Beyond Brainstorming

James Cameron: Before Avatar ... a curious boy | Video on TED.com

2010-03-04T12:16:20-05:00

James Cameron's big-budget (and even bigger-grossing) films create unreal worlds all their own. In this personal talk, he reveals his childhood fascination with the fantastic -- from reading science fiction to deep-sea diving -- and how it ultimately drove the success of his blockbuster hits "Aliens," "The Terminator," "Titanic" and "Avatar."

via www.ted.com

James Cameron, the genius behind such films as Alien, Abyss, Terminator, Titanic and most recently Avatar tells through stories his journey from science fiction fanatic to famous film maker to deep sea explorer to scientific advisor. A complete circle from his dreams of future worlds as a child he manages to manifest those visions into reality first through his films but also in his own life.

He sums up this inspiring talk with a set of principles to live your life:

Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own
Imagination is a force that can manifest reality
Respect of your team is more important than any laurels you may attain

His biggest piece of advice to up coming film makers; which can also apply to any creative endeavor; is:

Don’t put limitations on yourself
Take Risks
Failure IS an option, but fear is not!

No creative or innovative endeavor is possible without risks, you need the freedom to fail!

One of the most inspiring talks from one of the most creative minds of our generation.

Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory | Video on TED.com

2010-03-02T13:07:23-05:00

Using examples from vacations to colonoscopies, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our "experiencing selves" and our "remembering selves" perceive happiness differently. This new insight has profound implications for economics, public policy -- and our own self-awareness.

via www.ted.com

Daniel Kahneman, the father of behavioral economics, gave one of the most memorable talks at TED this year. He shares some new research into how we view happiness. Similar to Dan Gilbert's 'Stumbling on Happiness', where Gilbert describes how we are normally wrong about our conception of what makes us happy. Kahnemen takes this further and describes to conflicting views of happiness; the 'Experiencing Self' - that is actually the self experiencing from moment to moment, and the 'Remembering Self' - the self that remembers an experience after the fact. Kahneman explains that we normally rely on the 'remembering self' to determine our level of happiness since we don't have access to the 'experiencing self'. These two views of an 'event' can be vastly different. Similar to other conceptual flaws from the world of behavioral economics this is an important point for our future well being. We all rely on the 'remembering self' while believing that we are actually relying on the 'experiencing self'.

The 'remembering self' is a story-teller and narrates the stories of our lives. The key things that determine what the 'Remembering Self' actually remembers is based on the following:

Changes - a transition from one sensation to another, one place to another
Significant Moments - these can be happy moments or sad, but they are 'peak emotional moments'
Endings - we pay a lot of notice to the end of an experience

The 'experiencing self' that is the 'moment to moment' interpreter of our lives is on a short spool of about 3 seconds. The 'remembering self' takes the 'key frames' based on changes, significant moments and endings to store away our memories -- much more compact than trying to fit the whole stream of consciousness into our minds.

There was an interesting discussion at the end of the talk with Chris Anderson; where data from the study around happiness and income were explored. The study revealed that from the perspective of the 'experiencing self' anything above $60K didn't impact happiness. Chris had asked about public policy decisions based on this data. My question which is an extension of Chris's is should we make policy decisions based on the 'experiencing self' or the 'remembering self'. If what Kahneman explained is correct and we rely on the 'remembering self' for our level of happiness even if the 'experiencing self' would disagree i.e. our stress levels, our mood, our overall feeling of happiness etc. then shouldn't we build policy based on the 'remembering self' and not the 'experiencing self'? I realize this seems a little extreme or even a little dishonest since this is based on how we remember something and not on 'reality'. The implications of this could lead to corruption or manipulation based on these findings. I still think we can't dismiss the behavioral quirks of our mind and just hope we can convince people that their memories are mistaken to make them happier.

This is a complex and fascinating area of research and I will be following it closely. This was probably one of my favorite talks from TED 2010 and this is taking into account I didn't even watch it live since I was delayed due to weather conditions. Seriously, it was a great talk and it is well worth watching.

