ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Simone Giertz - Inventor, robotics enthusiast
Simone Giertz runs a YouTube channel about robotics.

Why you should listen

Simone Giertz is a Swedish inventor, YouTuber and robotics enthusiast. She is world-renowned for her useless machines and has risen to the very top of the field -- mainly because the field is very tiny and not of interest to the general populace. Giertz has set out to automate everything from brushing teeth to cutting hair and has more than one million subscribers on YouTube.

More profile about the speaker
Simone Giertz | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Simone Giertz: Why you should make useless things

Filmed:
3,465,638 views

In this joyful, heartfelt talk featuring demos of her wonderfully wacky creations, Simone Giertz shares her craft: making useless robots. Her inventions -- designed to chop vegetables, cut hair, apply lipstick and more -- rarely (if ever) succeed, and that's the point. "The true beauty of making useless things [is] this acknowledgment that you don't always know what the best answer is," Giertz says. "It turns off that voice in your head that tells you that you know exactly how the world works. Maybe a toothbrush helmet isn't the answer, but at least you're asking the question."
- Inventor, robotics enthusiast
Simone Giertz runs a YouTube channel about robotics. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
Hello.
0
1720
1376
00:15
My name is Simone.
1
3120
1200
00:17
You know how people tell you
if you get nervous when onstage,
2
5280
3296
00:20
picture people in the audience naked?
3
8600
2496
00:23
Like it's this thing that's supposed
to make you feel better.
4
11120
3376
00:26
But I was thinking --
5
14520
1256
00:27
picturing all of you naked in 2018
feels kind of weird and wrong.
6
15800
5416
00:33
Like, we're working really hard
on moving past stuff like that,
7
21240
3016
00:36
so we need a new method of dealing with
8
24280
2616
00:38
if you get nervous onstage.
9
26920
2136
00:41
And I realized that what I'd really like
10
29080
2136
00:43
is that I can look at you
as much as you're looking at me --
11
31240
4056
00:47
just to even things out a little bit.
12
35320
2416
00:49
So if I had way more eyeballs,
13
37760
2736
00:52
then we'd all be
really comfortable, right?
14
40520
2776
00:55
So in preparation for this talk,
I made myself a shirt.
15
43320
3736
00:59
(Rattling)
16
47230
3000
01:05
(Laughter)
17
53000
1920
01:09
It's googly eyes.
18
57800
2976
01:12
It took me 14 hours
19
60800
2096
01:14
and 227 googly eyes to make this shirt.
20
62920
3696
01:18
And being able to look at you
as much as you're looking at me
21
66640
3056
01:21
is actually only half
of the reason I made this.
22
69720
2496
01:24
The other half is being able to do this.
23
72240
1936
01:26
(Googly eyes rattle)
24
74200
1336
01:27
(Laughter)
25
75560
1256
01:28
So I do a lot of things like this.
26
76840
1736
01:30
I see a problem and I invent
some sort of solution to it.
27
78600
3816
01:34
For example, brushing your teeth.
28
82440
1816
01:36
Like, it's this thing we all have to do,
it's kind of boring,
29
84280
2936
01:39
and nobody really likes it.
30
87240
2096
01:41
If there were any
seven-year-olds in the audience,
31
89360
2376
01:43
they'd be like, "Yes!"
32
91760
2496
01:46
So what about if you had
a machine that could do it for you?
33
94280
2840
01:54
(Laughter)
34
102800
3120
01:58
I call it ...
35
106720
1240
02:02
I call it "The Toothbrush Helmet."
36
110360
1960
02:05
(Laughter)
37
113000
2680
02:09
(Robot arm buzzing)
38
117480
2736
02:12
(Laughter)
39
120240
3216
02:15
(Applause)
40
123480
3496
02:19
So my toothbrush helmet is recommended
by zero out of 10 dentists,
41
127000
4536
02:23
and it definitely did not
revolutionize the world of dentistry,
42
131560
4176
02:27
but it did completely change my life.
43
135760
3176
02:30
Because I finished making this toothbrush
helmet three years ago
44
138960
3456
02:34
and after I finished making it,
45
142440
1536
02:36
I went into my living room
and I put up a camera,
46
144000
2656
02:38
and I filmed a seven-second
