tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66037820344938187652024-02-20T23:15:00.918-08:00My Online ScrapbookPhihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-66374898536329590392010-04-05T09:32:00.001-07:002010-04-05T09:33:58.058-07:00<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D4zWBHFCmXM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D4zWBHFCmXM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-9771506349089176952010-03-29T03:01:00.000-07:002010-03-29T03:02:05.186-07:00ART OF STUDY<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; "><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span>Study is hard only when we are not learning in the right way.<span> </span>Use </span><b><span>ART</span></b><span> </span><b><span>OF</span></b><span> </span><b><span>STUDY</span></b><span> for smart and effective study.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>A</span></b><span>ctive learning: generate questions, takes notes in your own words, summarise<span>,</span> etc.<span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>R</span></b><span>eview the materials regularly to remember what you have learnt.<span> </span>For lecture notes, review immediately after the lesson or on the same day to consolidate memory.<span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>T</span></b><span>ackle difficult subjects by looking for an easier textbook and do not put them off.<span> </span>You may even have to read a junior college textbook if the problem lies with your foundation.<span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>O</span></b><span>rganise yourself – Organise your time, study space and the materials you have learnt so that you can study more effectively.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>F</span></b><span>ocus on what you are studying. This requires you to direct your attention and energy to what you are studying.<span> </span>Focusing helps you to absorb the information and aid your memory.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>S</span></b><span>et goals – Set both your academic and personal goals. During study time, set the goals you want to accomplish for the specific study period. <span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>T</span></b><span>each someone or an imaginary person what you have studied.<span> </span>This helps you to evaluate your understanding of the subject matter and remember better.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>U</span></b><span>se spaced repetition.<span> </span>Spaced repetition means that the reviews are spread out and that the intervals between each review gets longer and longer.<span> </span>For example, instead of studying Lecture 1 of Chemistry three or four times in one go, spread them out by studying it once on Monday, then again on Tuesday to consolidate the memory, the next review can be a week after that and so on.<span> </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>D</span></b><span>evelop a positive attitude toward study by looking for areas where you can inject interest in and seeing it as an important step toward achieving your long-term goal.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5; "><span> </span><b><span>Y</span></b><span>ou are the one who can make the difference, so understand yourself – your learning style, motivation, goals - and learn to manage your time, feelings, and desires.<span> </span></span><span> </span></p></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-90466731508864653852010-03-28T21:13:00.001-07:002010-03-28T21:13:42.281-07:0011 traits of highly creative people<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); "><div class="headline_area" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: 0px; "><h1 class="entry-title" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: center; font-size: 2.4em; line-height: 1.333em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; ">Do You Have These 11 Traits of<br />Highly Creative People?</h1><p class="headline_meta" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: italic; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.667em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; ">by <span class="author vcard" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; "><a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/author/rieck/" class="url fn" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; ">Dean Rieck</a></span></p></div><div class="format_text entry-content" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.538em; "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; "><img class="right" src="http://netdna.copyblogger.com/images/abstractchaos.jpg" width="220" height="272" alt="Abstract Chaos" title="Image of Abstract Chaos" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 1.538em; float: right; " /></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">Would you like to be more creative in your copy and blogging? It’s really not as hard or mysterious as you might think.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">One roadblock that prevents many people from boosting their creativity is the notion that creativity is linked to intelligence. Another roadblock is the idea that creative people are born that way.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">So if you’re not super smart or born with the creative “gift,” the natural reaction is to shrug your shoulders and give up. That’s probably a bad move.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; "><span id="more-3865" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></span>Research shows that once you get slightly above an average I.Q., intelligence and creativity are not related. So you could be a genius and display little creativity or have fairly average intelligence and wield amazing creative powers.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">And to a large degree, creativity is a <em style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">learned</em> behavior. It’s a matter of how you approach things, how you act or react to new circumstances, your proclivity to look at things in different ways, your willingness to question, experiment, and take chances. In other words, creativity is not “what you are” as much as “what you do.”