TED: Small Thing Big Idea – How surfboards connect us to nature (EMBEDDED VIDEO SIZING ISSUE)
Being on a surfboard in the ocean can teach us something about our place in the natural world. Yves Behar talks about the origins of the sport, finding balance on the board, and what catching a wave means to him in episode 17 of the TED Series: Small Thing Big Idea.
Walking on water
For Yves, surfing is about being one with a natural phenomenon—face to face with the beauty of nature at all different intensities and tones. The ocean puts the madness of urban life and ordinary people in an environment of total vulnerability. Yves tells the story of how the raw energy of surfing began in Tahiti back in 1200 AD, and still captures the hearts of people around the world today.
The surfboard enables, the surfer creates
Anyone who has watched waves crashing has a sense of their enormous power. Its design requires ergonomic thinking around all its elements in order to function: the core, the rocker, the stringer, and the tail. The relationship between the surfer and shaper is truly symbiotic because of all the criteria that have to align and affect how the board will move in the water. Yves analyses the balance between designing for the surfer and understanding the physics of the environment.
Self-expression in a fleeting moment
Mindfulness in surfing is a moving out of the mind and into an acute sense of how we can orient ourselves within a foreign environment to find sense of place. Immersed in the salt-soaked water, we are active, alert, and intent on balancing. Yves talks about the irresistible draw of the ocean, the alchemical mix of blending risk with style, and finding peace on the surfboard.
