Jump The Curve Archives: 03/2010

To Create the Future Cultivate a Beginner’s Mind

Thomas Huxley once encouraged people to: ”Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.” I really like this quote because, as regular readers of this blog know, I think we can all benefit a great deal from ”thinking like a child.”

A correlary to this is the idea that “inexperience” is not always a negative characteristic. This is especially true if people’s experience precludes them from understanding how the accelerating pace of technological change might change their future in ways which are completely unexpected or maybe even foreign to them. To this end, I highly recommend this article, entitled ”Judgment Trumps Experience,” which appeared a while back in the Wall Street Journal. One sentence in particular stands out for me. It reads: ”And often, especially in today’s dizzying world, we need to understand what Zen Buddists call the ‘beginner’s mind,’ which recognizes the value of fresh insight unfettered by experience.”

It’s a wonderful quote and in today’s “dizzying world” it is more appropriate than ever. Now, if you want to take this message to heart and become what I call an exponential executive, the question you must ask yourself is this: What are you doing to cultivate your own “beginner’s mind”?

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New Keynote Speech: The Future Requires Unlearning

As long-time readers know, I have been focused on the concept of “unlearning” for some time now. I dedicated an entire chapter to the idea in my book, Jump the Curve and have also developed a separate website that is serving as a notebook for my forthcoming books on the topic—the first of which will be released later this year.

To this end, I am happy to announce that I have developed a corresponding keynote presentation on the topic and will be partnering with one of America’s top speakers bureaus, Leading Authorities, to bring the talk to the public. It is a perfect motivational or keynote speech for any business, organization or institution that knows it must drive change in order to survive ... but is running into resistance from those “leaders,” managers, employees or customers who refuse to unlearn the old ways of doing business.

Below is a brief description:

The pace of technological change is accelerating. Today’s organizations are living in a world where “constant change is the only constant.” New advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology are bringing forth exciting and unexpected discoveries every day, while the expansive and growing power of the Internet, social networking and the open-source movement are fueling the fires which threaten to consume much of today’s existing business landscape.

Life-long learning will obviously be more essential than ever in this chaotic and churning environment; but often lost in this new emerging reality of exponential change is the fact that before an organization can seize tomorrow’s opportunities it must first unlearn old, obsolete knowledge as well as unlearn the old ways of doing business.

In this fascinating, informative, entertaining, interactive and enlightening presentation, noted global futurist and best-selling author, Jack Uldrich—who has been hailed by BusinessWeek as “America’s Chief Unlearning Officer”—will not only explain why unlearning is a critical skill for your company or an organization’s employees, he will also demonstrate how unlearning can help:

-- Successfully navigate a future where the pace of scientific and technological knowledge is doubling every seven years;
-- Prepare for competition that doesn’t yet exist; and
-- Seize opportunities which are, today, only on the periphery of their imagination.

If you are interested in learning more about the presentation, I invite you to contact Leading Authorities directly at 1-800-SPEAKER or 1-202-783-0300.

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A Wave to the Future

I recently released an updated version of my book, Green Investing: A Guide to Making Money from Environmentally-Friendly Stocks. One area I was not bullish on in the short-term (but am long-term) is wave power. To this end, I encourage you to read this article from today’s Technology Review which reports that Scotland is developing a 1.2 gigawatt wave power project. As one industry spokesman says, “This industry is about to grow up.”

If the project is successful—and this is a big ‘if”—wave power could generate as much as 15 to 20% of Scotland’s electrical energy needs. In the U.S. the figure could be as high as 10% if the country were to develop wave power off the coasts of Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts.

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The Future is Black and White

The future won’t be either black or white—it will be black and white. In the field of architecture and design, people are often use to choosing between form or function. In the future, as a result of advances in nanotechnology, this age-old debate will become less relevant. As proof, I submit this article discussing a new technological advance that will allow the roof of the future to be both black or white—depending upon the temperature outside. (On cold days it will be black to absorb sunlight and on hot days it will turn white to reflect sunlight and keep the building cooler.)

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A Funny Look at the Future of Newspapers

The fine folks at The Onion have done it again. If you’re looking for a little relief from the fast-paced nature of today’s technological change, I invite you to watch this hilarious two-minute video clip. Enjoy!

