Innovation in Education: What’s Old and What’s New
The world our kids will need to compete in is radically different from the world ten years ago. The old adage about education that “what was good enough for you when you were a kid is good enough for today” gives comfort and justification that everything is fine. Everything is not fine. Our schools
The Best Creative Thinking Tool You Probably Haven’t Tried
While we all have a go-to creative thinking tool that always works for us, we should always be open to trying new tools. I’m sure you’ve met a humorless person before. They’re those people that take everything far too seriously and never find humor in life or other people. If you want to be creative
The False Theory of Idea Scarcity
“The world has a limited amount of resources.” While there are many resources that are finite, some believe there is a finite number of ideas. But, in reality, this theory of idea scarcity is a myth. When an idea creates the spark that leads to something new being created, it takes the place of some
The One Thing That Will Kill An Innovation And What You Can Do To Avoid It
When most innovators pitch what they think is the next brilliant innovation, I’m shocked by how many of the innovators will make what sound like extreme claims without taking take the time to fact-check. While fact-checking is most commonly applied to journalism. There have been many public reveals
The Power of Human Ingenuity
“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 […]
An Ethics Crisis in 2020 – Here Is To A Better 2021
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, jour
I Have a Question…
“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 […]
A Job Worth Doing…
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 […]
Effectiveness
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 eng
Never Forget 9-11 Memories of Charles Falkenberg
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 […]
