I used to have a FEAR of boats, but that ship has sailed.

Ted Talk

Karen Thompson Walker is a fiction writer. In her TED talk she discusses the thin line between fear and imagination. She speaks of the whaleship essex situation back in 1819. This is to lead into her purpose of her talk, to argue that fear and imagination are connected and we could use that imagination to fuel our stories. Walker elaborates her argument by saying that fear leads to unintentional storytelling. Our fears create scenarios in our heads of how they can play out in our lives. It helps us predict an event that will impact every event after. It's like an everyday clairvoyance that humans have the privledge to be able to experience. Then if one could harness this power and imagination, they could create a wonderful story out of it. Ultimately, Walker wanted to communicate that fear isn't something to be afraid of. It's a stepping stone to a whole new world.

One method that Walker uses to get her point across is pathos. This is arguably Walker's main concept she uses, because fear is an emotion. Walker tugs at the heartstrings when she speaks of her childhood in California. Walker discusses her fears to the audience that she had as a child. For example: Walker feared for earthquakes and what would happen to her family if one would occur.

Another example of pathos in her talk is telling the tale of the whaleship essex. Walker recounts about the sailors who were hit by a sperm whale and stranded thousands of miles away from any piece of land. This story is referenced serval times throughout her talk, always talking about the fears that the sailors had when trying to figure out what to do in order to survive.

Both of these uses of pathos have one purpose. To make the audience feel sympathetic. Walker tells these stories in order to get her audience to experience, or just think about, the fear laced within. She wants them to feel empathetic for the characters she tells about. The purpose of that is so they can experience the fear that Walker keeps mentioning. Walker wants the audience to experience the fear and think about the scenarios they would choose on their own. The purpose of this is, so that they can get a real inside look at her point.

I chose this ted talk, because I was curious as to what fear could teach me. (The talk is entitled: "What fear can teach us"). I was ultimately just curious as to what I could learn storytelling wise what fear could do to help, because fear is typically seen as something that hinders you. One thing that really resonated with me is the fear of the future. That's definitely something I can relate to right now, fearful for all the events coming up in my life (random example: college decisions).