Growing up, I was never terribly good at the sports thing. Thankfully though, my alter ego (also called Carl Joseph) is really quite good at it. He also only has one leg. His feat (pun intended) is quite incredible and if he is in fact real, then I am truly impressed. Competing as a quarterback, basketballer and high jumper, he seems to have achieved some great heights. Ok, so let’s watch the grainy video …

Is this a hoax?

On November 21st 2008, one of my vanity feeds picked up this story about an amazing one legged athlete. Since then, barely a day has gone by when I haven’t seen yet another post about this other Carl Joseph. This sudden influx of interest does not sit comfortably with me.

• The website dedicated to Carl Joseph was first registered with GoDaddy on the 10th Feb 2008. The YouTube video was uploaded on the 13th November 2008, on the same day as the account “Carlsbuddy” was created.

• Blog posts don’t appear to go back before the 20th November. This is the earliest I can find.

• I have emailed the Florida High School Athletic Assn. and asked if they can confirm the nomination for Carl Joseph to appear in their Hall of Fame. I will update this post if/when I hear back.

I am nervous claiming Carl “Sugarfoot” Joseph as a fake but sometimes I’m still not sure. If this is in fact a true story, then I am really quite inspired by his achievements.

Update

The Florida High School Athletic Association returned my email (quite prompty I might add). A one line response: “Yes, he is real and he has been nominated.” So I guess that’s that.

I love to be inspired. Especially by great thoughts and ideas. TED does this for me, every time.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

- About TED

If you haven’t watched any of these videos, then you really should. I’ve found them to be some of the most inspiring and thought provoking talks. Here’s a few of my favourites:

• Do schools kill creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson. A very humorous and inspired challenge to our notions of education.
• A journey to the centre of your mind by Vilayanur Ramachandran. A fascinating view into the way our minds work when impaired by some very specific mental disabilities.
• My stroke of insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. Jill’s a brain scientist and has had an amazingly unique experience – she was able to analyse her own stroke as it occured.

Take some time out of your day and listen to a few TED talks. You’ll be glad you did it.