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Moving from the Mainframe Model of Health Care

I encourage anyone interested in understanding the future direction of either healthcare or aging services to watch this insightful and informative 17-minute TED presentation from Eric Dishman.

For other articles relating to the future of health care, check out the following:

Look Inside for the Future of Healthcare
Social Networking: The Future of Health Care
The Future of Health Care is as Near as Your iPhone
Healthcare is the “Verge” of Something Big
Here Comes Intelligent Medicine
The Future of Healthcare is Accelerating
Personalized Medicine’s Accelerating Future
The Future of Health Care: Preventing Disease
Health Care Providers Need a Second Life
The Future of Health Care: Part 3 (Robotics)The Robot Will See You Now
Hospitals Robotic Future: Part 2
Hospitals Robotic Future: Part 1
Hospitals Get a Lift

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Look Inside for the Future of Health Care

“If the current rate of miniaturization continues, by 2020 approximately 2.500 transistors—equivalent to microprocessors of the first generation of personal computers—could fit into the area of a typical living cell.” This quote comes this interesting article in Nanowerk.

For other articles relating to the future of health care, check out the following:

Social Networking: The Future of Health Care
The Future of Health Care is as Near as Your iPhone
Healthcare is the “Verge” of Something Big
Here Comes Intelligent Medicine
The Future of Healthcare is Accelerating
Personalized Medicine’s Accelerating Future
The Future of Health Care: Preventing Disease
Health Care Providers Need a Second Life
The Future of Health Care: Part 3 (Robotics)The Robot Will See You Now
Hospitals Robotic Future: Part 2
Hospitals Robotic Future: Part 1
Hospitals Get a Lift

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Cisco’s Vision of the Future

Related Posts

Video Killed the Video Star
Mapping the Future of Video
The Future of the Internet Requires Unlearning

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The Future of the Internet Requires Unlearning

”If this is the information age, what are we so well-informed about?” So asks David Gelernter is this excellent essay in Edge entitled, Time to Start Taking the Internet Seriously.

Rather than rehash Gelernter’s entire article, I just want to highlight a few key concepts:

1. To date, the Internet has been about increasing the quantity of information. To get to the next level, it must concern itself with the quality of information.

2. To do this, Gelernter suggests “turning Cyberspace on its side, so that time instead of space is the main axis.” As a metaphor, he likens today’s websites to a stained-glass window which has many panels leaded together. What the Internet must become is a rushing flow of fresh information that can nurture new ways of thinking.

3. To this end, Gelertner argues the Internet of the future “can help us change our ways of thinking.”

4. In order to do this, however, the Internet move from away from it’s “culture of nowness.” As Gelertner suggests the Internet’s ability to focus like a laser on the “now” has a couple of unhealthy implications. First, a focus on “now” prevents many people from learning more about “then.” The current Internet is also “a machine for reinforcing our prejudices.” Sure, people can use it to find ten different perspectives on a story but, instead, many of us use it to review the same story from ten like-minded people.

Before Gelernter concludes with an optimistic vision of the Internet (which he says is “The best is yet to be"), he reminds his audience that “We would be fools to doubt our ignorance.”

As someone who is focused on unlearning, I think it is wonderful reminder that we must all have some intellectual humility. Or, as John Brockman writes in the introduction to the article, “Many of the people that desperately need to know, don’t even know that they don’t know.”

What don’t you know about the Internet of the future and what might you have to unlearn in order to embrace the fullness of its future potential?

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Powering Your Own Future

"Your home effectively becomes its own power station and gas station,” says Dan Nocera, an MIT chemist and co-founder of Sun Catalytix, in this short and informative video which describes his company’s innovative “direct solar fuels” or “electrofuels.”

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Mapping the Future of Video

If you want a peek into both the future of mapping as well as the future of video, I encourage you to watch this 8-minute video from Blaise Aguuera y Arcas at the recent TED conference:

Related Posts

Video Killed the Video Star

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Erasing into the Future

“Only the hand that erases can write the truth”. So wrote the German theologian, philosopher and mystic Meister Eckardt more than 800 years ago.

They are still good words to live by.

In the middle of the 19th century, blackboards were all the rage. In fact, some universities, seeking to gain a competitive advantage, even advertised that they were the only college within “a 100 miles” to sport the new technology.