Kes Sampanthar

Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds | Video on TED.com

2010-02-25T08:46:42-05:00

One of the ideas that Temple talked about, that Silicon Valley might not have happened was it not for people with ASD, really resonated. There are vast areas of our country where children with ASD are not being 'turned on' because of the lack of education about these different kinds of minds; a vast untapped intellectual resource.
She is truly an inspiration to us all. She has courageously put herself out there through her books, talks, work and most recently with a HBO movie about her life. She has lifted the awareness of the world to different kinds of thinking and how important they are to our future. The next Edison, Tesla or Mozart could be discovered because of her work.

via www.ted.com

Philip K. Howard: Four ways to fix a broken legal system | Video on TED.com

2010-02-23T10:23:07-05:00

The land of the free has become a legal minefield, says Philip K. Howard -- especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. What's the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for simplifying US law.

via www.ted.com

Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and the founder for Common Good – a drive to overhaul the US legal system – talked at TED this year. His outline of 4 propositions to overhaul the current gratuitously litigious legal system was definitely something the ‘World Needs Now’ (the theme of this year’s conference).

Howard outlines through examples and stories some of the more egregious scenarios that our current legal system has created. A teacher that is bullied into changing a grade because the school is afraid of being sued, a dry cleaner that is getting sued for millions for damaging a pair of pants, Drs that spend less time with their patients since they are scared of saying the wrong thing. When did we move into a world where coffee cups need warnings about containing hot liquids and teachers are afraid to put an arm around a crying child?

Having grown up in the UK, coming to the US was definitely eye opening. The culture of fear created by the legal system was very noticeable. Howard explains some of the circumstances from the 60’s where there was issues with racism and sexism that created a system where we wanted to protect people from ‘bad values’, a noble cause no doubt. But creating a system where people don’t have the rights to have good values is swinging the pendulum too far.

He clearly articulates how we have moved to a system where instead of looking at the rights of the community we have focused on the rights of the individual. In an essay that Howard wrote he quotes Lawrence Friedman who calls this ‘total justice’ – in which courts are available to remedy every daily disappointment. The idea that this ‘total justice’ gives us freedom is contrary to the reality where it has stripped us of our liberty. If a swimming accident can lead to all swimming pools being closed and diving boards being removed then do we have more freedom or less?

Howard also quotes Isaiah Berlin, a philosopher, that stated that law should ‘set frontiers, not artificially drawn, within which men should be inviolable’ i.e. law should support freedom not by interceding in daily choices, but by defining the boundaries. Judges should be tasked with drawing these boundaries and achieving a balance between the competing interests of freedom and individual choices.

Howard lays out the following 4 propositions to start addressing these issues:
1. Judge law mainly by its effect on society, not individual situations.
2. Trust in law is an essential condition of freedom. Distrust skews behavior toward failure.
3. Law must set boundaries protecting an open field of freedom, not intercede in all disputes.
4. To rebuild boundaries of freedom, two changes are essential:
a. Simplify law
b. Restore authority to judges and officials to apply law

This was an excellent talk and definitely something the world needs now.

Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero! | Video on TED.com

2010-02-18T13:15:20-05:00

Bill Gates Talk @ TED 2010
Bill Gates lays out a great vision for reaching Carbon Zero. Even though his foundation is focused on vaccines and seeds, he lays out the case that actually climate and global warming are going to impact the poorest 2 billion people more than any other people on the planet.
At the end he lays out his wish and where we should focus:
- Invest in Basic Research
- Market Incentives to Reduce CO2
- Entrepreneurial Opportunities
- Rational Regulatory Frameworks
A practical and pragmatic set of goals to help us reach carbon ZERO!
I love that Gates has turned his laser intellect on some of the biggest challenges this world faces.

via www.ted.com

iPhone / iPad the New Hand Axe

2010-02-18T11:26:07-05:00

You have all probably seen the Rock to iPad (via Techcrunch) comparisons (see below) which was originally Rock vs iPhone

Even though this was initially a joke bashing the weaknesses in the iPhone and now the iPad, I actually think there is some merit to the analogy of the iPhone/iPad to a rock or more specifically the 'Hand Axe'; one of man's original inventions.

Stone tools date from somewhere in the 1.5 to 2 million BC range; as found in the Olduvai Gorge; Oldowan stone tools. These stone tools were found in East and South Africa and generally consist of flakes removed from pebbles leaving a ‘core’. The technology advances were slow and there were a few evolutionary jumps that created the Handaxe ~1.4 million years ago. These Handaxes were made by bifacial flaking i.e. flakes were removed alternately from either side creating a sharp tool. These were found in Ethiopia. It took a little longer for these stone tools to advance and actually become more prevalent. Around 100,000 BC stone technology got fairly sophisticated and blades were invented; thin slivers of flint. These blades were found in North Africa in the cave of Haua Fteah and the Amudian from the Near East. But this blade technology didn’t reach a tipping point until around 40,000 BC when blade production began on a systematic scale and became the dominant stone technology throughout the old world.

