The document discusses various societal taboos ranging from personal behaviors to design elements, emphasizing the importance of questioning and breaking these taboos for personal and community growth. It highlights both universal and changing taboos and includes a personal appeal for open dialogue about sensitive topics. The document mentions the potential for taboos to limit or inspire creativity in different contexts.

1. TA B O O
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2. B R A N D O N E . B . WA R D
W H O I S T H I S G U Y ?
S u p p o r t b re a s t - f e e d i n g i n p u b l i c
A s k o t h e r s ’ a g e s
D i s c u s s o t h e r s ’ w e i g h t o r a p p e a r a n c e
D i s c u s s re l i g i o n
D i s c u s s s e x
D i s c u s s o n e ' s i n c o m e
P u b l i c d i s p l a y o f a ff e c t i o n
A n y m a r r i a g e o t h e r t h a n 1 M : 1 F
B e l c h i n g , F l a t u l e n c e , S p i t t i n g
C e l l p h o n e a t m e a l / d u r i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n
S k i n n y - d i p p i n g
We a r a k i l t ( n o t S c o t t i s h o r I r i s h )
K i s s e d s o m e o n e o t h e r t h a n m y w i f e
( w h i l e m a r r i e d , w i t h p e r m i s s i o n * )
S O M E TA B O O S B R O K E N ( S O FA R ) :
Hair already
receding *
85 pounds lighter
Hand-painted
TMNT
White, pin-striped
slacks
Black
Trenchcoat
Nerd
glasses
* Burgundy beret not pictured* actor in various stage roles

3. D I S C L A I M E R
• You are SAFE
• We are your community - your tribe
• I (Brandon E.B. Ward) care about this community
• Today I will ask you to stretch…stretching can suck
• I will be radically candid
• You are always SAFE here
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4. L E T ’ S G E T U N C O M F O R TA B L E !
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7. 1000

11. T H E E T H I C A L AT H E I S T
1. Thou SHALT NOT believe all thou art told.
2. Thou SHALT seek knowledge and truth constantly.
3. Thou SHALT educate thy fellow man in the Laws of Science.
4. Thou SHALT NOT forget the atrocities committed in the name of god.
5. Thou SHALT leave valuable contributions for future generations.
6. Thou SHALT live in peace with thy fellow man.
7. Thou SHALT live this one life thou hast to its fullest.
8. Thou SHALT follow a Personal Code of Ethics.
9. Thou SHALT maintain a strict separation between Church and State.
10. Thou SHALT support those who follow these commandments.
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13. t a · b o o
/ t ə ˈ b o͞o , t a ˈ b o͞o /
n o u n , a d j e c t i v e
p r o s c r i b e d b y s o c i e t y a s i m p r o p e r o r u n a c c e p t a b l e
a p r o h i b i t i o n o r i n t e r d i c t i o n o f a n y t h i n g
e x c l u s i o n f r o m u s e o r p r a c t i c e
s y n o n y m s
p r o h i b i t e d , b a n n e d , f o r b i d d e n , p r o s c r i b e d , e m b a r g o , i n t e r d i c t i o n ; n o - n o .
a n t o n y m s
a l l o w e d , p e r m i t t e d , p e r m i s s i b l e , s a n c t i o n e d .
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14. T o n g a n w o r d t a p u
F i j i a n t a b u
M a o r i t a p u
H a w a i i a n k a p u
n o u n , a d j e c t i v e
T r a n s l a t e d a s " c o n s e c r a t e d , i n v i o l a b l e , f o r b i d d e n , u n c l e a n o r c u r s e d "
S i m u l t a n e o u s l y r e f e r s t o b o t h t h e i n c r e d i b l y h o l y
A N D t h e i n c r e d i b l y U N h o l y
s y n o n y m s
s a c r o s a n c t , i n v i o l a b l e
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15. f a u x p a s
/ f ō ˈ p ä /
BOO
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16. TA B O O
N O R T H - A M E R I C A N
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17. N O R T H - A M E R I C A N TA B O O
Refer to "toilet" directly
Smoking
Eating of intelligent animals
Eating of "dirty" animals
Breast-feeding in public
Asking another's age
Discussing weight/appearance
Ask a woman if she’s pregnant
Identifying as non-binary or LGBTQ
Public displays of affection
Abortion
Masturbation
Pedophilia
Any marriage other than 1M : 1F
Belching, Flatulence, Spitting
Cell phone during social interaction
Discussing religion
Discussing sex
Discussing one's income
Assuming sexual preference
Not tipping
Facial piercings
Tattoos
Using name Adolf and/or Hitler
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18. TA B O O
O T H E R C O U N T R I E S
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19. O T H E R C O U N T R I E S TA B O O
Widows are bad omens/bad luck
- Often ostracized, left to beg and prostitute, follow lots of special rules, can’t get remarried
Marriage based on love (vs. arrangement)
Menstruation (special rules, forbidden entrance to holy places etc.)
Drinking
Smoking
Divorce
Discussing politics
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20. TA B O O
U N I V E R S A L
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21. U N I V E R S A L TA B O O
Incest - esp. parent : child, sibling : sibling
Murder
Bestiality
Necrophilia
Cannibalism
Slavery
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22. TA B O O
C H A N G I N G
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23. C H A N G I N G TA B O O - WA S N O W I S N ’ T
Opera
Women with visible bra straps
Women making the first move
Women keeping their maiden name
Women wearing pants
Women riding horses normally
Women working
Women driving cars
Interracial marriage
Casual attire on airplanes
Sloppy dress in public
Stay-at-home Dad
Swearing in public/business
Going deep into debt
Disrespecting people older than you
Discussing politics openly
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24. TA B O O
C H A N G I N G
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25. C H A N G I N G TA B O O - WA S N ’ T N O W I S
Rape
Old marrying young
Drunk at work
Committing everyone to asylums
Freak shows
Duels
Cloaks/Capes
Letting deformed babies die
Slavery
Animal circus
Burning women as witches
Swastika
Sexual harassment
Animal and human sacrifice
Racism
Forced-adoption of children of young
mothers
Littering
Incest (e.g. cousins)
Marriage and kids while young
Blackface
Drugs
Child labor
Letting kids roam around
Physical fights
Smoking
Skinny-dipping
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26. TA B O O
D E S I G N
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27. D E S I G N TA B O O
Comic Sans
Skeuomorphism
Lots of detail/complexity
Following old/older/previous trends
Using lots of different colors
Using lots of different fonts
Clip-Art
Splash Pages
Flash
Frames
Blinking text
Kern i n g / character spacing
Leading / line spacing
Basic, unaltered font for a logo
Glossy floor reflections
Faux type (e.g. bold, italic, dropcap etc.)
Stock photos
Lens flare
Star-wipe
Using Microsoft ANYTHING as a design tool
Tabular web layout
Music/Sound on a web page
Lots of popups
Low contrast between text and background
Bold gradients
Glamour shots
No search
Auto-play video
Fixed-size content
Drop-shadow
Bevel-Emboss
Glow
Misalignment
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28. I S I T TA B O O , O R J U S T B A D ?
I S T H E R E S U C H A T H I N G A S A D E S I G N TA B O O ?
I S I T:
A E S T H E T I C S ?
U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ?
A C C E S S I B I L I T Y ?
P E R F O R M A N C E ?
O T H E R ?
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29. W H Y TA B O O ?
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30. T H E M O N K E Y H O S E E X P E R I M E N T
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32. C A R G O C U LT S
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34. W H Y TA B O O ?
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35. I F S O M E T H I N G I S TA B O O ,
D O E S T H AT M E A N I T I S B A D ?
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36. TA B O O : B A D ?
U N I V E R S A L
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37. U N I V E R S A L TA B O O
Incest - esp. parent : child, sibling : sibling
Murder
Bestiality
Necrophilia
Cannibalism
Slavery
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38. TA B O O : B A D ?
C H A N G I N G
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39. C H A N G I N G TA B O O - WA S N O W I S N ’ T
Opera
Women with visible bra straps
Women making the first move
Women keeping their maiden name
Women wearing pants
Women riding horses normally
Women working
Women driving cars
Interracial marriage
Casual attire on airplanes
Sloppy dress in public
Stay-at-home Dad
Swearing in public/business
Going deep into debt
Disrespecting people older than you
Discussing politics openly
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40. P O L I T I C A L TA B O O
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42. IN CASE OF
EMERGENCY
BREAK TABOO
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43. I N E E D A V O L U N T E E R … O R 1 2

