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I was a strange child.
When I was little, I used to refer to myself in third person.
Zhanna is not hungry, Zhanna said she was not sleepy.
I used to think that Zhanna was not me,
that I was responsible for some Zhanna,
and I didn't have a name myself.
Time passed, and I, like all other children, grew up.
I understood that Zhanna was me all that time,
accepted the fact that the world is simpler
and easier than I thought.
Right, why complicate everything?
Let's accept things as they are.
Have you ever asked yourself if you live a real life,
or if all of this is an illusion?
Have you ever been afraid that
maybe all of us live in somebody's dream.
Imagine, you live in somebody's dream
and that somebody is going to wake up tomorrow.
What would you do, if you knew that?
Have you ever asked yourself that question?
The thing is that since childhood we are used to accepting certain things
that are accepted by people.
For example, if you look at the mathematics,
which I have difficult relationship with,
numbers are infinite, but we never question that.
Or we won't think about the fact that there is only a single straight line between two points,
or that hyperbola gets close to, but never actually reaches zero.
Or who said that an image cannot have more than three dimensions?
Maybe our eyes just cannot see it?
I want to ask everybody here to close their eyes.
Everybody, you too.
For a second, question everything that surrounds you.
Are the people sitting next to you really there
or maybe you only think that?
Now open your eyes and look at the color blue.
Is this blue, or maybe that's how I see yellow?
And who said that animals see in black and white?
What if I tell you they see better than us,
will you believe me?
No really, what if it snows right now, but it's colorless and tasteless...
Are you sitting at TEDx listening to me?
No, probably somebody woke up in you
and they try to prove to you that it will snow in early June,
and you will see blue as yellow,
soon all of us will disappear because somebody's dream is going to end,
and I am your colorful inner unicorn,
that eats rainbows and butterflies
and makes your thoughts leave through your ears in the shape of blue clouds
because thoughts don't need oxygen.
And now we just invented a new law of physics
ignoring everything accepted by grown-ups.
Congratulations.
It is hard.
But if you think about it, you will understand
that we limit ourselves with axioms accepted by grown-ups.
Our life is in our hands,
if we continue to live like this,
one day our life will stop to develop,
and that's when we will see blue as grey
and there will be no snow at all.
Question the reality you live in.
Think like a kid, be creative and be a dreamer.
Maybe you are responsible for some Zhanna,
like I was responsible for mine.
Thank you.
(Applause)