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">Think of creativity as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. To increase your creativity, you simply need to “act” like a creative person. Not surprisingly, people recognized as creative tend to share common traits.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">Highly creative people:</p><ol style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 2.308em; "><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Have the <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">COURAGE</strong> to try new things and risk failure. Every big breakthrough starts as a <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/the-courage-to-be-wrong/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">harebrained idea</a>. This doesn’t mean you should constantly go off the deep end, just that you should balance your routine portfolio of solutions with an investment in the new and untried. Over time, the risk is usually worth the reward.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Use <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">INTUITION</strong> as well as logic to make decisions and produce ideas. When <a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">Matt Drudge</a> designed his Web site, he listened to his gut instead of the Internet gurus. He kept it simple, small, fast, and some would say ugly and primitive. But it works for him, making The Drudge Report one of the most recognizable and popular sites in the world.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Like to <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">PLAY</strong>, since <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/be-funny/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">humor and fun</a> are the ultimate creative act. Which is to say you just have to lighten up. We all have goals, and quotas, and deadlines, but it’s not life and death. When you enjoy yourself, your brain relaxes and is able to produce more and better ideas. One of those ideas may be just what you’re looking for.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Are <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">EXPRESSIVE</strong> and willing to share what they feel and think, to be themselves. Blogging is the ideal arena for <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/popular-blogger/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">injecting your personality</a> into your work. People are emotional creatures and respond better to people who appear real, honest, and open. Not only is it more interesting, it can also be more persuasive.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Can <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">FIND ORDER</strong> in confusion and discover hidden meaning in information. Research and <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/critical-thinking/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">critical thinking</a> are key tools for the creative person. Information is to the brain what food is to the stomach. So-called “writer’s block” or creative burnout almost always results from a lack of fresh information and having nothing meaningful to say.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Are <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">MOTIVATED BY A TASK</strong> rather than by external rewards. You must like the challenge of writing, explaining, teaching, and<a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/persuasive-writing/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">persuading</a>. Sure, you can make money along the way, but if you’re in it just for the money, you’re not going to be a fountain of new ideas.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Have a need to <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">FIND SOLUTIONS</strong> to challenging problems. Even the most creative writers won’t have a solution for everything. If they claim to, they’ve stopped thinking. Highly creative people are those whose eyes light up at a question they can’t answer. That’s the opportunity to learn something new and produce<a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-remarkably-creative-content/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">remarkably creative content</a>.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Will <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS</strong> and ask hard questions to discover what is real. Writing, blogging, or business rules aren’t really rules, only rules of thumb. If you want to wield true creative power, you will always <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/don%E2%80%99t-take-this-advice-about-online-marketing/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">take what others advise with a grain of salt</a>. (That includes all of us gurus who love to don our pointy wizard hats and pontificate on the secrets of success.) If you don’t know something from personal knowledge or experience, you don’t know it at all.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Can <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">MAKE CONNECTIONS</strong> between old ideas to produce new insights. Combine the little doodles you make on a white board with online video and you get <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">CommonCraft</a>, a new approach to explaining things to people in a way they can easily understand. Sometimes the best solutions are simply<a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/content-success/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); "> two old ideas jammed together</a>.</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Will <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">PUSH THE ENVELOPE</strong> in order to <a href="http://lateralaction.com/articles/innovate-or-die-why-creativity-is-economic-priority-number-one/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">expand the boundaries</a> of what is possible. There was a time when no one thought you could make money on the Internet. Now it’s a huge, multi-national business platform. Instead of dividing the world into the possible and impossible, it’s better to merely divide it into the tried and the untried. What have you not tried yet?