On Nov. 26, Student Life and Engagement showed AJ Jacobs’ TED talk, his mission was to thank everyone who has ever made his morning cup of coffee.

Jacobs is a writer specializing in philosophy and performance art.

His TED Talk bio describes his experimentation with alternate lifestyles as a way of analyzing “the limits of behavior, customs, culture.”

On June 15, he hosted a TED Talk to discuss the importance of gratitude.

After a discussion with his son about thanking those who contribute to his life, Jacobs decided to embark on a quest to thank those who provide him with his morning coffee.

“I’m a writer, and for my books, I like to go on adventures,” Jacobs said.

“So I decided I’m gonna take my son up on his challenge. It seemed simple enough, and to make it simpler, I decided to focus on just one item. An item I can’t live without – my morning cup of coffee.”

Throughout Jacobs’ TED Talk, he discusses the positive effects of gratitude.

He cites both research and changes within his personal life as evidence of gratitude’s impact.

He also lists six crucial steps that factor into giving thanks to others, which includes treating others like people and acknowledging minor victories over failures.

“Some people worry that gratitude has a downside,” Jacobs said.

“That we’ll be so grateful, that we’ll be complacent.

It doesn’t take a village to make a cup of coffee. It takes the world to make a cup of coffee.”

TED Talk screenings are held in the Einstein’s cafe in the UC. They start at around 11:30 a.m. every Monday, and they last no more than 20 minutes.

“We have documented authorization from the TED Media Requests Team to publicly stream official TED videos from the website and app in a once weekly on-going series,” Student Life & Engagement member Kelly Carpenter said. “The streaming events are open to anyone and at no cost.

The specific talks are selected based on other happenings on campus, calendar events, current topical items, or to collaborate with other programming taking place in the same week.”

GovsLead and the Office of Student Life and Engagement have held every screening since January 2018. According to Carpenter, the overall reception has been positive.

“A small number of students, faculty and staff have shared they deliberately seek out the talks each week,” Carpenter said. “Others happen upon them as they enjoy their lunch or break in Einstein’s.”

TED Talk screenings will continue into the spring semester of 2019. Contact Kelly Carpenter at [email protected] for more information.