TEDxMaastricht - Tim Hurson - "The shock of the possible" What Happened to Downtime? The Extinction of Deep Thinking & Sacred Space. Interruption-free space is sacred. Yet, in the digital era we live in, we are losing hold of the few sacred spaces that remain untouched by email, the internet, people, and other forms of distraction. Our cars now have mobile phone integration and a thousand satellite radio stations. When walking from one place to another, we have our devices streaming data from dozens of sources.
Even at our bedside, we now have our iPads with heaps of digital apps and the world’s information at our fingertips. There has been much discussion about the value of the “creative pause” – a state described as “the shift from being fully engaged in a creative activity to being passively engaged, or the shift to being disengaged altogether.” However, despite the incredible power and potential of sacred spaces, they are quickly becoming extinct. Why do we crave distraction over downtime? Why do we give up our sacred space so easily? We are depriving ourselves of every opportunity for disconnection. 1. 2. 3. 4. 10 Awesome Videos On Idea Execution & The Creative Process. At 99U, we try to demystify the creative process. To show you the real inner-workings of how ideas are made to happen by sharing the thought processes and creative practices of great achievers.
Here, with the help of our readers, we’ve rounded up some of the best videos on idea execution from artists, writers, designers, storytellers, researchers, and chocolatiers. 1. William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible (53:12) This rich and wonderful profile of acclaimed South African artist William Kentridge comes from PBS’s Art:21 series. Among other things, Kentridge talks embracing the seriousness of play and learning how to work out of your weaknesses. It’s always been in between the things I thought I was doing that the real work has happened. 2. The most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. 3. Sometimes we over-value our own experience. I know that being right is a pretty deadly thing. 4. 5.
Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Unleashing the Power of Networked Learning - Martha Stone Wiske - Innovations in Education. By Martha Stone Wiske | 9:57 AM March 21, 2011 Editor’s note: This post is part of a three-week series examining educational innovation and technology, published in partnership with the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. How do we unleash the power of networked learning? What is the nature of that power and what levers must we wiggle to generate effective learning through online technologies? I’ve taught a course about these questions for many years at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and this year I notice a shift in the answers my students are developing. As in prior years, we read and think about how to build online learning communities: The educational design of the course is the same as it has been for years.
So what’s different now? Networked learning continues to fuel uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East. What’s different is that the top-down, center-out approach to traditional education is dramatically diminished. Dr. Tools for Thinking. Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from. Innovators Don't See Different Things - They See Things Differently | BNET. Last Updated Jun 5, 2011 7:45 PM EDT I don't know why, but an awful lot of people seem to be very confused about what innovation means and how it really works.
Innovators are not geeks with giant-sized brains that think plaids, stripes, and polka-dots all match. And, more often than not, they don't have a single patent or PhD to their name. In a recent New Yorker article and NPR interview, Malcolm Gladwell talks about what he calls the Creation Myth: that an innovator may not be the guy who comes up with the idea but the guy who turns that idea into something people can use. He goes on to say that you don't want to be first with new technology or ideas and offers Apple as proof of that.
You know; he's right. Not only was Apple not first to market with any of its products, but the later it enters, the more successful its products seem to be. After all, MP3 players, smartphones, and tablets had all been around for ages before Apple introduced the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Also check out: Fostering diversity is to promote creativity and reinvent the Organization. Creativity and the Humanities “How can organizations redesign their work environments to stimulate ideas, foster innovation and harness the creative potential of their workforce?” This was the challenge launched at WEF and had as key points for discussion: -Foosball tables and employees on Segways are evidence of creativity in an organization, but not conclusive proof of it, and not a sure-fire path to creativity. -Trust in the workplace is a necessary condition for creativity. -Permission for creativity in the workplace comes from the top, and can be signaled in many ways (such as inclusiveness, diversity and openness). - The workplace exists not only in physical space, but also in virtual space.
If we visit a few known companies (not to be confused with recognized) as having creative environments or leafing through some magazines we easily find pictures where they plays foosball, billiards or ping pong game. Trust and risk are closely linked with fear. What do you think? The Downside of Traditions. If I asked if you were serving sushi for your next Thanksgiving dinner, you'd give me a puzzled look and think to yourself, "who is this idiot? " Like millions of others, you'll likely enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the other traditional trimmings. You follow tradition so there's no need to invent a special menu. By definition, you simply comply with the prescribed formula from the past. No need to think, whatsoever. While traditions might be nice in a family setting, they can be disastrous in the business world. If your business is more than 12 months old, it has traditions.
Great leaders are advocates for change. A Better Cut My business partner, Dan Gilbert, is constantly obsessed with finding a better way. Dan loves to talk about shaking things up and shattering traditions. Each Halloween we all rush to the pumpkin patch and then proceed to carve the same way. "Why not carve from the bottom? " The problem is: most of us never stop to think about it. The Start-Up of You.