How surfboards connect us to nature
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0:00 - 0:04Riding a wave is like
suddenly gaining speed -
0:04 - 0:07and gliding at the same time.
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0:07 - 0:10Like walking on water, like flying.
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0:10 - 0:15I think it's really about being one
with a natural phenomenon. -
0:15 - 0:18[Small thing. Big idea.]
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0:21 - 0:23The surfboard requires
a lot of ergonomic thinking. -
0:23 - 0:26How do I stand on it?
How do I not slip off? -
0:26 - 0:27But at the same time,
-
0:27 - 0:29it really has to work
in that fluid environment. -
0:29 - 0:33It's really considered
for the rider in some areas -
0:33 - 0:35and for water and physics in others.
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0:35 - 0:37A surfboard is made out of a core element
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0:37 - 0:40which tends to be foam,
which makes the board float, -
0:40 - 0:44and the skin of the board
is some kind of resin, -
0:44 - 0:46epoxy, sometimes fiberglass.
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0:46 - 0:48There often is also a stringer,
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0:48 - 0:49a wood piece down the middle,
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0:49 - 0:51which makes it stronger.
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0:51 - 0:55The rocker is the curvature
of the board in the front. -
0:55 - 0:57That is important because that determines
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0:57 - 1:00what kind of wave
you will be able to take, -
1:01 - 1:02how steep the wave is.
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1:02 - 1:03The tail affects performance.
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1:03 - 1:06Different tails will make
the board react differently, -
1:06 - 1:08so it's a lot about personal preference.
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1:09 - 1:10Our understanding of surfing
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1:10 - 1:15comes from when the Tahitians in 1200 AD
brought it to Hawaii. -
1:15 - 1:17So when James Cook arrived around 1780,
-
1:17 - 1:21he was mesmerized
by hundreds of people in the water, -
1:21 - 1:24children, women, men, surfing naked.
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1:24 - 1:26Calvinist missionaries arrive
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1:26 - 1:28and they're scandalized by it.
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1:28 - 1:31It becomes an illegal activity.
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1:31 - 1:33It becomes counterculture.
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1:33 - 1:37The father of modern surfing
is a Hawaiian named Duke Kahanamoku. -
1:37 - 1:39He is an extraordinary swimmer,
-
1:39 - 1:42wins gold at the Olympics in 1912.
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1:42 - 1:44Goes around the world
to show his swimming -
1:44 - 1:47but brings surfboards
and demonstrates surfing. -
1:47 - 1:50Imagine, people had never
seen surfing before. -
1:50 - 1:53Suddenly, some person from a faraway place
-
1:53 - 1:55is standing on water, riding on water.
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1:55 - 1:56He comes back to Hawaii,
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1:56 - 1:59and they start to make more boards.
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1:59 - 2:00Pre-Second World War,
-
2:00 - 2:03you're still looking
at big, heavy wood boards. -
2:03 - 2:04Post-Second World War,
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2:04 - 2:07new materials and new technologies
become available, -
2:07 - 2:11and those make the board
lighter, more accessible, cheaper, -
2:11 - 2:13but it continues to be a custom object,
-
2:13 - 2:15something that is made
specifically for a person -
2:15 - 2:17or for a certain spot.
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2:17 - 2:19It's a very symbiotic relationship
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2:19 - 2:21between surfer and shaper.
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2:21 - 2:23There's so many different criteria
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2:23 - 2:26that affect the physics
of how that surfboard -
2:26 - 2:28is moving in water.
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2:28 - 2:31A longboard is typically
used on smaller waves. -
2:31 - 2:33The riding has a lot of style.
-
2:33 - 2:34You can walk the board,
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2:34 - 2:37put your toes over it, do a hang ten.
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2:37 - 2:39A shortboard will be faster.
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2:39 - 2:41They're harder to ride,
they sink under the body. -
2:41 - 2:45Board design comes at the intersection
between those physical factors, -
2:45 - 2:49and really, how I want to put
myself in the water. -
2:49 - 2:53It's an expression
as much as it is a physical activity. -
2:53 - 2:56The draw may be
because water is so elusive. -
2:56 - 2:59You can't fight it, you can't change it.
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2:59 - 3:02The best I can do
is recognize what it does. -
3:02 - 3:05The surf may be big and getting bigger
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3:05 - 3:07and surging while you're in the water.
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3:07 - 3:08The elements are changing.
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3:08 - 3:09The wind is coming up.
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3:09 - 3:12You have to be in symbiosis
with the environment. -
3:12 - 3:15You need to look and feel for everything
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3:15 - 3:17that's happening around you.
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3:17 - 3:18And yet, it's so short.
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3:18 - 3:21Five, eight, 15 seconds.
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3:21 - 3:23It's fleeting,
but you have to go back to it.
- Title:
- How surfboards connect us to nature
- Speaker:
- Yves Béhar
- Description:
-
Here's how the surfboard changed our relationship to water, according to fuseproject founder Yves Béhar.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED Series
- Duration:
- 03:37
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How surfboards connect us to nature |