多维碰撞，思维破界！TEDxYouth @ VMA 解锁 “维” 的N种可能

On the evening of January 13th, applause thundered through VMA Thinkers of different ages and fields gathered to open new windows for young people to see the world through warm sharing and powerful insights.

As the TEDxYouth VMA event themed "Dimension" ignited the passion of teachers and students. As one of the most influential TEDx events independently organized by high school students in Shenzhen, this grand gathering invited three outstanding professionals from outside the school and two excellent students from within, exploring the multiple connotations of "dimension" through fresh perspectives and profound reflections — it is not only the structure of the metaverse and the boundary of thinking, but also the action of breakthrough and the exploration of upgrading.

What is "dimension"? For spatial designer Ms. Liu Dan, it is breaking the creative boundaries of length, width and height; for data engineer Mr.Liu Jingwei, it is the cognitive leap in the AI era; for doctor Xu Duoyao, it is the wisdom to distinguish truth from falsehood in the information torrent; for students Crystal Jiang and Ruby Huang, it is the journey of self-exploration in youth growth. Starting from their own experiences, the five speakers endowed "dimension" with vivid and profound interpretations.

In a multi-dimensional world, every dot you collect—every choice, every try—might just connect into the picture of who you were meant to be.

不要害怕AI抢走了你的‘标准答案’，因为在这个升维的世界里，答案有无限的可能。

Crystal Jiang's speech focused on the mental dilemmas of teenagers and offered warm yet practical solutions. She stunned the audience with striking data: the proportion of teenagers suffering from depression and anxiety remains high, while attention spans have shortened drastically. "We are always anxious about the future and distracted in the present, forgetting that happiness lies in the here and now," she said, citing stories from My Little Pony to illustrate the importance of staying focused on the present.

She shared her mindfulness experience: while riding her bike home one day, she let go of her obsessions with homework and late-night snacks, feeling the evening breeze on her face and the pressure of the pedals, and unexpectedly discovered blooming flowers by the roadside. "Mindfulness isn't about becoming an emotionless robot; it's about learning to control your emotions and focus on the present," she explained. She recommended trying yoga and meditation, even for just a minute or two a day, as effective ways to relieve stress. At the end of her speech, she led the audience in a 30-second mindful breathing exercise, and in the silence, everyone felt inner peace.

Ruby Huang's sharing was like an adventure story of youth. She originally planned a "standard answer" life path, but after joining the Student Union, she discovered more possibilities in life. From complaining about tedious work to learning to listen and empathize, from focusing on science and engineering to switching to biology and geography, her experience told everyone: "The wisest choice is not to cling to the so-called 'correct path', but to bravely explore and boldly try."

She recounted the process of communicating with Mr. Jordan, the school's Dean of Student Affairs, about student management policies: from initial confrontation and complaints to later putting herself in others' shoes, she understood the responsibilities and considerations behind every decision. "Empathy is not about reaching agreement, but about understanding others' dimensions." Her experience in the Student Union made her see that excellence is a broad spectrum, not a narrow one-way street. She quoted Steve Jobs to encourage her peers: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. Boldly try those experiences that seem useless — they will eventually shape the unique you."

Speaker Ms. Liu Dan is a senior professional in the design industry with 20 years of experience in commercial brand space design, serving many well-known brands such as Billabong, Li-Ning and Anta. In her speech, she told the students that design is not only an expression of aesthetics, but also a multi-dimensional integration. Taking the store design of South Korea's Gentle Monster as an example, those spaces full of artistic sense and technological sense have long surpassed the essence of "selling goods" and become curatorial venues that convey brand ideas and resonate with consumers. "Today's commercial spaces must make people feel the meaning of going out to experience life," Ms. Liu said.

When sharing the design of the balabala·YOUNG brand, Ms. Liu's story was full of creativity and warmth. To interpret "youth power", the team drew inspiration from Australian artists' works to design a dynamically changing brand logo, using flowing lines to show the energy of teenagers and colorful letters to symbolize their hearts full of possibilities. The design of the "Energetic Hub" has taken flexibility and interactivity to the extreme, allowing decorations and functions to be changed according to themes, enabling the brand to truly "communicate" with teenagers. She specially encouraged art students: the colors, light and shadow, and composition they are learning now will be the superpowers to shape "dimensions" in the future — dare to experiment and integrate!

Mr. Liu Jingwei's speech was full of twists and reflections. He started with his own experience of "being slapped in the face by AI", making the audience laugh. A self-proclaimed "AI skeptic" in 2019, he once firmly believed that AI could only make simple predictions — until the emergence of ChatGPT overturned his cognition. "In the past, we learned to 'remember the world'; now with AI, we need to learn to dialogue with the world."

He shared the secret to effective communication with AI: no need for cumbersome etiquette, but clarity and precision are key. For example, when solving math problems, instead of asking AI for direct answers, it's better to let it act as a "strict teacher" to point out logical flaws in the solution steps. He also talked about the "language upgrading" brought by AI — for instance, the French phrase "Tu me manques" (You are missing from me) and the Chinese "I miss you" reflect different cognitive dimensions, and AI can break language barriers to build a cross-cultural "digital Tower of Babel". What touched the students most was that his classmate who suffered a family tragedy got through the hardest time with the company of AI.

Dr. Xu Duoyao's speech addressed a real pain point, and the theme "Noise and Signals" resonated strongly with the students. With 40 years of clinical experience, he explained the survival rules in the information age in plain language. "Why are inspirational quotes useless? Because what was once a signal in the past may now be noise." He gave an example: "There is gold in books" was the only way for students in the Qing Dynasty to climb the social ladder, but it may not apply to contemporary teenagers — changes in time and space have altered the value of information.

He asked the students to make an interesting choice: between two surgeons, one sleek-looking and a graduate of a top university, and the other casually dressed with an unremarkable background, who would they choose for an operation? Dr. Xu's answer was surprising: choose the latter! Being able to stand out in the industry despite not fitting the expected image shows stronger professional competence. He reminded the students that life is full of seemingly glamorous noise, and only by maintaining independent thinking can they find truly valuable signals. He shared his habit of reading 40 non-medical books every year, encouraging the students to read across fields, cultivate critical thinking, and stay true to themselves in the information torrent.

The event was filled with enthusiasm, as students engaged in in-depth interactions with the guests. Their questions focused on mental health, the balance between design creativity and commercial value, the impact of artificial intelligence on learning methods and social development, and they launched thoughtful discussions on topics such as "Will AI make people more lonely?" At the end of the event, Mr. Felix Dou, Principal of VMA, presented commemorative certificates to the speakers and students, thanking them for their participation.

As a platform for ideological collision, TEDxYouthVMA not only exposed students to cutting-edge ideas from different fields, but also inspired their courage to explore the unknown and break through themselves. In this multi-dimensional world, the exploration of youth never stops. May every teenager carry this thinking and passion, soar freely in the dimensions of life, and write their own wonderful stories.