At TEDMED 2014, speakers upended conventional wisdom, embraced intellectual humility, and made us laugh. See what some of the most innovative and creative minds in health and medicine had to say in our conference recap.

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November 2014
TEDMED 2014
Unlocking Imagination
10 Key Themes
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10 KEY THEMES
1. Humility returns to the stage
2. Going against the grain
3. It’s about the system
4. Radically rethinking norms
5. Better delivery, not better pills
6. Innovation derived from the unexpected
7. The brain game
8. Celebrating the human spirit
9. Gender parity matters
10. It pays to persevere

3. Humility returns to the stage. Healthcare leaders such as
Elizabeth Nabel, Danielle Ofri, and U.S. Army Surgeon General, Patricia Horoho, put
ego aside to embrace intellectual humility, recognize the limits of our knowledge, and
admit to errors in our current medical systems.
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4. Going against the grain. The TEDMED audience gave standing
ovations for those who go against the grain. Self-expression and difference were
embraced as Rosie King questioned the paradigm of “normal.” Meanwhile Sophie de
Oliveira Barata is a brilliant artist who builds prosthetics designed to stand out.
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5. It’s about the system. We cannot separate our human actions, the
system we live in, and our health. Researchers are now correlating human disease to
human disruption of the natural world, drawing from the animal kingdom to spur
innovation in medicine, and considering biomimicry as a design approach.
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6. Radically rethinking the norms. What if drugs were
decriminalized, blood tests were conducted at home, surrogacy was prescribed for
infertility, and breastfeeding reduced heart attacks in mothers? On the TEDMED stage,
norms were consistently challenged, and proposed solutions upended conventional
wisdom.
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Better delivery, not better pills. What if how a treatment is
delivered is as important as the molecule itself? Numerous speakers pointed to
improved effectiveness when shifting environmental conditions such as light, sound,
and even the use of placebos.
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8. Innovation derived from the unexpected. Drawing from
Cuba’s medical schools, the local toy store, and the lingerie drawer, speakers shared
discoveries from the most improbable of places, showing that innovation often occurs
outside the laboratory.
@ahie8 r

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The brain game. With science on the cusp of revolutionary advances in
neuroscience, researchers shared previously unknown brain connections, showing
that solving for health is about understanding the brain more than any other organ.
Speakers revealed that sleep provides a cleaning system for the brain, gut
microbiome are brain puppeteers, and that understanding eye movement provides
new insight into brain behavior.

10. Celebrating the human spirit. Speakers infused health and
medicine with humanity and levity. Diana Nyad shared the inspiring tale of her Cuba-to-
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Florida swim, while tutu-self portraitist Bob Carey and comedian Tig Notaro use
humor as a healing agent.

11. Gender parity matters. More women than ever before took to the
TEDMED stage, much to the credit of event organizers who continue to dispel
the notion that STEM is a man’s world.
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12. It pays to persevere. During TEDMED 2010, Marc Koska presented his
vision for saving millions of lives with a single use syringe. In 2014, he made this a
reality on the TEDMED stage, as he announced WHO’s global health initiative and
policy mandating the use of safe needles.
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Photo Credits
Cover … TEDMED
Page 2 … TEDMED
Page 3 … The Alternative Limb Project
Page 5 … USA Today
Page 6 … Science 2.0
Page 7 … Karp Labs
Page 8 … Top World Post
Page 9 … Bob Carey, The Tutu Project
Page 10 … TEDMED
Page 11 … TEDMED