This seems to me to be a good analogy to iPods and more recently iPads. Both technologies had been around for a significant amount of time before Apple came out with their version. Similar to how the iPhone was a tipping point in MP3 technology, I think the iPad is going to be a tipping point in tablet technology. Both these seem to mirror the advances of our original human invention the hand axe; originally invented around 1.5 million years ago but didn’t really reach a tipping point until around 40,000 years ago.

[Source: Steven Mithen ‘The Prehistory of the Mind’]

Book Review: Seth Godin's - Linchpin

2010-01-22T18:13:02-05:00

Summary
Seth Godin's latest book, Linchpin, is a departure from his marketing canon; Permission Marketing, Idea Virus, Purple Cow, Meatball Sundae, All Marketers are Liars/Story Tellers. Linchpin is a response to the turmoil created by the latest recession; the turmoil felt by employees. Linchpin draws from some deep subjects to address the current crisis: economics history, neuroscience, paleoanthropology and industrial/business history. Seth uses ideas from these disparate subjects to develop a strong case for the need for employees to change from being cogs in the great industrial machine that we have come to rely upon.

Details
This is one of Seth's most challenging books so far, not from a complexity perspective but because this is a wake up from the world we thought we lived in. Similar to how he has been shaking up the business world for over a decade, here he challenges not only the system, but focuses on the individuals in the system. He has written extensively deconstructing the archaic industrial complex and calling for companies to reform. With Linchpin Seth takes a different tack, and a much harder tack; he challenges all of us to take some responsibility for our careers/lives. Seth is `the' master of provoking change and he understands change is hard. This is Seth's art, his genius. Linchpin is a carefully laid out change manifesto. Not a `framework', not a `map' since this is one of the most pernicious symptoms of being a cog; we are always looking for someone to give us a map; a set of instructions, a guide. Linchpin's message is clear, there is no map. If there was a map then you become dispensable, easily replaced by the next in line that can follow the map.

This book will challenge, provoke and even cajole you to become a Linchpin, someone that is indispensable to an organization. Using the analogy of a Linchpin. A small part that has a critical role, it attaches the wheel to the wagon. He challenges us all to become linchpins. Instead of waiting for others (management, bosses, companies) to tell you what to do, you should do what is 'critical' and make yourself indispensable.

The first part of the book lays out a compelling case of how we came to this point in history. It draws from economics, sociology, anthropology to explain how and why we find ourselves in a world where employees are considered to be interchangeable parts in a larger machine. How we came from being hunter/gatherers that worked in small groups for 3 hours per day to faceless workers on a 9-5 schedule that can be interchanged at will. Also, this isn't something happening to other people. No longer is it just blue-collar workers or low level white-collar works, it is happening to all of us and we need to take note.

Seth doesn't take the easy road and just complain at the misfortune or blame the `greedy' Wall Street tycoons; he understands the complex economy that we have created. He also understands that trying to scale human beings is not an infinite exercise and we have come to the end. When everyone is racing to the bottom to get cheaper there is only one winner. In a world where the race to top is much harder but also leaves room for infinite winners there is far more opportunity for us all.

The second part of the book moves from how we got here, switching gears to not only what we need to be; linchpins, but also what is stopping us. It delves in to neuroscience to explain how our triune brains are our worst enemies in moving from being cogs to being linchpins. The lizard brain, the oldest part of our 3-part brain (aka the limbic system), is at the root of all autonomic responses, one of which is fear and our response to it. The fight between the older limbic system and the more complex and sophisticated neocortex is what causes most of the `resistance' when it comes to doing great work.

The last part of this compelling manifesto is an explanation of what it means to be a linchpin and the abilities that can make you one. Again, Seth steers clear from providing a map or guide; there is no map, but there are some great examples and principles.

Even though this is a complex and multi layered book it is so well written that you won't notice that Seth is explaining some very deep concepts. It is actually more complex to review than read. The ideas are well explained and the arc of the manifesto is clearly articulated, but it's hard to capture the many nuances, stories, examples, sidebar rants and all the gentle and not so gentle nudging. This book is jam-packed with ideas and provoking thoughts. This is a book that is designed to change, and that is probably the characteristic that makes it the hardest to `just' read. This is a book clearly designed to push people to action. Seth is a master of this kind of book and he doesn't disappoint. Even though the ideas in this book will have you thinking for a long time, the momentum created from this book will propel you to take action not just pontificate.

