Speaker: Andrés Ruzo
TEDGlobal 2014
Date: October 2014
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Description from TED website:
When Andrés Ruzo was a young boy in Peru, his grandfather told him a story with an odd detail: There is a river, deep in the Amazon, which boils as if a fire burns below it. Twelve years later, after training as a geoscientist, he set out on a journey deep into the jungle of South America in search of this boiling river. At a time when everything seems mapped and measured, join Ruzo as he explores a river that forces us to question the line between known and unknown … and reminds us that there are great wonders yet to be discovered.
My Review / Notes / Thoughts
Ruzo’s talk is extremely interesting. He discussed a story he heard as a child, that led him to research the possibility of this “boiling” river in the Amazon. He asked colleagues, people in the government, as well as people in oil, gas, and mining companies. All of these people said that it wasn’t possible – because there are no volcanoes in the Amazon.
However, when he mentioned all of this to his family, his aunt told him that it did exist and that she’d been there. She led him to the location in 2011 and he has been studying it ever since.
While discussing all of this – two points stuck out in my mind…
- Just because we have large amounts of data, and tons of research has been done … inside this amazing planet we live on, God has hidden wondrous things that we have yet to discover and understand.
- We need to protect the “unknown” from being pillaged and destroyed before it can be studied – we can’t let governments and companies run roughshod over this planet.
Both of these points paired with the video might make for some interesting discussion in a classroom environment (face-to-face or online). And I am sure that it would make for a great topic for research for students in the geology/science sphere. Talk about an interesting topic for the science fair!
This is a very interesting talk and I highly recommend you take some time to go and view it.
Note: Links are affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you make any purchases.
Ruzo’s Book:
Until next time … live long life-learner!