Finding Clarity in an Ambiguous World
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Ennui : Why We Need Challenges
Earlier this summer we bought some tomato plants. It was too late to make a garden to plant them so they stayed in their rich potting soil, received great sunlight and were watered (usually). They flowered quite a bit and produced a couple tomatoes. Mostly they just sat there. The fall came along with the threat…
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Trusting Science over Reason
In Technopoly, Neil Postman writes about a trick he loved to play on his fellow professors. When he greeted them in the morning, he would ask whether they had read the C-section of the paper today. If they responded that they had, he would continue making small talk and carry on as usual. If, however, they…
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Development Debt
Imagine building a car, but starting with two bicycles. The first version would maybe have 4 big wheels, some sort of base and an engine. Of course, then we need better seats, and pretty soon some side panels, maybe throw in some cup holders? It’s a rough ride so we put in shocks, a cd…
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Failure is not an Option, It’s a Given
There is not a day that goes by that I don’t fail, usually several times before lunch. It’s not that I enjoy failing or try to fail, it’s that I know it’s the only way I ever find success. The process of innovation requires all manner of trying things that are probably not going…
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Not Knowing What You Don’t Know
Last week, I borrowed a nice SLR camera to take some pictures of a wedding this last weekend. He suggested giving it to me a few days early and did, so I would have some time to try it out. He went over the basic functionality of the camera and the external flash. I’ve taken…
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The Daily Distractions
On my way to pick up a camera from a friend yesterday, I noticed the police had cordoned off all the streets going into the area where his office was. You could pull in, but you were only going to be able to pull out by going through the parked police car. After picking up…
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Find a Mirror
Back in High School, my friends and I teased one another as a way of showing affection. Come to think of it, we still do this. In this vein of showing affection, I took to calling my best friend a loser. I didn’t intend it like it sounds. He has never been a loser, but…
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The Hustler
Last Saturday, a man knocked at our door. These days, people who knock on your door are usually trying to sell you something, and indeed he was. But he started 10 feet away from the door and after greeting me, immediately offered his hand out for me to shake. There was no awkward script, he…
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The Importance Of Context
Robert entered John’s house. John pulled out a gun and without warning, shot him. What do you think of John? Let’s color this with some more context: Robert had been out drinking and gotten into an argument with John. He became so angry that he told John he was going to kill him that very…
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What Confidence Looks Like
We’ve all met the guy who lives on the right side of this plot. He speaks with full assurance that he knows what he is talking about. He feels it necessary to tell us about why there is no reason to doubt him or question him. He’s got this in the bag. We want to…
Got any book recommendations?