August 16, 2010

John Cleese's Principles of Creativity

Highlights from a presentation by John Cleese on creativity. He lays out a few principles for achieving it

Got a problem? Sleep on it. Let your unconscious mind find the solution
Another way to leverage your unconscious: it will keep working on tasks you've completed. When you revisit them, you'll find improvements waiting for you
Avoid interruptions, they destroy flow
Ideas "don't come from laptops", they come from thinking. You won't be creative if you're "running around all day, keeping balls in the air"
To foster creativity you need to establish:
1. Boundaries of space: a place where you can think without being interrupted
2. Boundaries of time: a clear timespan during which you will think (though he doesn't explicitly say this, I've found the constraint of a deadline is a good spur to creativity)

None of this is new, but it's a good set of principles nonetheless. Here's the video.

August 8, 2010

Mac in Tosh? No! Dog in Mac!

Apple makes some really cool technology these days. Thanks to Leia for serving as model!

August 4, 2010

Diseases make you Dumber... and Smarter?

Couple of articles in The Economist caught my eye recently. The first on the effects of toxoplasmosis and human behavior, the second on the link between disease and intelligence.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite whose lifecycle alternates between rodents and cats. When it infects rats and mice it lodges itself in their brains and causes them to behave in an erratic, risk tolerant, manner. It may even make them attracted to the smell of cats. Once the infected rodent is eaten by a cat, the parasite eventually ends up in its feces, to be ingested by a rat. Repeat ad infinitum...

It turns out toxoplasma has this effect by producing dopamine which then acts on their hosts' nervous systems. What then is its impact on humans? Some studies show a correlation between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia. Others, a higher level of road accidents in infected drivers (there's that increase in risk tolerance again). But "some researchers go further and propose that entire societies are being altered by Toxoplasma".

"In 2006 Kevin Lafferty of the University of California, Santa Barbara, published a paper noting a correlation between levels of neuroticism established by national surveys in various countries and the level of Toxoplasma infection recorded in pregnant women (a group who are tested routinely). The places he looked at ranged from phlegmatic Britain, with a neuroticism score of -0.8 and a Toxoplasma infection rate of 6.6%, to hot-blooded France, which scored 1.8 and had an infection rate of 45%. […]
To repeat, correlation is not causation, and a lot more work would need to be done to prove the point. But it is just possible that a parasite’s desire to get eaten by a cat is shaping the cultures of the world."

The second article reviews a study comparing national IQ and a country's disease burden, i.e. the "disability-adjusted life years lost caused by 28 infectious diseases". They found a 67% correlation between the two and though they tried to find other causes, they kept coming back to the impact of disease on IQ.

The article is worth reading in its entirety. As with the case of toxoplasmosis, correlation is not causation, but if true, it's a key finding.

"If [the researchers] are right, it suggests that the control of such diseases is crucial to a country’s development in a way that had not been appreciated before. Places that harbour a lot of parasites and pathogens not only suffer the debilitating effects of disease on their workforces, but also have their human capital eroded, child by child, from birth."

So if we have evidence of diseases' deleterious effect on humans, couldn't other diseases make you smarter, stronger, or healthier? Wouldn't this give them a better chance at long term survival?

In May of this year, scientists presented evidence of just such a effect: a bacteria linked to increases in learning behavior.

The researchers found that that mice fed live Mycobacterium vaccae "navigated the maze twice as fast and with less demonstrated anxiety behaviors as control mice" and speculated that "that creating learning environments in schools that include time in the outdoors where M. vaccae is present may decrease anxiety and improve the ability to learn new tasks."

All this makes me wonder how prevalent such effects are in our lives. Could it be that these little symbionts have shaped our evolution unbeknownst to us? And how would we know?

Here's one way: let's see if our collective IQ decreases as we all use increasing amounts of anti-bacterial soap! :-)

July 25, 2010

iPad AntennaGate

There's been a lot of talk on the net about AntennaGate over the past few weeks: if you hold an iPhone4 the wrong way, it loses signal strength and drops calls. Apple called attention to the fact that other cell phones also suffer from this (much to the annoyance of the other phone makers :-) though the iPhone4 seems to be the worst affected.