44. L E T ’ S B R E A K S O M E TA B O O S !

45. H O W O L D A R E Y O U ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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46. H O W M U C H D O Y O U M A K E ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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47. H O W M U C H D O Y O U W E I G H ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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48. A R E Y O U P R E G N A N T ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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49. W H AT I S Y O U R S E X U A L
O R I E N TAT I O N ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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50. H O W L O N G S I N C E Y O U R L A S T
O R G A S M ?
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O T E L L U S
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51. B U R P, FA R T, O R S P I T
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O
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52. E AT A N I N S E C T
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O
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53. I S T H E R E A V O L U N T E E R C O U P L E ?

54. M A K E O U T W I T H Y O U R PA R T N E R .
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O
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56. K I S S A S T R A N G E R .
W O U L D Y O U B E W I L L I N G T O
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57. TA B O O
W H AT W E C A N L E A R N F R O M
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58. W H AT W E C A N L E A R N F R O M
TA B O O
• but often keep us safe
• except when they don’t
B O U N D A R I E S A R E L I M I T I N G
1
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59. - S U Z Y K A S S E M
The number of ways to live in one lifetime is limitless.
So why limit yourself?
- K E V I N K E E N O O
When they say you can't, they
show you their limits, not yours.
- M A X D E P R E E
We cannot become what we want
to be by remaining what we are.
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60. – T H O M A S J E F F E R S O N –
If you want something you've never had,
you must be willing to do something you've never done.
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61. • but can also constrict and kill it
• use artificial constraints to focus:
(time, palette, medium etc.)
L I M I T S
C A N B R E E D
C R E AT I V I T Y
2
W H AT W E C A N L E A R N F R O M
TA B O O
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62. T H E S I X - W O R D S T O RY
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63. – E R N E S T H E M I N G WAY –
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
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64. A U S T I N K L E O N
N E W S PA P E R B L A C K O U T P O E M S
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66. • except when they’re not
R U L E S A R E
M E A N T T O B E
B R O K E N
3
W H AT W E C A N L E A R N F R O M
TA B O O
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67. - K AT H E R I N E H E P B U R N
If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.
- J U D I T H M A R T I N
Freedom without rules doesn't work.
Communities do not work unless they are regulated by etiquette.
- E D WA R D W E S T O N
Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph,
is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.
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68. – D A L A I L A M A X I V –
Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.
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69. • except this principle
• take nothing for granted
• especially this talk
Q U E S T I O N
E V E RY T H I N G
4
W H AT W E C A N L E A R N F R O M
TA B O O
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70. T H A N K - Y O U
IN CASE OF
EMERGENCY
BREAK TABOO
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