Ignite Portland

Bridget Pilloud is obsessed with the human condition, and how, collectively, we do strange things, like fill server farms with videos of cats.
When not obsessing, Bridget's an intuitive guidance counselor, working with clients worldwide to enact positive change. She's also Portland's Pet Psychic.
Bridget's last Ignite presentation was "You Can Stop Sh%#ty Little Dog Syndrome".

What is cute?

Why is a baby sloth wrapped in a blanket cuter than a middle-aged guy wrapped in a blanket?

How did we decide what is adorable and what isn't?

And why is our society obsessed with all things adorable? Millions of hours are spent daily on sites like cuteoverload.com, pinterest and youtube, watching cute creatures do adorable things. Why? What purpose does it serve?

I'd like to explore the sociology of cute, beyond the obvious idea that if babies and pets didn't have big eyes and do cute things, we'd ditch them for making too much noise and being messy and of course, for pooping on us.