Bottom Line
This is a timely book for our troubled times. Seth is the right person to have written this change manifesto. This is going to be hard for people to hear and even harder for people to do, but for the sake of our future this is a book that should be read and acted upon. The unfortunate part of books like this is it is most appealing to the people that need it the least. The hope is that now the linchpins in society have a book to give to their friends, colleagues and family to explain why it's important to stop being a cog and blaming the latest populist scapegoat for the mess we are in. We are all implicitly or explicitly part of this problem and we should do something to change it. Seth has done his part, the gauntlet is thrown, and it is for us to take the challenge.

Kes Sampanthar
Inventor of ThinkCube

Innovation for Schools

2009-09-06T19:28:48-04:00

Think Cube Innovation For Schools V3

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Innovation's Missing Piece

2009-09-06T19:25:01-04:00

Innovations Missing Piece v3

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Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal

2009-09-06T18:11:53-04:00

Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal - to me is about how when a great artist understands the thought that went into a great idea or a piece of art, they don't just create a replica, they generate a piece of original art themselves that draws from the very essence of an idea. It's the difference between iPod and Zune; iPod reinvented the personal music experience (great artist), Zune just copied the iPod (good artist). Read David Kord Murray's latest book and you will understand how to be a great artist.

Borrowing Brilliance - David Kord Murray

Summary

David Kord Murray; aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, innovator, fortune 500 executive; has managed to write one of the most personal, practical and insightful books on the innovation process. It is well written and a joy to read.

Audience
If you want to learn how to innovate; whether you an aspiring or current entrepreneur, working in a large/small corporation or self employed; whether you are working in the corporate world, or entertainment, media or academia; you will find within these pages a process that will lead to higher quantity and quality of ideas. Murray shares with you not only his personal story that illuminates and illustrates the process of innovation, but also gives you a unrivaled view into the journey of an innovator; a hero's journey. This is not for someone that just wants to manage the innovation process; this is for someone that wants to innovate; individually, as a team or company; someone who wants to generate ideas and implement them.

Detailed Review
I have been researching creativity and innovation for 2 decades and I have read far and wide on the subject and even developed my own innovation system based on my research; this is the first time I have read a book that covers the same breath and depth of my research and that came to the same conclusions. Murray's research and journey is very reminiscent from engineer to entrepreneur to innovator. His reading list (some listed at the back of the book and some that I can tell from his writing) mirrors my own from scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs. He draws from the lives and ideas of people like Einstein, Darwin, Edison, Disney, Jobs, Gates, Nash, Lucas, Page and Brin and researches neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, cinematography, economics, biology, evolution and business to develop a process that is one of the best encapsulations of true innovation.

I am not sure I have ever read a business book like this. Murray shares his own personal journey that led to him developing this innovation process. The story is very personal and probably one the most insightful books on the joys and agonies of innovation and entrepreneurship. His story not only describes the ideas he developed for his companies; a ground breaking financial services firm, one of the most successful direct mail campaigns and successful online tax software; but also shows the messy, warts and all innovation process. Most authors stick to explaining their successes and gloss over their failures. Murray courageously shares the ups and downs, and I feel this makes the book even more powerful. Innovation is messy and most people focus on the end result too much, when the real magic of innovation is in this messy, iterative, recursive and fractal process.

I have to admit when I saw this book and it's subtitle - `The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others' I was expecting yet another lightweight, fluffy book on how to innovate. I was pleasantly surprised, no amazed, to find one of the most thorough articulations of the innovation process. I have been teaching innovation for years and I find myself in awe at how much Murray has managed to fit into this book while making it practical and down to earth. Anyone can pick up this book and if they really read and follow his advice can develop their own ideas. My own personal mission has been to teach innovation to people and finally I have found a book that explains the real process.

Recommendation
The book is well written and the stories bring the deep ideas behind innovation to life. For many years now I have been recommending a series of books to people who want to learn about innovation: The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm, How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate, Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation and A Technique for Producing Ideas (Advertising Age Classics Library). Murray has managed to write a book that encapsulates all these books and makes them obsolete!

Let me repeat; anyone can pick up this book and if they really read and follow his advice can develop their own ideas/innovations. I can't give any higher praise.

Checkout David's Website: Borrowing Brilliance by David Kord Murray

Kes Sampanthar
Inventor of ThinkCube