A roomful of more than 100 inquiring minds gathered Wednesday night to hear Ken Felder's perspective about how people can incite change in their lives.
During his speech, "Einstein, Bill Gates, and the Buddha," Felder used examples from his own life to carefully dismiss the notion that it takes a special kind of person to reach an understanding of life.
With a relaxed, witty tone, he engaged audience members, who readily interacted with him by answering and asking involving questions.
Felder is a facilitator for the Self Knowledge Symposium, which hosted the speech. The group encourages students to ask questions that lead to a better understanding of life, and Felder is a powerful resource, said many audience members.
"Ken is very logical, not far out or spacey," said Alex Danilowicz, press relations and events coordinator of SKS. "This is the kind of stuff we all think about; Kenny just maps it out."
Felder, who graduated from UNC in 1988 with degrees in physics and English, sold his company, One Tree Software, to Microsoft and now teaches mathematics.
He said spirituality has many different definitions, one of them being an attempt to avoid disappointment. Because it can help people avoid disappointment, he added, people should not focus entirely on "the small questions" or on science to provide guidance in their lives.
"Science doesn't answer the questions we need answered," Felder said. "Not that I don't like science, but it isn't enough."
"... (You need to ask) 'Why do I believe the things that I believe?' You need to take a step back and look at where those beliefs come from.