clip of it working.
47
146680
2480
02:41
And by now,
48
149760
1216
02:43
this is a pretty standard
modern-day fairy tale
49
151000
2896
02:45
of girl posting on the internet,
50
153920
2216
02:48
the internet takes the girl by storm,
51
156160
2576
02:50
thousands of men voyage
into the comment sections
52
158760
2816
02:53
to ask for her hand in marriage --
53
161600
1696
02:55
(Laughter)
54
163320
1016
02:56
She ignores all of them,
starts a YouTube channel
55
164360
2336
02:58
and keeps on building robots.
56
166720
1640
03:01
Since then, I've carved out this little
niche for myself on the internet
57
169120
3936
03:05
as an inventor of useless machines,
58
173080
2496
03:07
because as we all know,
59
175600
1656
03:09
the easiest way
to be at the top of your field
60
177280
3656
03:12
is to choose a very small field.
61
180960
2096
03:15
(Laughter)
62
183080
2216
03:17
(Applause)
63
185320
4336
03:21
So I run a YouTube channel
about my machines,
64
189680
3176
03:24
and I've done things
like cutting hair with drones --
65
192880
2776
03:27
(Drone buzzes)
66
195680
1696
03:29
(Laughter)
67
197400
2376
03:31
(Drone crashes)
68
199800
1056
03:32
(Laughter)
69
200880
1416
03:34
(Drone buzzes)
70
202320
1096
03:35
(Laughter)
71
203440
1896
03:37
(Applause)
72
205360
2096
03:39
To a machine that helps me
wake up in the morning --
73
207480
2736
03:42
(Alarm)
74
210240
1936
03:44
(Laughter)
75
212200
2400
03:49
(Video) Simone: Ow!
76
217200
1736
03:50
To this machine
that helps me chop vegetables.
77
218960
2576
03:53
(Knives chop)
78
221560
2440
03:57
I'm not an engineer.
79
225200
1256
03:58
I did not study engineering in school.
80
226480
2336
04:00
But I was a super ambitious
student growing up.
81
228840
3576
04:04
In middle school and high school,
I had straight A's,
82
232440
2496
04:06
and I graduated at the top of my year.
83
234960
2216
04:09
On the flip side of that,
84
237200
1256
04:10
I struggled with very severe
performance anxiety.
85
238480
3696
04:14
Here's an email I sent
to my brother around that time.
86
242200
3016
04:17
"You won't understand
how difficult it is for me to tell you,
87
245240
2896
04:20
to confess this.
88
248160
1216
04:21
I'm so freaking embarrassed.
89
249400
1376
04:22
I don't want people
to think that I'm stupid.
90
250800
2216
04:25
Now I'm starting to cry too.
91
253040
1576
04:26
Damn."
92
254640
1456
04:28
And no, I did not accidentally burn
our parents' house down.
93
256120
3536
04:31
The thing I'm writing about in the email
and the thing I'm so upset about
94
259680
4296
04:36
is that I got a B on a math test.
95
264000
2240
04:39
So something obviously happened
between here and here.
96
267480
3200
04:43
(Laughter)
97
271600
4416
04:48
One of those things was puberty.
98
276040
2176
04:50
(Laughter)
99
278240
1376
04:51
Beautiful time indeed.
100
279640
1376
04:53
But moreover,
101
281040
1336
04:54
I got interested in building robots,
102
282400
2136
04:56
and I wanted to teach myself
about hardware.
103
284560
3256
04:59
But building things with hardware,
especially if you're teaching yourself,
104
287840
3496
05:03
is something that's really
difficult to do.
105
291360
2376
05:05
It has a high likelihood of failure
106
293760
1896
05:07
and moreover,
107
295680
1216
05:08
it has a high likelihood
of making you feel stupid.
108
296920
2776
05:11
And that was my biggest fear at the time.
109
299720
2120
05:14
So I came up with a setup that would
guarantee success 100 percent of the time.
110
302640
6256
05:20
With my setup, it would be
nearly impossible to fail.
111
308920
3376
05:24
And that was that instead
of trying to succeed,
112
312320
2976
05:27
I was going to try to build
things that would fail.
113
315320
2560
05:31
And even though I didn't
realize it at the time,
114
319360
2256
05:33
building stupid things
was actually quite smart,
115
321640
3936
05:37
because as I kept on
learning about hardware,
116
325600
2656
05:40
for the first time in my life,
117
328280
1456
05:41
I did not have to deal
with my performance anxiety.
118
329760
2520
05:44
And as soon as I removed
all pressure and expectations from myself,
119
332880
3696
