[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.07,0:00:14.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please welcome to the TEDx \NSonoma County stage Kelly Corrigan
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.18,0:00:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.55,0:00:23.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I have to be honest,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.07,0:00:25.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’m not feeling very good \Nabout my prospects right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.76,0:00:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don’t have a ukulele player,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.76,0:00:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don’t have a beret,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.03,0:00:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can’t do that dance that \Nthat guy did from the gospel
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.84,0:00:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I am the last thing between you\Nand your five o’clock drink.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.26,0:00:40.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.30,0:00:43.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let me give you five facts.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.35,0:00:47.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thirty-three percent \Nof high school graduates
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.15,0:00:50.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,never read a book after graduation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.87,0:00:55.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In college the number goes \Nto forty-two percent.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.08,0:01:00.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the state of Arizona forecasts \Nhow many beds they need for their prisons,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.96,0:01:04.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they look to the number of kids\Nin fourth grade who read well.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.69,0:01:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The number one cause \Nof divorce is poor communication.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.37,0:01:15.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the number one predictor \Nof occupational success is vocabulary.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.32,0:01:20.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my message today for individuals \Nand couples and families,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.73,0:01:25.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for workforces, electorates, \Nand communities is read more.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.71,0:01:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.01,0:01:37.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Read personal narrative, \Nread poetry, read op-ed,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.22,0:01:38.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,read Doris Kearns Goodwin
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.67,0:01:41.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Louisa May Alcott \Nand Captain Underpants.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.72,0:01:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are so many good reasons to read,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.26,0:01:46.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there’s a whole set \Nof physiological benefits
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.91,0:01:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,similar to what you get from meditation
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.91,0:01:52.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so there is lowered stress and\Ndeeper sleep and reduced memory loss.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.42,0:01:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then there’s the places \Nthat a book can take you
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.02,0:01:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that time and money and \Nreality sometimes prohibit
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.40,0:02:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Xerox Park, or Gosford Park, \Nor Jurassic Park.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.40,0:02:04.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then there are the people you can meet
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.92,0:02:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the pages of a book.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.23,0:02:08.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know you can walk the jungle \Nwith Coronel Kurtz
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.69,0:02:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or skip to the tea party \Nwith the Mad Hatter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.04,0:02:15.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or storm the boardroom waving \Na tiny phone with Steve Jobs.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.50,0:02:19.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reading is the ultimate \Nneurobiological workout.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.91,0:02:23.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is to the brain what exercises is \Nto the body.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.71,0:02:27.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I could stop right there and the case \Nfor reading would be made,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.45,0:02:31.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there’s another reason \Nthat I want to talk about today,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.11,0:02:33.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that is to read for the words.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.95,0:02:40.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The consequences \Nof a robust working vocabulary seem small
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.30,0:02:42.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there’re actually many and meaningful.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.64,0:02:43.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before I get to them,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.86,0:02:47.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,let me just make the link quickly \Nbetween reading and vocabulary.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.23,0:02:51.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After fourth grade your vocabulary \Nbasically develops exclusively
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.86,0:02:56.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from reading and that’s because \Nwritten language is so much more diverse
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.35,0:02:58.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than spoken conversation.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.56,0:03:02.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you were to read \Nfor thirty minutes a day for a year,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.23,0:03:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you would be exposed to two million words\Nused in context.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.43,0:03:11.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they say conservatively \Nthat five percent of those words
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.03,0:03:14.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be new to you or unfamiliar \Nor rarely used words.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.67,0:03:17.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that’s a hundred thousand such words
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.50,0:03:20.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you’re going to see in a year. \NLet’s say you only retain a hundred,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.99,0:03:24.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but let’s also say that you’re not \None of the thirty-three percent
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.13,0:03:27.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the high school graduates \Nwho never read another book again
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.15,0:03:30.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and let’s also say that you’re getting \Nready to go to your 30-year reunion.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.72,0:03:34.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That means that you have been exposed\Nto thousands of new words
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.78,0:03:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you’ve incorporated them into your own personal arsenal.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.55,0:03:40.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That has…that matters.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.29,0:03:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that adds up.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.60,0:03:45.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So as I said at the top, \None of the things it does for us
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.04,0:03:46.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is predict occupational success.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.86,0:03:51.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it has been proven \Nthat achievement precedes the vocabulary
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.88,0:03:54.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than it being a result of.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.23,0:03:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And at first it seemed so far-fetched to me \Nthat that would be the case
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.52,0:04:00.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then it seemed \Nso obvious the more I sat with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.15,0:04:03.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean how we communicate \Nhas such a huge influence over
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.88,0:04:05.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how we are perceived
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.57,0:04:09.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how we are perceived has such \Na huge influence over how we behave
