You don't have to be an expert to solve big problems | Tapiwa Chiwewe

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2018

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Driving in Johannesburg one day, Tapiwa Chiwewe noticed an enormous cloud of air pollution hanging over the city. He was curious and concerned but not an environmental expert -- so he did some research and discovered that nearly 14 percent of all deaths worldwide in 2012 were caused by household and ambient air pollution. With this knowledge and an urge to do something about it, Chiwewe and his colleagues developed a platform that uncovers trends in pollution and helps city planners make better decisions. "Sometimes just one fresh perspective, one new skill set, can make the conditions right for something remarkable to happen," Chiwewe says. "But you need to be bold enough to try."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This TED Talk features research scientist Tpewa Chihuahuei, recorded live at TED at IBM 2017.
0:09.5	One winter morning, a couple of years ago, I was driving to work in Johannesburg, South Africa, and noticed a haze hanging over the city.
0:19.7	I make that drive on most days,
0:22.0	so it was unusual that I hadn't noticed this before.
0:25.6	Johannesburg is known for his distinctive skyline,
0:28.7	which I could barely see that morning.
0:31.3	It didn't take long for me to realize
0:33.5	that I was looking at an enormous cloud of air pollution.
0:41.2	The contrast between the scenic environment I knew and this smog-covered skyline stirred up something within me.
0:46.0	I was appalled by the possibility of the city of bright and vivid sunsets
0:51.3	being overrun by Adal Hayes.
0:57.0	At that moment, I felt an urge to do something about it, but I didn't know what. All I knew was I couldn't just stand idly by. The main
1:04.9	challenge was I didn't know much about environmental science, air quality management, or atmospheric chemistry.
1:14.5	I am a computer engineer, and I was pretty sure I couldn't code my way out of this air pollution problem.
1:21.8	Was I to do anything about this issue? I was but a citizen.
1:32.0	In the following years, I learned a very important lesson.
1:39.3	A lesson we all need to take to heart if we're to work towards a better future. Even if you're not an expert in a particular domain, your outside expertise may hold the key to solving big problems within that
1:46.2	domain. Sometimes the unique perspective you have can result in unconventional thinking that can
1:52.8	move the needle. But you need to be bold enough to try. That's the only way you'll ever know.
2:01.8	What I knew back then was that if I was even going to try to make a difference,
2:07.2	I had to get smart about air pollution first.
2:10.5	And so I became a student again.
	...

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