As ice cream is my favorite indulgence, I’ve repeated the ice cream origin story which claims Marco Polo brought a recipe back to Italy after his travels to the Far East. I’ve heard the story from others; even an organization as reputable as the International Dairy Food Association makes that claim. It turns out it’s…
Ever heard of the buttered cat paradox? The buttered cat paradox is a humorous thought experiment which combines two common adages: While you may think it’s an urban legend, experiments have shown 81% of the time buttered toast lands on the floor butter side down. Also, a phenomenon known as the cat righting reflex has…
What happens if we relook at predictions from 100 years ago? Futurists usually aren’t judged on the accuracy of their predictions, and people rarely revisit the predictions many years later. Futurists can be wrong and unaccountable; just like meteorologists… The exception might be Ray Kurzweil who some have claimed to have a stunning 86% accuracy…
Despite a constant barrage of negativity, there is uplifting news out there; you just have to look harder to find it. For example, Fast Company annually publishes a list of World Changing Ideas that create “substantive, positive change in the world”. The winning ideas improve lives, society, or the environment — not just businesses bottom lines. This…
During my technology career, the phrase ‘the Russians used a pencil’ was a vivid reminder that the simplest solution is often the best one. For those who may not have heard the story about the Russian pencil, it goes something like this: When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered ballpoint pens did…
The vestigial pattern bias explains why we get trapped by prevailing wisdom. In biology, vestigial structures are ones that have no apparent current function and appear to be left over from a past ancestor. Common examples are the human appendix, the pelvic bone of a snake, and the wings of flightless birds. In business, vestigial…
You might not have heard of MIT professor Gian-Carlo Rota but you should know Rota’s 10 Life Lessons. Rota was an internationally respected mathematician and philosopher, and an influential and admired teacher. He was credited with transforming the field of combinatorial logic into one with a wide range industrial applications – from computers to communications…
Reject the rat race and embrace the parable of the contented fisherman. I’ve lived in Silicon Valley for all of my adult life, whole-heartedly embracing the culture of innovation. I’m repeatedly energized with the amazing people I’ve been able to meet. But I’m not an idealist – as much as I love living here, I…
If you want to pursue innovation, consider next practices instead of best practices. Best practices look into the past to document processes that can be repeated for specific business problems. Next practices are future-oriented blueprints which allow organizations to better anticipate and respond to strategic issues which have inherent unknowns and risks. Best practices allow…
Ever wonder why you seem to come up with your best ideas when you’re in the shower? Research titled ‘Inspired By Distraction’ claimed you become more creative in your problem solving when you’re doing simple tasks which allow your mind to wander. The authors wrote, “Compared with engaging in a demanding task, rest, or no…