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.70,0:04:14.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how we behave over time \Nbecomes basically who we are,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.10,0:04:16.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to our colleagues \Nand within our profession.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.55,0:04:18.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it all starts with word choice.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.24,0:04:22.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Two a strong working vocabulary
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.02,0:04:24.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the best defense we have \Nagainst manipulation
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.84,0:04:27.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both commercial and political.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.06,0:04:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So take for example \Nthe whole ballot measure business.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.18,0:04:35.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you’ve got a team of word Smiths\Nthat are trying to come up
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.42,0:04:39.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the perfect exact phrasing \Nfor that ballot measure, then you’ve got
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.07,0:04:43.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a whole set of media working \Nto translate that into new language
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.100,0:04:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there you are the voter in the booth \Nhaving to parse those words to made sure
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.01,0:04:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you can accurately \Nvote your conscience.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.30,0:04:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That takes a strong vocabulary.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.98,0:04:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take for another example \Nlistening to a debate.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.44,0:05:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to be able to hear \Nand instantly recognize the motives
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.06,0:05:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,behind choosing certain words over others.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.70,0:05:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For instance affirmative action \Nover reverse discrimination
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.88,0:05:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or illegal immigrant \Nover undocumented worker
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.68,0:05:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or disability over difference.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.97,0:05:16.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third reason, as my husband said,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.36,0:05:21.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that language literally \Ndefines our palette of possible thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.55,0:05:26.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As Helen Keller said, \Nperhaps more beautifully, no offense Hun
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.87,0:05:31.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.43,0:05:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said, well first she considered herself \Nlike a wild animal
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.00,0:05:37.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until she got her hands on words
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.77,0:05:40.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, she first learned braille \Nand then she learned to sign
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.98,0:05:42.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then finally she could vocalize.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.82,0:05:46.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And she said language sets thoughts aster
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.23,0:05:50.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and keeps us in the intellectual \Ncompany of man.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.24,0:05:51.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I learned this for myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.78,0:05:55.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1993 I came out to California \Nfrom Philadelphia
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.63,0:05:59.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I started grad school at night \Nto get a masters in English Lit.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.31,0:06:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My first professor was a guy named \NMichael Krasny
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.68,0:06:07.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who you might know – you know – \Nfrom public radio
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.67,0:06:11.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Michael Krasny is a lucid articulate man
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.67,0:06:15.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I will tell you that in three months \Nof those classes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.53,0:06:20.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he introduced us to concepts as far \Nand wide as cognitive dissonance
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.56,0:06:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and schadenfreude \Nand intentional fallacy,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.56,0:06:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,agnosticism and relativism,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.60,0:06:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solecism and those concepts \Nthat he drew with an architect’s precision
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.86,0:06:36.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with that uncanny verbal acumen \Nof his are now mine.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.64,0:06:40.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are in my palette \Nof possible thoughts forever.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.64,0:06:43.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And fourth, which is my favorite reason,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.76,0:06:47.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Having a strong vocabulary \Nallows you to do the thing
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.76,0:06:52.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that fifty plus years of social science \Ntells us is the key to well-being;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.55,0:06:56.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make meaningful connections to others.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.40,0:07:00.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The strength of our connections, \Nthe quality of our connections
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.42,0:07:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,totally hinges on our emotional \Nintelligence and EQ starts with words.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.38,0:07:11.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How accurately and unambiguously \Ncan we identify and distinguish
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.88,0:07:14.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and convey our feelings to another.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.68,0:07:18.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was the lie insidious or was it shrewd?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.08,0:07:21.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Did it make you anxious or cautious?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.08,0:07:28.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Language allows for that potent \Ndivine moment between friends
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.62,0:07:32.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we both understand \Nand are understood.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.23,0:07:36.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "Exactly Moment" where I say \N“I don’t know it was just,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.62,0:07:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was so disappointed, \Nbut it was more than that”
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.40,0:07:42.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You were disillusioned."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.31,0:07:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Exactly, that’s exactly how I felt”
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.77,0:07:49.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so Word Nerds our job is clear.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.95,0:07:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter and Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.44,0:08:01.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only in TED do you get a clap \Nfor calling everybody a nerd.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.59,0:08:07.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our job is to go out there and help \Nour families and our spouses
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.77,0:08:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ourselves our workplaces, \Nour electorate, our communities read more,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.08,0:08:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that we may be able \Nto achieve and evaluate
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.08,0:08:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to think and connect
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.86,0:08:21.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that we might keep building the bridge
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.43,0:08:24.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Ian Forrester said is so essential,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.61,0:08:28.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the between the prose in us\Nand the passion.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.94,0:08:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without it he said, we are \Nmeaningless fragments:
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.60,0:08:35.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,half monks, half beasts.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.12,0:08:36.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.68,0:08:40.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)