05:48
that pressure quickly
got replaced by enthusiasm,
120
336600
3376
05:52
and it allowed me to just play.
121
340000
1760
05:54
So as an inventor,
122
342880
1256
05:56
I'm interested in things
that people struggle with.
123
344160
2416
05:58
It can be small things or big things
or medium-sized things
124
346600
3576
06:02
and something like giving a TED talk
presents this whole new set of problems
125
350200
4536
06:06
that I can solve.
126
354760
1496
06:08
And identifying a problem
is the first step in my process
127
356280
3096
06:11
of building a useless machine.
128
359400
1480
06:13
So before I came here,
129
361520
1536
06:15
I sat down and I thought of some
of the potential problems I might have
130
363080
3576
06:18
in giving this talk.
131
366680
1280
06:20
Forgetting what to say.
132
368720
1280
06:23
That people won't laugh --
133
371480
1296
06:24
that's you.
134
372800
1200
06:27
Or even worse,
135
375080
1216
06:28
that you'll laugh at the wrong things --
136
376320
1920
06:31
that was an OK part to laugh at,
137
379480
1576
06:33
thank you.
138
381080
1216
06:34
(Laughter)
139
382320
1016
06:35
Or that when I get nervous,
my hands start shaking
140
383360
2376
06:37
and I'm really self-conscious about it.
141
385760
2056
06:39
Or that my fly has been
open this entire time
142
387840
3136
06:43
and all of you noticed but I didn't,
143
391000
2056
06:45
but it's closed so we're
all good on that one.
144
393080
3056
06:48
But one thing I'm actually really
nervous about is my hands shaking.
145
396160
3456
06:51
I remember when I was a kid,
146
399640
2176
06:53
giving presentations in school,
147
401840
1696
06:55
I would have my notes on a piece of paper,
148
403560
2096
06:57
and I would put a notebook
behind the paper
149
405680
3456
07:01
so that people wouldn't be able
to see the paper quivering.
150
409160
3256
07:04
And I give a lot of talks.
151
412440
1720
07:07
I know that about half of you
in the audience are probably like,
152
415000
4056
07:11
"Building useless machines is really fun,
153
419080
1976
07:13
but how is this in any way
or form a business?"
154
421080
2656
07:15
And giving talks is a part of it.
155
423760
1936
07:17
And the arrangers always put out
a glass of water for you onstage
156
425720
3056
07:20
so you have something to drink
if you get thirsty,
157
428800
2336
07:23
and I always so badly
want to drink that water,
158
431160
3896
07:27
but I don't dare to pick the glass up
159
435080
1856
07:28
because then people might be able
to see that my hands are shaking.
160
436960
3296
07:32
So what about a machine
that hands you a glass of water?
161
440280
4096
07:36
Sold to the nervous girl
in the googly-eye shirt.
162
444400
3176
07:39
Actually, I need to take this off
because I have a thing --
163
447600
3000
07:43
(Googly eyes rattle)
164
451440
2880
07:51
Oh.
165
459400
1416
07:52
(Clanking)
166
460840
1496
07:54
(Laughter)
167
462360
2760
08:05
I still don't know what to call this,
168
473480
2976
08:08
but I think some sort of
"head orbit device,"
169
476480
3536
08:12
because it rotates
this platform around you
170
480040
3016
08:15
and you can put anything on it.
171
483080
1496
08:16
You can have a camera;
you can get photos of your entire head.
172
484600
3816
08:20
Like it's really --
it's a very versatile machine.
173
488440
3896
08:24
(Laughter)
174
492360
1696
08:26
OK, and I have --
175
494080
1896
08:28
I mean, you can put
some snacks on it, for example,
176
496000
2416
08:30
if you want to.
177
498440
1256
08:31
I have some popcorn here.
178
499720
1816
08:33
And you just put a little bit like that.
179
501560
4480
08:39
And then you want to --
180
507000
1536
08:40
there's some sacrifices for science --
181
508560
2816
08:43
just some popcorn falling on the floor.
182
511400
3056
08:46
Let's do the long way around.
183
514480
1415
08:47
(Robot buzzes)
184
515919
1697
08:49
(Laughter)
185
517640
1776
08:51
And then you have a little hand.
186
519440
1575
08:53
You need to adjust the height of it,
187
521039
1817
08:54
and you just do it by shrugging.
188
522880
1576
08:56
(Laughter)
189
524480
1896
08:58
(Applause)
190
526400
