Translator: Asia Lindsay Reviewer: Elisabeth Buffard
One day, a palindrome might just save your life.
Today, there are many methods,
techniques and therapies
to improve health and productivity,
so it's strange that no one has yet noticed
the virtues of palindromes.
This is what I'm going to talk about.
I was about 7 or 8 years old when my grandmother
introduced me to palindromes.
She told me to write the name of this beautiful Argentine province: [NEUQUEN]
Then she said the famous sentence: "Now read it backwards."
"Dábale arroz a la zorra el abad." [Give the foxy lady some rice, abbot]
I couldn't believe it.
I was filled with wonder.
I didn't know what an abbot was,
and I thought "zorra" just meant "female fox."
(Laughter)
But I knew that this was magic.
(Laughter)
It was the magic of a passion being awoken inside me.
Since then, I started to read everything backwards.
And I realized that we are surrounded by palindromes,
which are invisible until you realize they're right there before your eyes.
So, I started to look for the most ingenious palindromes ever created,
and I came up with beautiful ones like:
"Amo la pacífica paloma" [I love the peaceful dove]
"Nos ideó Edison" [Edison gave us the idea]
"Yo hago yoga hoy" [I'm doing yoga today]
(Laughter)
"La ruta nos aportó otro paso natural" [The road gave us another natural step]
Back then, I thought that creating palindromes
was only for total geniuses.
Like the great physicists.
Or that it's a mystical revelation.
This is how I explained perfect palindromes like:
"Eva y Yavé." [Eve and Yahweh]
Or simply, "Alá." [Allah]
Later, I realized that anyone can create palindromes.
I discovered this in an elevator, reading one of the buttons,
and saw the poetic: "Luz azul." [Blue light]
In a similar vein, in a bar restroom,
I discovered "Soñaba baños." [I dream of bathroom]
From then on I started to create my own palindromes.
I started with sentences like:
"Ánimo de mono me domina." [The monkey's mood dominates me]
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Then with short poems.
More complicated poems.
Comic strips.
I tried out different types,
until I started writing a super complicated palindrome,
which had been my goal since as long as I can remember,
that was 6,886 words long,
and took up about 70 pages in total.
And it was four months of utter madness,
which culminated in a book that was completely useless
and not popular at all.
(Laughter)
But it was what I was searching for.
And I think it's here
you find the line between passion and madness.
This could be considered a symptom of neurosis in psychiatry,
or in economics,
the investment of useful time in something completely unproductive.
(Laughter)
But this is what it took to reach the goal I was aiming for.
Whatever that goal is,
no matter how ridiculous or absurd it is,
it is where you draw the line between true passion
and simple madness.
And, by the way, palindromes are a very healthy activity.
So I'm going to tell you all of its benefits
and why a palindrome might just save your life one day.
But first, we are going on a quick tour of the history of the palindrome
to give you a general idea.
One of the first ancestors
is the Sator Square found in some Roman ruins in Europe.
It's bidirectional as well as vertical.
This is called the Sator Square, a type of magic square.
It has been interpreted in many ways: numerologically, cabalistically,
even religiously.
Palindromes have always been linked to magic.
We find palindromes scattered throughout the centuries,
like this Latin inscription in some churches in Europe.
Or this Greek inscription, also found in churches in Europe.
This one, in Latin, is attributed to Dante Alighieri.
This one, in Italian, to Michelangelo.
Palindromes continued to flourish into the 20th century.
Some great writers, like James Joyce, like to indulge.
This one is in English.
And, in Spanish, here's one by the Argentinian Juan Filloy.
One of the first collectors and theorists of the palindrome.
The Mexican, Augusto Monterroso,
has a chapter called "Onis es asesino," Onis is murdered, in one of his books.
Our esteemed Julio Cortázar,
wove four palindromes into in his short story "Lejana,"
and he made them famous.
The Darío Lancini's book "Oír a Darío," Listen to Darío,
starts with some palindrome poems.
And this brings us to the end of the 20th century,
with the International Palindromist Club (IPC)
where a group of slightly eccentric intellectuals
got together to share palindromes.
In 1987 they started a magazine about palindromes
that continues to this day.
As you can imagine, I was over the moon when I met this group.
It was the first time I could share this eccentric passion of mine.
And it proved that I wasn't completely insane.
Now begins, as my friend Pedro Ruiz likes to call it,
the Golden Age of palindromes.