But where, in all this, is the iPad? The iPad 3G has an antenna. Does it also suffer from signal attenuation if you hold it "wrong"? No one dared ask the question...

Until now! :-)

In case you're wondering...

- Yes, I know I messed up pronouncing "fanboy", we only did a single ad lib take

- The footage shot on a properly held iPhone4 (thanks Aron!)

- No iPads were harmed in the making of this video

July 10, 2010

Gliding in the Swiss Alps

Got some great pictures of gliders while hiking. They swoop in overhead, almost silent, skimming the mountain sides. I've always admired glider pilots: they have so little margin of error when landing. In the Cessna I rent, it's easy to use power to compensate for any issues with the approach, wind variations, unexpected traffic, etc. You don't have that luxury in a glider! Must be a real rush to fly one of these in the mountains. Gotta get an intro flight next time I'm here.

If ever someone googles their glider's tail number: this one is HB-3427. Contact me if you want the full size pictures.

June 25, 2010

Useful innovation framework: 7 Levels of Change

In April I attended a seminar given by Rolf Smith, innovation guru and author of the 7 Levels of Change. We covered a lot of ground in a single day but the part that resonated most for me was the one that focused on those seven levels.

(Yes, he spelled "Diffferently" that way on purpose!)

The seven levels describe the various stages you go through as you walk up the "innovation" ladder. Here's Rolf with the list.

Here's how his model works:

Do the right things: Rolf defines innovation to include implementation so level 1 focuses on clarifying what key tasks to carry out
Do things right: Next up is basic execution. Block and tackle
Do things better: Now we're up to continuous improvement
Do away with things: This is the pivotal level. Once you reach this point, you're likely saturated. All your time is allocated to carrying out those tasks and trying to get better at them. If you want to keep progressing, you need to make time. This means applying Pareto to focus on the 20% of tasks that generate 80% of the value and ruthlessly cutting out the rest. This gives you time back to explore higher levels
Do things other people are doing: Look around you for great ideas and copy, extend, and incorporate them
Do things no one else is doing: Here you're truly creating something new, or "diffferent" as Rolf would put it
Do things that can't be done: Do the impossible! Break the mold!

While it seems simple at first blush, I've shared the model with co-workers and it's given us a very useful vocabulary around key areas of focus:

"We're spending all our time at level 3 here"
"I don't think we're past level 1 for this project, we really need to understand it better"
"Yup, that's level 6 alright, now... how do we do it?"

You can apply this model to individuals, teams, and even corporations. Some people are more convergent, i.e. execution/solution focused, and they tend to inhabit levels 1 to 3. Others are divergent, i.e. creative / idea generators, and they like to live at levels 5 to 7. What about you?

I've come to think of this model as more of a seesaw with levels 1-3 on one side, 4 at the pivot point, and 5-7 on the other side. While individuals may favor one side or another, really successful organizations are able, in fact need, to balance both.

(Execution or idea heavy? :-) Source)

For example:

I'd peg Apple as a level 6-7 company but they wouldn't be successful without their excellent ability to execute on those ideas
Microsoft? Mostly level 3 I think though parts are level 5 (e.g. Windows 7 Phone), and level 6 (e.g. Project Natal / Kinect for Xbox 360). The famous quip of it taking Microsoft three releases to get a product right may be due to moving from level 1 to 3 :-)
Google? Again it varies by team but a good deal of levels 5, 6, and even 7 once in a while
Dell, HP, Lenovo? Solid at levels 2 to 3, some level 5 happening
Toyota? The Prius was a huge level 6 success but given recent quality problems it seems they neglected levels 2 and 3
GE? Pioneers of level 3 6-sigma but innovation is far down the list when you think of this company

How can you use these levels? Here are some ideas:

Reflect on your own natural level. Are you operating at the right level to solve the problems you're working on?
Dip into level 4 and change / replace / eliminate some of your habits, esp. the most ingrained ones. Does this free you up to move up or down the levels?
Next time you're brainstorming, ask people for ideas at each level to force them to think across the change spectrum

Rolf's book is full of tools and ideas of how to get the most out of each level.

His site also offers a fuller explanation of the levels.

