In a recent post, I’d noted that the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, despite record-breaking exploits and a scale larger than anything done since the games’ inception in 1948, received scant coverage in Paris, where I live. I’d ascribed this to a persistent French discomfort with the disabled, and lingering disbelief that their efforts would be worth watching.

A reader kindly pointed me towards a fascinating talk from a 2003 TED conference. It’s about listening skills, and it’s by percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who’s profoundly deaf.

What I took away from the talk was Glennie’s insight into differently imagined performance, particularly the exercise where she asked her audience to make, with clapping hands, the sound of snow.