</li><li style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.769em; margin-left: 0px; ">Are willing to <strong style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">TEST</strong> new ideas and compete with others based on results. Isn’t that what they mean by the “market of ideas”? Isn’t that what business competition is about? If you’re <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/courageous-blogging/" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(169, 0, 0); ">afraid of being wrong or losing</a>, your creativity will suffer.</li></ol><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">These are certainly uncommon traits for most people. But they’re not difficult. Watch how the creative people you know solve problems and deal with projects. You may choose one particularly creative person you admire and, when faced with a problem, ask yourself, “What would so-and-so do in this situation?”</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.538em; margin-left: 0px; ">As you begin to “act” like a creative person, you’ll find yourself actually becoming more and more creative. And likely, more and more successful.</p></div></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-62993024000524645792010-03-28T21:11:00.000-07:002010-03-28T21:12:10.632-07:00The 6 Characteristics of Highly Creative People<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: medium; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><h1 class="Title" style="font-size: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; ">The 6 Characteristics of Highly Creative People</h1><hr style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 128); color: rgb(0, 0, 128); height: 4px; "><div class="Author" style="color: green; font-size: small; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">by Michelle L. Casto</div><p>Thomas Moore said, "We are all poets and artists as we live our daily lives, whether or not we recognize our role and whether or not we believe it." Human beings have an innate need to create. Even you! There is a continuum of creativity, ranging from being slightly creative to highly creative. The good news is that you can learn to be more creative by observing creative people and modeling yourself after them. Artists, writers, and creative types seem to have similar characteristics. Some of the personality traits listed below may seem eccentric, odd, even "out there"---but that is where creativity lies--- in the outreaches of our consciousness, in the depths of our souls. If you had the opportunity to speak to Picasso, Walt Disney, or Jane Austen, you would probably find out that they are ordinary people, much like you and I. The difference is that they have allowed more of their soul to come out and play and have freed themselves of convention and restriction. Creativity is essentially the art of discovery and an act of faith. When you create something--- a work of art, book, software program, dance routine, or role for a play, you discover parts of yourself that you never knew existed. Creative people have a strong need to express more of who you really are and often have to fight for that right. The character Isabelle in the movie, Fire and Ice, has a great outlook on what it means to be creative, she says, "To create, sometimes you must rebel."</p><p><b>1. Unconventional</b></p><p>Creative people do not feel the need to conform to society's standards. They often swim against the current and flow with their own way of thinking and living. They have original ideas that literally turn the world upside down and right-side out. Take for example, the 16th century Italian astronomer, Galileo, who proved that the earth revolved around the sun (instead of the other way around), which was revolutionary in his time.</p><p><b>2. Individualistic</b></p><p>Creative people want to find out what the truth is, and they have a strong need to decide for themselves what works and what does not. Often they are ahead of their time, and much of their work is appreciated/acknowledged after they are dead and gone. Many writers are famous for marching to the tune of their own drum, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote the book, Self-Reliance, and Robert Frost who penned, "two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less-traveled."</p><p><b>3. Inventive</b></p><p>Creative people live in the world of ideas, and don't always have the best interpersonal skills. Because they are so highly intelligent, and live in the realm of possibility, they are constantly coming up with bright ideas. They also take notice of what is missing in the world and/or what could be improved. Take for instance, Thomas Edison, who invented hundreds of things in his time, his most famous invention being the light bulb. He saw that there was darkness and then created light.</p><p><b>4. Driven</b></p><p>Creative people cannot "not do something"—they are almost compulsive until they can bring their internal vision into fruition. They have that "fire in their belly"---a passion to contribute to the beauty and betterment of the world. Because of their high drive, they can produce a lot in a relative short amount of time. Talk about drive---the material girl herself, Madonna, has not let public praise or criticism stop her from being a super star. She is a modern day Diva, multi-talented as a singer, dancer, and actress who has released hundreds of songs, albums, videos, movies, books--- all the while reinventing herself as someone new.</p><p><b>5.Visionary</b></p><p>Creative people have a guiding vision in their head, heart, and soul that they are often called to bring to life. Who else but Michelangelo could look at a large piece of marble and "chip away at everything that wasn't David?" According to him, "I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." One of his best-known works is the immense ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took him three years to complete, where he often had to work upside down for hours at a time. If you ever have seen any of his work, you can easily see that it is a vision to behold.</p><p><b>6. Intuitive</b></p><p>Creative people are very in touch with their inner selves. They pay attention to the signs, synchronicities, symbols around them, and make use of that information in their work. They often act as a channel, where ideas and inspiration come from a higher plane. They allow the work to guide them to where it needs to go. The work clearly originates in their soul, not from their ego. Talk about ideas coming from out of the blue, remember how the scientist, Isaac Newton "discovered" gravity? He was sitting under a tree and an apple fell on his head! Had he not made a connection with his intuitive nature, he would have missed a major theory about the world we live in!