Steven Johnson on Where Good Ideas Come From
I'm in the midst of reading Steven Johnson's book "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation", and I came across this TED video which summarizes some of the highlight ideas. Well worth watching.
Changing how young people date… from the other side of the world
The aficionados of dating websites among you may or may not have heard of Ignighter.com, but here's an example of serendipity. Or more precisely, of unintended success. Started in 2008 by three young men in New York, the website targeted young people in their 20's and enabled members to set up group dates, e.g. a movie or a picnic, in order to make typical dates less awkward by involving a larger group of people. The focus was on the US, but before long there was a surge of traffic from Asia, in particular India. By early 2010, Ignighter.com reportedly started signing up more users in India in a week than in the US in a year.
Daniel Etter for The New York Times
Ignighter.com is now considered the dating Website with the fastest growth in India, and in the words of Adam Sachs, one of the founders: "In January 2010, we made the decision that we are an Indian dating site.” Sachs also commented that "Here we are, a few Jewish guys sitting in Union Square, and we might have accidentally revolutionized the dating scene in India.” Not to mention attracting millions of dollars in financing, much of it from Indian investors.
And the amazing thing is, the three founders have never been to India (though that will change shortly). What a world we live in.
Source article:
- Jilted in the U.S., a Site Finds Love in India (New York Times)
补漏趁天晴，未渴先掘井。
Mend the roof while the weather is fine, dig the well before you're thirsty. Some old wisdom to live by.
The Blind Men and the Elephant: ever read the poem?
The parable of the blind men and the elephant originated in ancient India, and is a part of the Jain, Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi teachings. While this analogy is now in relatively common usage, Henry Mintzberg et.al. in Strategy Safari pointed out that not many have actually read John Godfrey Saxe's poem from the 1870s that popularized the story in the English language:
Image via Wikipedia
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Matthew May on Elegance By Design: The Art of Less
Came across an older article I'd read a couple years ago on "Elegance By Design: The Art of Less" by Matthew May, the author of In Pursuit of Elegance. Almost two years later, its ideas still ring fresh and relevant, arguing that "there is an art to the management of ideas and the people who create them, and thus a role for elegance." Here's a key passage:
The goal of elegance is to maximize effect with minimum means. It’s an elusive target. Scientists, mathematicians, and engineers search for theories that explain highly complex phenomena in simple ways. Artists use white, or “negative,” space to convey visual power. Musicians and composers use silence to create dramatic tension. Physicians try to find a single diagnosis to explain all of a patient’s symptoms, shaving the analysis down to the simplest explanation.
For today’s manager, the key to understanding its relevance lies in realizing that value, for customers and employees alike, may best be added, paradoxically, through a primarily subtractive process. As Jim Collins wrote in 2003, “A great piece of art is composed not just of what is in the final piece, but equally what is not. It is the discipline to discard what does not fit—to cut out what might have already cost days or even years of effort—that distinguishes the truly exceptional artist and marks the ideal piece of work, be it a symphony, a novel, a painting, a company, or most important of all, a life.”
Three key ideas:
- Symmetry: simple rules create effective order
- Seduction: limiting information creates intrigue
- Subtraction: restraint and removal creates value
Source article
- Elegance By Design: The Art of Less (MIT Sloan Management Review)
The Aga Khan on pluralism and Canada
I had the opportunity to listen to the new mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, speak at a Canadian Club of Toronto event today. One of his key messages was the important of the Three D's for urban vitality: Diversity, Density and Discovery. When speaking about diversity, Nenshi, who is Ismaili, quoted from the Aga Khan's LaFontaine-Baldwin lecture back in October 2010. In so doing, Nenshi urged the audience to look this lecture up if we hadn't heard or read it, and I'm glad I did. Here are a few nuggets:
The Aga Khan (from theglobeandmail.com)
Amy Chua, of the Yale Law School, recently published a persuasive warning about the decline and fall of history’s dominant empires. Their downward spiral, she says, stemmed from their embrace of intolerant and exclusionist attitudes.
The earlier success of these so-called “hyper powers” reflected their pragmatic, inclusive policies, drawing on the talents of a wide array of peoples. She cites seven examples – from Ancient Persia to the modern United States, from Ancient Rome and the Tang Empire in China, to the Spanish, Dutch and British Empires. In each case, pluralism was a critical variable.
What the Canadian experience suggests to me is that identity itself can be pluralistic. Honouring one’s own identity need not mean rejecting others. One can embrace an ethnic or religious heritage, while also sharing a sense of national or regional pride.
I believe that the challenge of pluralism is never completely met. Pluralism is a process and not a product. It is a mentality, a way of looking at a diverse and changing world. A pluralistic environment is a kaleidoscope that history shakes every day. Responding to pluralism is an exercise in constant re-adaptation. Identities are not fixed in stone. What we imagine our communities to be must also evolve with the tides of history.
In sum, what we must seek and share is what I have called “a cosmopolitan ethic,” a readiness to accept the complexity of human society. It is an ethic which balances rights and duties. It is an ethic for all peoples.
Related articles
- Aga Khan's LaFontaine-Baldwin lecture (theglobeandmail.com)
- Calgary mayor wants all cities to succeed (thestar.com)
TED Talk: Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation
(Flash video)
While this TED Talk by Daniel Pink, the author of "A Whole New Mind" and "Drive", dates from 2009, it has been getting a new burst of interest lately. In it Pink makes a case for the importance of intrinsic motivation over the extrinsic "sticks and carrots" approach. Food for thought.
Source:
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