Because, even though people don't know what the word means,
there are thousands of palindromes in the world
of all shapes and sizes.
Palindromists abound all over the world,
and they have initiated a wave of publications
that aim to better classify the art.
And with this in mind, in 2009 we started the palindromic literary movement
REVER [TO SEE AGAIN]
Our objective is to elevate the palindrome
from a simple game to a form of literature.
A true literary composition.
And thus, in 2013 the palindrome came to TEDx,
and I want to show you
that a palindrome truly is a literary composition and not just a game,
and it should be considered a method of mental training.
So I'm going to tell you 10 benefits
for our mental health.
And finally, I will tell you
why a palindrome can save your life one day.
The palindromic experience is very unique.
It's a mixture of making crosswords and writing poetry.
A game and a search for sense.
The palindrome is an active work, because it's about creating palindromes.
While you write one on one side, the palindrome writes itself on the other.
This gives interesting and unique benefits to out intellectual health.
It is a holistic exercise for the brain.
That is the first of its benefits.
Once, in a presentation, a teacher told me
that palindromes interest her
because she works with people with Alzheimer's.
Like all inventive games, it's an exercise of logic for the brain.
But palindromes go even further,
because symmetry exercises the left hemisphere of the brain,
but searching for meaning
exercises the intuition from the right hemisphere.
So it's a holistic experience in a single exercise.
It stimulates surprise and creativity.
We never know how a palindrome is going to turn out.
And this connects us with the creativity we have inside.
It's a game and it's fun.
Because it's a game that we play seriously
and we understand that we can always make a game out of life.
And it always makes us smile even though it's not funny.
Palindromes reveal the importance of the insignificant.
Because each letter in a palindrome is fundamental,
it teaches us the value of small things.
It promotes a change of focus,
when we start to write a palindrome,
and something completely different appears on the other side.
If you write Amor [Love], Roma [Rome] appears.
So a focus on love turns into something historical.
And so we inevitably have to change focus and look for alternative solutions.
It awakens dormant skills in us.
It requires us to think about the complicated
and sometimes wakes up skills that we didn't even know we possessed.
It makes us look for balance.
Because a palindrome is basically about balancing the meaning of the two extremes.
And this, instantly, can be applied to life.
It acquaints us with failure.
Because out of the 100 palindromes that we start,
only one will probably have a satisfactory ending.
This sense of failure stops being a ghost
and becomes an inevitable step on the path to success.
It exercises flexibility and adaptation when searching for objectives.
Because it teaches us when to adapt to a situation,
as the rules are very strict,
and when to really fight to create that palindrome.
Without this conviction, we'd end up saying:
making palindromes is impossible!
But it actually isn't.
And finally, palindromes speak to our existential doubts.
As I said earlier, palindromes always surprise you.
They have an air of magic about them.
In this sense,
we can use them as a way to ask about doubts in our lives.
For example, when my friend Christian asked me to come here,
it was a little complicated, so I resorted to palindromancy.
And I came up with: "Acude y educa" [Attend and educate]
(Laughter)
(Applause)
I could only reply:
"¡Yo voy!" [I'm coming!]
(Laughter)
But anyway, to conclude,
palindromes can make us think about the meaning of life.
And this is actually a question about being.
The search for your own passion is riddled with doubts and obstacles.
Do we have to be what we're told to be?
Normal, productive, conforming people?
Or be who we really are?
In this matter, the palindrome is inflexible.
And the answers are blunt:
"Se es o no se es." [It is or it isn't]
(Laughter)
"Somos o no somos." [We are or we aren't]
And if you are left with any doubt, repeat to yourself:
"Sos o no sos." [You are or you aren't]
(Laughter)
So we can see that palindromes teach us that there's no escape.
We have to think about who we are,
to confront our passion,
no matter how absurd or strange it is.
And, to stop and say to the world, with conviction:
"YO SOY." [I AM]
I am what I'm looking for, I am what I choose,
I am what I want.
Simply, I am.
(Applause)
In conclusion, I have to say that I haven't forgotten
I need to tell you how a palindrome might save your life one day!
Imagine you're lost in a remote desert or a desert island.
A palindrome can save your life! [S.O.S.]
(Applause)
And I leave you with this.
Thank you.
"Sé ver la x de TEDx al revés" [See the x of TEDx backwards]
(Applause)