Response to Daniel Pink's TEDTalk

I took away a few basic points from Daniel Pink's motivation speech that we watched in class on Tuesday. First, rewards only work for simple, mechanical tasks and fail when applied to anything involving metacognition. Second, intrinsic motivation is the drive of the people of the future. Third, for work to truly be productive, creativity and enjoyment must be dominant portions of the task and the worker must desire ascension in that area. These observations could be extremely useful to anyone who is in the process of deciding on a job or a major, for usually these decisions are driven by monetary gain or social acceptance, which have proved themselves to be failing tactics of motivation. Pink spoke with multitudes of anger, irritation, and incredulity in his voice, mainly directed at the large businesses that are refusing to acknowledge that studies have proved Motivation 2.0 is dying. However, in the middle of his near-rants, he would inflect some humor in order to keep tension out of the air and also to keep himself in check. Pink also spoke in a "real" voice, not monotone drabble or pedantic snark. While presenting, Pink gesticulated emphatically to portray his emotions to the listeners. He also used the strategy of connections, relating actual business situations to those of audience members. In order to back up his points, Pink called upon an abundance of background knowledge and research he had compiled, such as studies, quotes, photos, diagrams, and even concepts. Daniel Pink's speech about motivation that we watched in class today gave me some valuable insight into the flaws of the working world. After he discussed how higher incentives diminished creativity, I thought about how that affects people in school and then in their working lives. In middle school, we had a guest speaker in our Gifted/Talented class who told us, "Pick a job that you would do for the rest of your life...for no pay." After seeing Pink's studies and research, I can't help but agree-- true fulfullment in life is doing something that is gratifying in itself, not just what follows. I believe a person who has truly completed that goal is my dad. I remember asking him if he loved his job, and why. He replied, "Of course I do. I get front row seats to basketball games, I get to watch the sport I love, and I get to talk for 3 hours about what's going on, and teach people new things." I take these words to heart, and I know that whatever I end up doing in life, I will try to make sure that I can only think of positives. I was also drawn into the mention of the three principles of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose; Mastery the most of all. As a competitor, I never settle for anything less than the best, and I love to win. Mastery, in my opinion, is an extension of pride, so to speak. For example, consider an online game connected to Facebook, in which friends compete to get the highest scores. There is no cash gain, no trophy, not even a notification of the highest scoring person-- merely the chance to be besting a few buddies. This game exists: it is called Robot Unicorn Attack (it's awfully pointless yet painfully addicting), and at least 20 of my friends play it every week. I used to be one of them, and my sole motivation to win was because I could then brag the next day about my superior skills. This game has no value in the world whatsoever, yet teens play for hours on end for a sense of superiority!! I think this is where Mastery is seeded; in those who are not content with being ignored or bested. It is their desire for greatness that prompts them to conquer a skill and be uncontested. Finally, I was fascinated by the idea of companies having days where workers set "personal schedules." This prompted me to think of two aspects of school: timed tests and in-class essays. In math, I am probably the slowest test-taker in the world. However, if I had a chance to work in a different environment or take breaks in between portions, I am pretty sure that I would fare much better on assignments and produce better grades. As for in-class essays, the quiet atmosphere of a room can be very counterproductive, almost suffocating. On the contrary, writing in one's own home provides calm and familiarity, which would greatly benefit all students. Daniel Pink stated that "There is a mismatch between what science knows and business does," and know that business is taking notice, the education system should too. --Grace M.