</p><p>As you read this, do you find yourself relating to some of these traits? If so, it is time to start creating. Getting started can often be the hardest part, because we often limit our creativity by listening too closely to our negative inner voice. But so did all of these examples of creators. Even the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh struggled with that, but he created a remedy for that, he said, "If you hear a voice within you saying, you are not a painter, then by all means, paint, and that voice will be silenced." Robert Henri says, "When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature." Once you have created, you now have to put yourself out there for all to see. This is where your faith comes in to support you. Remember that if you are creating from your soul, it will not matter whether other people accept your work or not. You are simply doing what you are called to do as a human being, create.</p></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-14376161233592156132010-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:002010-03-28T21:10:02.652-07:009 attitudes of highly creative people<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 10px; "><h1 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 2.4em; line-height: 1.45em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; ">9 Attitudes of Highly Creative People</h1><p class="meta" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.5em; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 565px; "><span class="tags" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 20px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; background-image: url(http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/themes/problogger2/images/tag.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/category/miscellaneous-blog-tips/" title="View all posts in Miscellaneous Blog Tips" rel="category tag" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); ">Miscellaneous Blog Tips</a></span><span class="comments" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; 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">93 comments</a></span></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; "><iframe src="http://widgets.backtype.com/tweetcount?url=http%3A//www.problogger.net/archives/2007/05/09/9-attitudes-of-highly-creative-people/&short_url=http%3A//bit.ly/95CyZA&cnt=11&src=RT%20%40ProBlogger&via=false&title=9%20Attitudes%20of%20Highly%20Creative%20People&api_key=R_458e9fae9bb00875a06d198f0ca2181c" height="60" width="52" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></iframe></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/merkley/123097642/in/set-72057594077904128/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); "><img src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/imagescreativity-1.jpg" height="310" width="250" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="10" class="left" alt="Creativity-1" style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; clear: left; " /></a>Yesterday I looked at <a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/05/08/how-to-be-a-more-creative-blogger-methods-of-creativity/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); ">5 methods for being creative</a>. Today I’d like to look at some attitudes to build into your approach if you want to be a more creative person:</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">1. Curiosity</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; ">I’ve <a href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/10/04/how-to-be-curious/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); ">written previously on the topic of curiosity</a>because I’m convinced that it is an essential skill to build as a blogger. Learning to ask ‘why’, ‘what if’ and ‘I wonder…’ are great questions to build into your life if you want to be a more creative person.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">2. Seeing Problems as Interesting and Acceptable</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chadpodoski/119647194/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); "><img src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/imageschallenge.jpg" height="266" width="200" border="0" class="right" hspace="10" vspace="10" alt="Challenge" style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 15px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: right; clear: right; " /></a>One of the problems of the Western mindset is that we often see problems or obstacles in life as unacceptable parts of life. We avoid pain or suppress it when it comes and in doing so don’t often see and feel symptoms that are there to tell us something important. Creative people see problems as a natural and normal part of life – in fact they often have a fascination with problems and are drawn to them.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">3. Confronting Challenge</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; ">Many of the most creative ideas through out history have come from people facing a challenge or crisis and rather than running from it asking ‘how can I overcome this’?<br /><span id="more-3717" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></span></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">4. Constructive Discontent</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; ">Creative people often have an acute awareness of what’s wrong with the world around them – however they are constructive about this awareness and won’t allow themselves to get bogged down in grumbling about it – they take their discontent and let it be a motivation to doing something constructive.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">5. Optimism</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/kpak/111936073/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); "><img src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/imagesoptimism.jpg" height="187" width="250" border="0" class="left" hspace="10" vspace="10" alt="Optimism" style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; clear: left; " /></a>Creative people generally have a deeply held belief that most (if not all) problems can be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome and no problem cannot be solved (this doesn’t mean they’re always happy or never depressed – but they don’t generally get stumped by a challenge).