1216
08:59
It has a little hand.
191
527640
1256
09:00
(Hand thwacks)
192
528920
1216
09:02
(Laughter)
193
530160
1216
09:03
(Applause)
194
531400
3560
09:11
I just bumped my mic off,
195
539480
2696
09:14
but I think we're all good.
196
542200
1920
09:17
OK, also I need to chew this popcorn,
197
545240
2416
09:19
so if you guys could
just clap your hands a little bit more --
198
547680
2936
09:22
(Applause)
199
550640
4096
09:26
OK, so it's like your own
little personal solar system,
200
554760
2816
09:29
because I'm a millennial,
201
557600
1896
09:31
so I want everything to revolve around me.
202
559520
2456
09:34
(Laughter)
203
562000
3056
09:37
Back to the glass of water,
that's what we're here for.
204
565080
2616
09:39
So, I promise -- I mean, it still has --
205
567720
2056
09:41
it doesn't have any water in it,
206
569800
1576
09:43
I'm sorry.
207
571400
1496
09:44
But I still need to work
on this machine a little bit
208
572920
4576
09:49
because I still need to pick up the glass
and put it on the platform,
209
577520
3256
09:52
but if your hands
are shaking a little bit,
210
580800
2016
09:54
nobody's going to notice
211
582840
1256
09:56
because you're wearing
a very mesmerizing piece of equipment.
212
584120
2896
09:59
So, we're all good.
213
587040
1416
10:00
OK.
214
588480
1200
10:02
(Robot buzzes)
215
590146
1150
10:03
(Singing)
216
591320
1440
10:05
Oh no, it got stuck.
217
593800
2496
10:08
Isn't it comforting that even robots
sometimes get stage fright?
218
596320
3160
10:12
It just gets stuck a little bit.
219
600200
1840
10:15
It's very human of them.
220
603480
1480
10:17
Oh wait, let's go back a little bit,
221
605880
2616
10:20
and then --
222
608520
1216
10:21
(Glass falls)
223
609760
1216
10:23
(Laughter)
224
611000
2176
10:25
Isn't it a beautiful time to be alive?
225
613200
2456
10:27
(Laughter)
226
615680
2256
10:29
(Applause)
227
617960
4600
10:36
So as much as my machines can seem
like simple engineering slapstick,
228
624680
4616
10:41
I realize that I stumbled
on something bigger than that.
229
629320
3416
10:44
It's this expression of joy and humility
that often gets lost in engineering,
230
632760
4896
10:49
and for me it was a way
to learn about hardware
231
637680
2536
10:52
without having my performance
anxiety get in the way.
232
640240
2800
10:56
I often get asked if I think I'm ever
going to build something useful,
233
644040
3616
10:59
and maybe someday I will.
234
647680
1520
11:02
But the way I see it,
235
650440
1296
11:03
I already have
236
651760
1296
11:05
because I've built myself this job
237
653080
2360
11:08
and it's something that I could
never have planned for,
238
656320
2856
11:11
or that I could --
239
659200
1216
11:12
(Applause)
240
660440
4120
11:18
It's something that I could
never have planned for.
241
666000
2416
11:20
Instead it happened just because
I was enthusiastic about what I was doing,
242
668440
3536
11:24
and I was sharing that enthusiasm
with other people.
243
672000
2736
11:26
To me that's the true beauty
of making useless things,
244
674760
3376
11:30
because it's this acknowledgment
245
678160
2016
11:32
that you don't always know
what the best answer is.
246
680200
2400
11:35
And it turns off that voice in your head
247
683160
2336
11:37
that tells you that you know
exactly how the world works.
248
685520
3456
11:41
And maybe a toothbrush helmet
isn't the answer,
249
689000
2336
11:43
but at least you're asking the question.
250
691360
1936
11:45
Thank you.
251
693320
1216
11:46
(Applause)
252
694560
4040

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Simone Giertz - Inventor, robotics enthusiast
Simone Giertz runs a YouTube channel about robotics.

Why you should listen

Simone Giertz is a Swedish inventor, YouTuber and robotics enthusiast. She is world-renowned for her useless machines and has risen to the very top of the field -- mainly because the field is very tiny and not of interest to the general populace. Giertz has set out to automate everything from brushing teeth to cutting hair and has more than one million subscribers on YouTube.

More profile about the speaker
Simone Giertz | Speaker | TED.com