Douglas Engelbart and the Means to an End
Douglas Carl Engelbart (January 30, 1925 – July 2, 2013) was an American engineer and inventor, and an early computer and Internet pioneer. He is best known for his work on the challenges of human–computer interaction, particularly while at his Augmentation Research Center Lab in SRI International, resulting in the invention of the computer mouse,[6] and the development of hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to graphical user interfaces.
Five Ways that Games are More than Just Fun
As a game designer, I know how creative and inspiring it can be to play. But we can all benefit from being more playful—and the act of playing a game can be more about just having fun. Ready, set, play!
1. They make us more social.
2. They empower us to be creative.
3. They help us develop empathy.
4. They make us act playful and silly.
5. They force us to tinker.
Seven Ways to Make Almost Anything More Fun
1. If there are two sides, add a third or take one away.
2. Every now and then, change sides: when someone is ahead by two somethings or when someone throws a 9, or when somebody has to go to the bathroom.
3. If there are turns (checkers, gin rummy, serving the ball in ping pong or volleyball), take them together, at the same time, as in "1, 2, 3…go," or every now and then skip a turn.
4. If there is score, keep playing until you discover who's the second winner, and the third, and the next, and the last. Or give each other points, or play pointlessly.
5. If it's not fun, change it: add another ball, or a rule, or a goal, or take a rule away, or change a rule, or borrow a rule from another game, or add a whole game and play them both at once, or do something silly.
6. If it's still not fun, change yourself: try it with your eyes closed, or with your "wrong" hand, or tie yourself to someone else.
7. If it makes the game better, for everybody, cheat.
Scarry Stories for Small Children
The grown-up world as depicted in children's books often seems both dull and taxing, a complicated and distant place to which no child with any sense ought to be in a hurry to get. A couple of generations ago, by contrast, the legendary children's book author and illustrator Richard Scarry made adulthood seem industrious and purposeful, an inviting realm to which children must naturally aspire. Born in 1919, Scarry imbued his cheerful, colorful work with the can-do spirit of mid-20th-century America. His more than 100 picture books are populated by anthropomorphic animals engaged in productive work: billy goats hoeing fields, owls operating lathes, sows baking bread.
Business Leaders name their Favorite Books Ever
Business leaders didn't get to where they are today without a bit of wisdom guiding them along the way. Many of them cite books — whether strategy guides or novels — that inspired them or changed the way they think.
10 Ways To Gain Real Super Powers That Will Change Your Life
1. Gain Super Creativity!
2. Add Powerful New Habits!
3. Gain Unstoppable Willpower!
4. Instantly Reduce Stress!
5. Super Learning!
6. Develop Mind Control Powers!
7. Be Productive Enough to Take On Multiple Supervillains!
8. Resist Evil And Be A Better Person!
9. Gain Tony Stark Confidence!
10. Increase Your Super Powers From A to Z!
Kleiner Perkins Partner Bing Gordon: LinkedIn Is A Game, And Your Job Will Be Gamified
"Gamification is a system of creating meaning," the venture capitalist tells Fast Company. When done right, it helps people to do their work better. After a youth spent ranging about--hitchhiking to every state aside from Hawaii--he become a part of video game history with Electronic Arts in 1982. He grew with the gaming company that became a juggernaut, presiding at chief creative officer from 1998 to 2008, when he left to join Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, the mega VC firm that, fittingly enough, invested in EA back in '82.
Now Bing sees how everything is becoming gamified, including your (and my) career, as he recently explained to us. Below we pick up just after I ask Bing if LinkedIn is a game--to which he replied with a "yeah" and a look of surprise, so startling was my naiveté.
He then proceeded to drop more digitized knowledge. Enjoy.
Finding an Innovation Strategy That Works
When it comes to pursuing innovation, choosing the right path can be tricky, even for the most seasoned of managers. That's because there are many options from which to choose, and no one-size-fits-all recipe for success.
To make it a little easier to find the right path, we spent five years analyzing some commonly used innovation strategies. In particular, we took an in-depth look at four approaches—recruiting and cultivating human capital, spending on internal research and development, engaging in strategic alliances, and acquiring technology ventures—and what happens when companies try to pursue some or all of them at the same time.
A Messy Office Can Make You More Creative
New research shows that an organized office might make you behave better but a messy office can lead you to more creative breakthroughs: Order and disorder are prevalent in both nature and culture, which suggests that each environ confers advantages for different outcomes. Three experiments tested the novel hypotheses that orderly environments lead people toward tradition and convention, whereas disorderly environments encourage breaking with tradition and convention — and that both settings can alter preferences, choice, and behavior.
Creativity Through Daydreaming
Creativity is a fickle mistress. She only visits when the mind is clear. And how do you clear your mind? Daydreaming is a really good start.
"Why are you just sitting there doing nothing?" is the question that makes getting your head into the creative zone so hard. I guess that's why it's better to do when you're alone.
You wouldn't think that sitting there doing nothing would be so damn valuable. But it is if you do it right. The fact is, your brain is clogged with a billion little things that make up the fabric of day to day life. Things like remembering to pick up milk, calling your mom, wondering why your boss both dresses terribly and hates you. There are so many things to think about, in fact, that it makes creativity nearly impossible.
Daydreaming is the answer.
If Facebook Can Profit from Your Data, Why Can't You?
Reputation.com says it's ready to unveil a place where people can offer personal information to marketers in return for discounts and other perks.
It has become the Internet's defining business model: free online services make their money by feeding on all the personal data generated by their users. Think Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, and how they serve targeted ads based on your preferences and interests, or make deals to share collected data with other companies (see "What Facebook Knows").
3 Big Rules of Innovation From the Google Guy Behind Android and Chrome
"Organizations develop antibodies to change," he says. "That's why big companies stop innovating. If you're the innovator, you're like a virus. The antibodies want to kill you."
The role of the leader, then, is to inoculate against that autoimmune crisis: by saying yes, yes, and yes--and in so doing, keeping the momentum of the organization growing.
