This is great to keep in mind, because without external factors, it's very likely that humans will not change their path very much. If you are only surrounded by people with a certain mindset, you are almost certainly going to adopt that mindset as well. That is why if you want to change a group of people, you have to do something like the group that she created. I'm sure that the I'm Worth Defending organization has changed many minds.

It's very impressive that she had the motivation to not only build a school, but also to have the vision to completely rebuild her community. Like she said, the school is a very good foundation because it brings together like-minded kids who will be able to transform their community. I'm also interested to know if she had any other ideas other than building a school. Maybe a group of volunteer workers similar to boy/girl scouts could work to help the community as well.

I believe that this is an important idea, the idea that your foundations need to be well covered before moving on to anything else.This goes for not just well being, but also more specific areas such as learning a subject or exercising. I think it is great that she recognized this and prioritized her students' well being before their education, because a student that is not safe or well-nourished will never learn.

I've definitely heard before that certain animals are not the most efficient in terms of energy since they require a lot of food to raise, while the food they output is not much. Perhaps in the future, lab-grown meats or vegan meats could replace traditionally grown meats so that waste would be reduced. This biscuit analogy also shows that there are a lot of points in the chain where we could improve and make more efficient.

This is a very interesting fact that is pretty intuitive. Since richer countries have more money, they can afford to have a surplus of food. That could be something to focus on as we could spend money on trying to reduce waste instead. However, I feel that spending less on surplus is unlikely because that would require society to adjust and that would be hard to do, just like how many people say we should use the metric system, but the main obstacle is adjusting.

I'm surprised by how much food is thrown away because of cosmetics. This reminds me of how much food restaurants throw away after the store closes. The food is in near perfect condition but we still refuse to eat it. I feel like this type of food is something that can be easily used to help someone. Since the food is already made, the amount of effort to feed someone is a lot less.

I'm interested to know if these factors were all weighed equally or differently. I think that giving a single score for the social progress of a country is too simple to capture the reality of the whole situation. Also, different people may have different ideas on what makes a good life. Basic needs like food and shelter are extremely important, but it's difficult to know how it should be weighted on the scale compared to the other factors.

It's interesting and it makes sense to hear that these massive reductions in poverty came from these countries that grew so quickly. If countries with mass poverty have good economic growth, they will be able to pull large amounts of people out of poverty. As shown later in the speech though, providing a good lifestyle outside of just basic needs requires a lot more. This is basically the law of diminishing returns. The country needs to provide more and more to provide even better living conditions for its citizens.

I think this is very important to realize when trying to increase the well being of people. Also if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A country with a high GDP per capita consumes and produces a lot of goods. However, if this wealth does not necessarily have to be used to increase the quality of life for its people. Of course, wealthier countries have more money that it can use to potentially invest in the people, which is why there is a correlation. To truly help the people though, the country needs to actively spend resources to achieve that goal.

Similarly to listening with an open mind, you should respond to others with the knowledge that many times there will be different opinions. It is important to realize this and still respectfully put out your own words while acknowledging the other person's words as well. Also realizing that discussions require a speaker and a listener will hopefully create meaningful responses. I hope that we can all respond to each other's comments to create great discussions.

This is certainly a difficult thing to do especially when talking in person because sometimes you just want to respond to what the other person says. However, if you really want to communicate effectively, actually listening to understand what they are saying is extremely important. Trying to understand helps to make the conversation less one-sided, and I think it helps in understanding the other person's perspective better. Sometimes imagining yourself in that person's shoes will help to understand their view.

I think this is one of the best things you can do to be compassionate towards others and in general to grow as a person. I see a lot of people easily dismiss ideas that are different from theirs, but I believe that even if you completely disagree with their view, you should listen. Listening to the other person present their opinion is a respectful thing to do, and also there is a possibility that you may learn something.