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An independently organized TED event

DisordersofMAGNITUDE

Date

March 27th, 2026

Location

Duke Kunshan University

Disorders of MagnitudeShifting PerspectivesUnlearning ScaleReassigning ValueTransformative ChangeDisorders of MagnitudeShifting PerspectivesUnlearning ScaleReassigning ValueTransformative Change
01 / The Concept

When scale breaks perception.

What happens when scale fails, and our measures no longer match reality?

Our Theme Disorders of Magnitude centers on breaking down the fixed-magnitude biases we hold across fields: unexamined ideas about which voices, impacts, or priorities should outweigh others. We aim to push everyone to unlearn ingrained views, rethink from the ground up, and redefine how we measure value and impact.

This theme calls us to challenge every default order we've accepted, encouraging radical rethinking that drives transformative change in our world, from microscopic intervention to institutional redesign.

Macro

Global systems, cultural hierarchies, and the scales that dominate public attention.

Micro

Subtle actions, overlooked actors, and minute forces that alter outcomes from the ground up.

02 / Voices

Catalysts of Change

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Astrophysicist

Dr. Elena Rostova

Mapping systems too large for intuition and asking how human judgment fails when consequence outpaces perception.

Behavioral Economist

Marcus Chen

Tracing the exponential cost of tiny defaults and the hidden assumptions that determine which impacts are treated as meaningful.

Bio-engineer

Sarah Al-Fayed

Working at the cellular scale to show how microscopic intervention can reorganize the future of whole environments.

03 / Schedule

The Schedule

08:30 AM

Doors Open & Registration

Arrival, check-in, coffee, and the first conversations before the theater opens.

09:30 AM

Opening Remarks

The organizing team frames the day and introduces Disorders of Magnitude.

10:00 AM
Session 1

The Macro: Systems at Scale

Talks on planetary infrastructures, collective risk, and the institutions that determine what counts.

12:00 PM

Lunch & Networking

A slower interval for reflection, conversation, and interdisciplinary collisions.

01:30 PM
Session 2

The Micro: Invisible Catalysts

Talks exploring tiny mechanisms, quiet actors, and hidden forces that reshape visible worlds.

03:00 PM

Coffee Break

Reset, regroup, and continue the conversations between sessions.

03:30 PM
Closing

Synthesis Panel

Speakers and organizers return to the central question: how should we reassign scale, weight, and value?

05:00 PM

Reception

An informal close with music, conversation, and room for the ideas to keep moving.

04 / Organizing Team

The Curators

Alex Rivera

Lead Organizer

Jordan Lee

Curation Director

Sam Taylor

Experience Design

Casey Smith

Partnerships

Morgan Davis

Marketing & PR

Experience the shift.

Join us for a day of profound ideas, layered perspectives, and conversations that unsettle the scales we take for granted.

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