amazed when their grandpa transformed them into a ball. The toy became an obsession, teaching them the joy of disassembling and reassembling it. This experience sparked the speaker's interest in engineering and inspired them to follow in their grandpa's footsteps, valuing creativity and craftsmanship over mass-produced toys.

05:00

🛠 Embracing the Maker's Mindset

The narrative shifts to the speaker's realization of the importance of a maker's mindset, inspired by their grandpa's unique approach to creating toys. The speaker learns that creating one's own toys is more special than buying branded sets and decides to emulate their grandpa. They embark on their own making journey, crafting a Harry Potter wand and a personalized tablet, the b-pad. The speaker emphasizes the value of creativity, problem-solving, and learning from failure, advocating for a mindset that is curious, imaginative, and persistent.

10:03

🌟 Cultivating Creativity for a Brighter Future

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the broader implications of having a maker's mindset, particularly its role in preparing for the future. They argue that the world needs creative, risk-taking individuals who can devise innovative solutions to global problems. The speaker, despite being only nine, recognizes the potential of starting small, like making wands or cardboard tablets, as a foundation for developing a mindset that can contribute to a better and brighter future. The speech concludes with an encouraging call to action for everyone to embrace the maker's mindset.

Keywords

💡Toy

A toy is an object designed for children's play and entertainment. In the video's context, the term 'toy' is used to contrast the narrator's initial expectations of commercial toys with the unique, handcrafted wooden puzzle created by their grandpa, symbolizing creativity and personal connection.

💡Grandpa

The grandpa in the video represents a figure of inspiration and creativity. He is the one who made the wooden puzzle that sparked the narrator's interest in engineering and making. His role is central to the theme of learning through creation and the value of handmade items.

💡Engineering

Engineering is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge to invent, design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes. The video uses the term to illustrate the narrator's career aspirations, inspired by their grandpa's ability to create and solve problems.

💡Maker

A maker is someone who engages in the creation of tangible objects, often through hands-on activities like building or crafting. The video emphasizes the importance of having a 'maker's mindset,' which is about being creative, innovative, and capable of solving problems through making.

💡Creativity

Creativity refers to the use of imagination or original ideas to create something. The video highlights creativity as a key element in the process of making and learning, as well as a driving force behind the narrator's desire to emulate their grandpa's inventive spirit.

💡Problem Solving

Problem solving is the process of finding solutions to difficulties or obstacles. In the video, the act of disassembling and reassembling the wooden puzzle is presented as a problem-solving exercise that teaches the narrator valuable skills.

💡Learning

Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. The video's theme revolves around the idea that learning can be enhanced through a hands-on, creative approach, as demonstrated by the narrator's experiences with their grandpa's creations.

💡Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model of a product built to test a concept or process. The video mentions the creation of prototypes as part of the making process, emphasizing the iterative nature of learning and innovation.

💡Failure

Failure in the video is presented as a part of the learning process, something to be embraced rather than feared. It is depicted as an opportunity for growth and improvement, aligning with the 'maker's mindset' of resilience and perseverance.

💡Imagination

Imagination is the faculty or action of forming new ideas, images, or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. The video encourages unlocking one's imagination as a means to innovate and create, which is central to the 'maker's mindset'.

💡Customization

Customization refers to the process of making something to the specific requirements or preferences of an individual. The narrator's creation of a personalized tablet, the 'b-pad,' exemplifies the value of customization in the making process and the sense of pride that comes with creating something unique.

Highlights

The best toy was made by the speaker's grandpa, contrasting with typical toys made by large companies.

Grandpa turned six pieces of wood into a ball, demonstrating creativity and ingenuity.

The challenge of disassembling the wooden ball sparked the speaker's interest in problem-solving.

The toy inspired the speaker to pursue an engineering career, showing the impact of early experiences.

Observing the mechanics at Grouse Mountain sparked fascination with engineering and power.

Grandpa's ability to create a miniature Skyride model showcased his creativity and skill.

The speaker learned that creating one's own toys is more special than buying commercial ones.

The speaker's desire to be like grandpa, a maker of cool things, reflects the influence of a role model.

Making a Harry Potter wand from a chopstick and tin foil exemplifies resourceful creativity.

Creating a customized tablet, the b-pad, highlights the speaker's initiative and originality.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning through making and creating.

A maker's mindset involves creativity, problem-solving, and embracing failure.

The speaker advocates for a maker's mindset as essential for learning and innovation.

Developing a maker's mindset prepares individuals for future challenges and opportunities.

The speaker calls for everyone to start developing a maker's mindset for a better future.