This historical analogy is worth keeping in mind as university’s today tout that they offer every student a laptop or, perhaps, house the only high-tech lab “within a 100 miles.” The technology is no doubt sophisticated and it does offer a real advantage but it is important to remember that it will eventually be replaced by something else.

The real question, of course, is how soon. Far too many teachers, professors and schools continue to rely on blackboards not because they are the best tool (although they still do have a role to play) but because their hands can’t erase their old habits and behaviors.

We are racing into the future but for those organizations unwilling to unlearn and change all they are really doing is erasing their students future.

Related Post

Is the Future of College $99 a Month?

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10 Jobs of the Future

Inventor: Until 1950, “inventor” was listed as an official occupation on the U.S. Census form.  The job title will soon return as a new industrial revolution—fueled by advances in material science, robotics; 3-D printing; information technology; and nanotechnology—takes root and unleashes a wave of new (and practical) inventions.

Video-Book (Vook) editor: As electronic books and e-readers become more popular, a new generation of editors who are skilled at providing readers with information in multiple forms—text, graphics, video, etc—will be required.

Data analyst: The flood of new data which the world will soon experience due to the continued growth of sensors; RFID tags and video will create growing demand for individuals who can not only interpret and decipher this data but who can also display it in new and more meaningful visual formats.

Video game designer: As immersive video becomes more common in schools and businesses due to the continued growth of haptics; augmented reality; and virtual reality, a growing number of video game designers trained in these areas will be required.

Virtual nurse: Continued advances in video; real-time monitoring tools; and expanded bandwidth will make it possible to safely and effectively monitor patients from afar. As a result of increasing health care costs and an aging population, more healthcare providers will turn to “virtual nurses” to monitor patients until the services of an “on-location” healthcare professional are required.

Robot Technicians: As robots become ever more popular and people come to rely on them for everything from cleaning to companionship, they will increasingly become seen as part of the family. Therefore, unlike many consumer products, robots won’t simply be abandoned when a new model arrives. Instead, people will demand their existing robots be upgraded. This will require the services of trained technicians who can upgrade robots with the latest software and hardware.

Custom manufacturer: In the hands of creative individuals, continued advances in software; computer aided design (CAD) and rapid prototype manufacturing will lead to more individuals drawing their livelihood from designing and building custom-made products. Among the areas most impacted will be health care and the arts. Specially, bioengineers will soon learn how to design and build new organs (e.g. hearts, livers, kidneys); while artists will use the tools to create new products and new forms of jewelry and art.

Marine biologist: The incredible diversity of ocean is nowhere near being understood or appreciated. A new generation of marine biologists trained in everything from biomimicry to genomics will remedy this situation and apply many of the lessons of the ocean to problems back on land.

Fish farmer: The world’s growing population will continue to put pressure on fish supplies. In response, companies will turn to fish farms as a sustainable method for meeting this growing demand.

Change management consultant: As the pace of technology accelerates and knowledge becomes obsolete more quickly, the ability to unlearn will be just as critical as the ability to learn. In increasing numbers, organizations will call upon the services of professionals trained in helping people adjust to the notion of “continuing change.”

Related Posts

Futurist Jack Uldrich’s 20 Technology Predictions for 2010
Futurist Jack Uldrich’s 10 Predictions for the Coming Decade

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Video Killed the Video Star

If a picture is worth a thousand words how much is a picture within a picture worth? That’s the question every video provider should be asking itself because, like this famous picture from Pere Borrell del Caso, there is often more to a picture than meets the eye.

Earlier today, I came across a new full page ad in the Wall Street Journal from Cisco saying that “Video, the killer app, just got better.” It is touting a new telepresence interoperability protocol. What makes “telepresence” so exciting is not simply the ability to communicate with other individuals or groups in real-time; it is the ability to share additional information with them in a deeper, more visual and, ultimately, more meaningful manner.

Consider, for example, the case of a doctor communicating with a patient about a rare genetic disease which affects the heart. Instead of simply providing information orally and, perhaps, conferring with another doctor for a second opinion in real-time, the doctor will also be able show her a video of what is happening at the molecular level inside her body; display a 3-D rendering of her heart to explain how the disease is progressing; and provide the patient with a more intuitive and easy-to-understand chart (or graph) showing her the odds of being successfully treated by different treatment options.

Humans are visual creatures and, to the extent that video still soon be able to layer additional data on top of—and into—video, we will all be better off.

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