June 22, 2010

Tombraider Remembered

I have very fond memories of Tombraider. It came out in 1996 and was a very refreshing change from the Doom franchise popular at the time. It was 3rd person, focused on exploration just as much as killing monsters, the main character had a much larger range of motion than we were previously used to, and (of course) you got to play a pretty and capable female version of Indiana Jones named Lara Croft. What more could you want? :-)

Giving in to nostalgia, I recently played the Tombraider demo via the excellent DOSBox on my Macbook Pro.

As far as I can tell the game ran flawlessly but, well, sometimes things are best left in the past. The graphics that I remembered so fondly haven't aged well. And even on a powerful new MBP with DOSBox claiming 0 frameskips, the refreshes still left a lot to be desired and sometimes seemed to roll down the screen. I also tried it inside a Parallels VM with the same results.

Still, it was fun to revive Tombraider. If nothing else it enabled me to give my sons a glimpse of the game that inspired many of the ones they play today. Wish someone would refresh the first game, the subsequent versions never measured up to that initial burst of creativity.

June 21, 2010

Golden Sunset in the Swiss Alps

A mostly cloudy day gave rise to a beautiful sunset. Looks like the summit is on fire.

June 20, 2010

Breaking News: Belgium and Korea to Swap Countries

In what many describe as the most important event since President Bush patted the Queen's bottom at Buckingham Palace, the governments of Belgium, North Korea, and South Korea have reached a tentative agreement to swap countries in 2020. Said Geert Vandermeert, spokesman for the Belgian delegation, "We're very proud of this historic moment of Eurasian harmony". Barely able to contain his excitement, he continued, "Think of all those defenses, mine fields, barbed wire, canons, and guard posts between the two Koreas: perfect for keeping those bloody Walloons out of our half of the country".

For his part South Korean leader Kim Dae Woo was equally bullish, "Moving South Korea to Belgium will really open up markets for our products in Europe. Instead of shipping them half way across the world, our goods will be available to all, we could make Belgium one big electronics store!" North Korean party member Joon Sung Wok was no less ebullient "We understand Belgium has nuclear reactors already producing enough uranium for our mil-, eh, civilian programs. Our dear leader is very excited."

Jean-Marie Lorgnion, a Walloon, was more cautious. "Well, I've always wanted to travel" he admitted, "and I hear it's warmer there than in rainy Belgium. Plus I quite like the food." Fleming Rob DeVertegenaar smiled confidently as he asserted "I've checked it out on Google Earth, that No Man's Land will be perfect for our needs. I can't wait!"

Despite the enthusiasm, significant challenges remain. Opinions are divided on how to handle languages, shop, and street signs. Unsurprisingly, the Belgians are adamant that they need to take all three to their new home. "What's the point of moving half way around the world only to end up speaking the same language? If I refuse to speak French I'm certainly not learning Korean!", exclaimed DeVertegenaar as he carefully packed his street sign away for shipping.

Koreans for their part want to integrate in Europe. "What's the point of going over there and bringing our street signs with us?" Kim Dae Woo countered "No one will be able to understand Korean". "Exactly right" agreed the North's Sung Wok, "Plus we have so few streets shops in the fatherland, not to mentions signs. We could really use the Belgians'".

Another concern is logistics. Swapping four populations is easier said than done. Light on details, the delegations spoke of commandeering ferry boats, planes, and a fleet of custom-built RVs for the exodus. "I hope they avoid rush hour," said Lorgnion, "or there'll be one hell of a traffic jam".

Perhaps the greatest unifying force behind the country swap is the World Cup. Amidst giants such as England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Slovenia, little Belgium rarely makes it to the competition. "Once we've swapped with Korea, all that will change" stated Vandermeert confidently, "Flanders and even Wallonia will dominate the region. We'll finally be giants!"

Background

My native country, Belgium, is sadly slowly tearing itself apart along linguistic lines. The northern, Dutch-speaking Flemings no longer want a union with their southern, French-speaking cousins the Walloons. This long running enmity grows deeper with each passing election as more and more control is given to separatists who would split the country in two.

This satirical piece was written as homage to The Onion and a commentary on the stupidity of focusing on who speaks what language instead of actually fixing real problems facing our country.

June 17, 2010

Clear Communications from US Bank. Not.

Look at what I was greeted with when I logged into my US Bank account. Probably because I'm on Firefox. I assume it would have appeared fine in IE 6 :-)