The speech concludes with a call to action for collective creativity and problem-solving.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

thank you

the best toy I've ever played with was

actually made by my grandpa

I know

I couldn't believe it either

here I am

used to playing with toys that make

noise toys that flash toys they

transform

toys that are bright and colorful

and made by large companies trying to

take our parents money

but there I was

in the hot Beijing Summer board from TV

and reading sitting in my grandma's home

asking him to take me to buy some real

toys

and instead of giving in to a

seven-year-old boy and going and buying

me something new

my grandpa said to me

you want a toy

I got one that's perfect for you

he starts to look for something in his

closet like a little boy desperately

digging for that buried treasure

and when he showed me six pieces of wood

uh

I must admit I was a little disappointed

it didn't look like a toy in fact it

looked like

something was broken

what I was so wrong

because within one minute my grandpa

managed to turn these six little pieces

of wood into a ball

it was like magic

then the hard part came

my grandpa asked me to disassemble it

which was an even bigger challenge

I didn't know where to start

I wanted to solve it

but how

so I fiddled and tinkered and eventually

I worked it out

it became my new obsession

this toy these six wooden pieces gave me

hours and hours of enjoyment

best of all it was made by my grandpa

how amazing is that

this toy was the start of my grandma's

engineering career and is what has

inspired me to be like my grandpa an

engineer who can think about and create

cool things

even toys

a few months later my grandpa came to

visit and we went skiing at Grouse

Mountain

as we were waiting for the sky ride I

caught my grandpa staring at the big

window of the motor room checking out

the two huge Motors now driving thick

steel cables

like him I became mesmerized by the

mechanics of the machine

it's power and performance was amazing

the gondola was also super cool

it was big and heavy and I was surprised

that there were just cables carrying it

up

as we were going up the mountain I told

my grandpa that I wish I could take the

sky ride home because it was so cool and

awesome

my grandpa just smiled

he told me that one day I would

foreign

to Beijing my grandpa the creative Wiz

and master maker as I now know him to be

getting to work designing a blueprint

every time I video call him I always ask

Grandpa what are you up to

what cool things are you making

oh nothing

he would say

until one day he showed me are most

truly magnificent miniature Skyride with

two moving cable cars suspended on

cables spinning around a motor operated

bow wheel

I couldn't believe my eyes

I was so certain I was convinced that my

grandpa is the best Grandpa any kid

could ever have

not just because he made super awesome

toys but because he taught me something

special

he showed me that when you create your

own toys they are one of a kind they are

unique

he made me realize that what you can

make is far more special than any brand

new Lego set

that was it

I was so sure now I want to be just like

my grandpa

I want to be a maker of amazing things

I want to be a creator of cool stuff

foreign

I told my grandpa down to be just like

him

he just smiled and said that one day I

would

so what did I do

I got to work

at that time I was obsessed with reading

the Harry Potter series and I was

looking forward to getting a wand

but they're expensive and hard to come

by

what kind a wizard would I be without my

very own wand

not a good one I'm sure

so I made my own

I created it from tin foil and a

chopstick and now I'm ready to cast all

my spells without having to buy a toy

made by large companies trying to take

our parents money

my next creation was my own fully

customized tablet

the b-pad

the bee is for Burton just in case you

weren't sure

although it might be super basic I love

it

why

because it is the first b-pound in the

world

it is special and unique

so now whenever an idea strikes

I start thinking about how I can create

it

I get straight to work

sketching

planning developing prototypes tinkering

reflecting redoing until I get something

I'm happy with

but I'm not always successful in

creating something

and that's okay

it's all about practicing

of course you won't see a working B

phone coming out of my garage just yet

after all I'm still learning

but today learning is not just

memorizing a bunch of information

anymore

that is not what the world needs

and isn't that why we have Google

what the world needs now are people like

you and me like my grandpa

what the world needs now are people who

are creative imaginative and can solve

problems

what the world needs now are people who

have a maker's mindset

but what is a maker's mindset you ask

a maker's mindset is knowing that

creativity is our greatest sin

it is finding out how things work it is

analyzing a problem and finding ways to

solve it

and it is being curious and unlocking

our imagination

but it's more than just taking things

apart and making something new

a maker's mindset is also about

embracing failure taking risks and

developing perseverance

most importantly it is about identifying

problems as they arise and then coming

up with ways to learn unlearn

and relearn

just like my grandpa's puzzle

that'll cry me to pull it apart piece by

piece and then put it back together

again and again

and the best thing is that having a

maker's mindset is not just for creating

toys and cool stuff

it's a really useful skill for learning

too

it teaches you how to learn unlearn and

relearn

which will come in handy when you come

across new equations

It prepares us to identify opportunities

and find innovative solutions

which will be useful in our science

projects

and it gives us confidence to respond to

new challenges

which will be helpful even Beyond School

but wait

there's more

because the most important benefit of

developing a maker's mindset is

preparing yourself for the future

I'm only nine

but I can tell that there are so many

problems in the world we are trying to

solve

for this we need people who can think

deeply who are prepared to fail and take

risks and make something nobody ever

designed before

because

we definitely need out of the box and

out of the ordinary solutions that only

people were the Maker's mindset can

create

my grandpa's a maker

I'm a maker we are all makers

today we may make wands out of

Chopsticks or tablets out of a cardboard

but it's a start

so let's all start developing a maker's

mindset let's find out how things work

let's analyze a problem and find ways to

solve it and let's be curious and unlock

our imagination

together we can be makers of not just

amazing things but more importantly

makers of a better and brighter future

thank you

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

thank you