The intangible effects of walls | Alexandra Auer

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

More barriers exist now than at the end of World War II, says designer Alexandra Auer. And when you erect one wall, you unwittingly create a second — an "us" versus "them" partition in the mind that compromises our collective safety. With intriguing results from her social design project focused on two elementary schools separated by a fence, Auer encourages us to dismantle our biases and regain perspective on all the things we have in common.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:

Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:

Subscribe to our channel:

26 Comments on The intangible effects of walls | Alexandra Auer

  1. Yeah, walls literally give significant levels of protection, though, not just “a feeling of protection”

    • Tim de Jong no, “…they create and ‘us’ and a ‘them’” traitors and fools. IF everyone south of the border, which the NWO that she represents using her vagina as bait, made into a 3rd world weaponized country, were to come into the United States it would be the same dung heap Mexico is today. Just look at the bathrooms in the Southern parts and you will see the wadded up toilet paper that has been used, thrown in the corners. Sorry, don’t want them here. They need to be fixed down there first 😉

    • They dont stop modern threats tho, like were not under attack by vikings anymore. It only controls people migrating.

    • John CampbellTattoos “way back in WW2 they built a wall…. hey! Wasn’t that wall to separate one of biggest threats known to man- the Nazi’s? I think she should look at her own history!

  2. Live your little utopian life. Remove the walls and evil will exploit vulnerabilities to dominate, once again. Great one-sided discussion.

  3. I thinks prisons holding terrorists should get rid of their walls since “walls just provides us with a feeling of security”. 1:08
    Precision is key sometimes

  4. I’ve honestly always seen walls as something you build with others. Let me explain because I have 2 examples
    So, theres 2 parts to a wall. The wall itself and its foundation. There’s 3 possible ways this could develop. A strong foundation, but weak wall. A weak foundation, but weak wall. And of course a strong foundation and a strong wall.
    My friend, lets us call her Mia. Mia and I were in the same class for 3 years in total. Some day after I broke up with my ex called Emma we got very close. Mia and I had a weak foundation because we got close very very fast without knowing each others background story, so we skipped working on the foundation, but went straight for the wall. We to this day don’t talk, and I’ve spoken more with her mom the past year than her.
    My ex Emma. My ex Emma and I spent a long time working on the foundation, and showed our different sides fast. We became friends, and slowly but surely went to a romantic relationship. By that time our foundation was strong enough to be built on. So time goes by, and we end up breaking up. The wall is gone, but the foundation is there. I still speak to her regularly even after 3 years. With the wall being broken down we used the broken wall to build upon our foundation.
    You could change the walls with towers, but honestly the same concept

  5. Alaxandra Auer Lots of aspects there but I predominantly agreed at least we shouldn’t separate the children even in school. You have done a fantastic work. I applaud your work and thoughts

  6. Strong walls make for good neighbors.
    Yes, walls aren’t everything. Men are the citys best defence.
    “Us” and “Them” doesn’t establish the enemy. My fence says what is mine and what is yours. What belongs to you (and what is your responsibility) and what isn’t.

    Why gated communities exist? Because there is underlying need for them. Why is there a need for them? Because many other walls (both physical and mental) were destroyed.
    Didn’t knew the Belgium was so racist to keep segregated schools for migrants anyway but huh, it seems that as one wall is destroyed, another one rises.

  7. Drywall guy here. You can put a gun in a wall and nobody will know. We as humans like our closed doors because we are freaks when nobody is looking. We like our privacy and freedoms in our walls. I make the nicest walls humans ever seen in a house. You think she will open her house front door to anybody that comes around? Lols

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


Shares
Share This