“What are you going to do about it?” My grandmother was chastising me for whining about how life wasn’t fair – or some other perceived injustice. What could I do about it! I was only a kid. It’s someone else’s job to fix it! Or at least I thought so. Instead of letting me pass […]
Given the esteem and trust we grant scientists and innovators, how could this happen? How could research fraud, falsified data, and unproven conclusions result in 1,800 papers in leading journals and peer review articles being retracted in 2020? And this is not an anomaly. [1] Two decades ago, journals were retracting roughly 40 papers per […]
“Dad – what’s that?” My daughter, 4 or 5, was in her car seat as we were running errands. She grew impatient with my delay in answering her question. “That!” she said as she pointed out her window at the curb. “It’s called a curb,” I explained. “What’s it made of?” “Cement.” “What’s cement?” I […]
I looked up and saw that look of disappointment. My 8-year-old self was staring into the face of my father. I had badgered him for weeks to let me cut the grass to earn the same allowance my older brother got for the same chore. My early activism in equal pay for equal work. His […]
No matter how much the boss or the customers yelled or threatened, the locomotive pulling freight and passenger cars refused to move. They were dead in the water. The day started out as planned, but then went from good to bad. The train lurched to a stop without warning. Upon investigation, the engine had somehow […]
If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know it is my policy to avoid mentioning companies and specific individuals … this is a special case – I want you to know Charles Falkenberg. Charles was the Director of Research (CTO) for ECOLogic – a small company based in Washington DC where I […]
As a society, we have a problem. Some years ago, the late Nobel Prize winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer was asked by a reporter, “Doctor, what’s wrong with people today?” The famous doctor was silent for a moment, then he said, “People simply don’t think!” Why do some not use our brains and think? The brain […]
On January 13, 2018, the people of Hawaii woke to a shocking alert on their phones and TVs. An incoming ballistic missile was on its way and that the warning was not a drill. It was 38 minutes later that the alert was retracted. During those 38 minutes — panic set in. People were trying […]
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Mentoring is certainly not a new concept. In fact, the name comes from a character named “Mentor” in Homer’s Odyssey. He was a trusted advisor to Odysseus’ son. Even though its roots run back thousands of years, however, the recent growth of social learning has given rise to a boom in mentoring and coaching programs. […]
The concept of gamification is increasingly popular as a means of motivating employees, increasing productivity, and moving ideas forward. This trend is one driving force behind the proliferation of innovation competitions around the world, but it’s also true that these kinds of competitions aren’t anything new. The concept dates back to the 1700s when governments […]