</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">6. Suspending Judgment</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; ">The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones – if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and useable. (note – this doesn’t mean there is never a time for critique or judgement in the creative process – it’s actually key – but there is a time and place for it).</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">7. Seeing Hurdles as leading to improvements and solutions</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/misspiepie/148565915/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); "><img src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/imageshurdles.jpg" height="266" width="200" border="0" class="right" hspace="10" vspace="10" alt="Hurdles" style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 15px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: right; clear: right; " /></a>This relates to some of the above – but by ‘hurdles’ I mean problems and mistakes in the creative process itself. Sometimes it’s on the journey of developing an idea that the real magic happens and it’s often out of the little problems or mistakes that the idea is actually improved.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">8. Perseverance</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; ">Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through – even when the going gets tough. This is what sets apart the great from the good in this whole sphere. Stick-ability is key.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "></p><h3 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(193, 58, 1); text-transform: none; ">9. Flexible Imagination</h3><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.6em; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; "><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chinapix/117395181/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; color: rgb(52, 107, 164); "><img src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/imagesflexible.jpg" height="166" width="250" border="0" class="left" hspace="10" vspace="10" alt="Flexible" style="margin-top: 0.5em; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; float: left; clear: left; " /></a>I love watching a truly creative person at work when they’re ‘on fire’. They have this amazing ability to see a problem or challenge and it’s many potential solutions simultaneously and they have an intuitive knack at being able to bring previously disconnected ideas together in flashes of brilliance that seem so simple – yet which are so impossible to dream up for the average person.</p></span></div>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-58139451055654712092010-03-17T21:20:00.000-07:002010-03-17T21:21:07.451-07:00Only 21% of SMEs are innovative: Survey<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><div id="ctl00_cph1_ArticleContents1_divXtra"><div class="articleHeadline" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.13em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div class="articleHeadline" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.13em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Only 21% of SMEs are innovative: Survey</div></div></div><div id="ctl00_cph1_ArticleContents1_divArticleLeftColumn" class="articleLeftColumn" style="display: block; float: left; width: 660px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; "><div class="byLineDateArticle" style="clear: left; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); display: block; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: 350px; ">05:55 AM Mar 18, 2010</div><div id="articlePlaceHolder" style="width: 660px; "><div id="articlePage0" class="bodyText" style="clear: both; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75em; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 10px; width: 660px; visibility: visible; ">SINGAPORE - A nationwide study by branding specialist StrategiCom highlighted that many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still not applying tools and techniques that can promote innovation to boost their company's value.<br /><br />Among the 100 SMEs interviewed, 91 per cent of SMEs said they understood innovation as the introduction of a new product or method which will boost value for both company and shareholders.<br /><br />But only 21 per cent successfully apply innovation tools, which lead to improved efficiency and quality, product novelty and better market positioning, as well as a more unique business model for their products and services.<br /><br />The objective of the survey is to explore the perception of innovation among Singapore SMEs.<br /><br />It studies the extent of how innovation is managed and applied, what is perceived as innovation success and how branding affects the results of innovation.<br /><br />According to the survey, the most popular technique used by SMEs to achieve successful innovation is hiring and training individuals in conceptualising innovative ideas.<br /><br />Other key techniques include identifying fresh opportunities in the market through liaising with external parties, co-operating to share risks and costs of innovation and working in teams to synergise knowledge.<br /><br />Chief executive officer of StrategiCom Dr Wilson Chew said it is vital for SMEs to manage innovation through three or four of these key techniques, as "innovation is a broad concept that involves people, process technology and research rather than one that is limited to technical issues".<br /><br />However, SMEs face challenges in attracting the right talent for innovation. "In the interviews, SME leaders attributed this difficulty in hiring to the small pool of talent in Singapore, as well as the preference of potential employees to work in multi-national companies," he explained.<br /><br />The full results of this survey will be released during the annual Singapore Brand Conference next week. Jo-ann Huang</div></div></div></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-28005059580702678752010-02-21T21:44:00.001-08:002010-02-21T21:44:53.110-08:00Why Apple's Porn Purge is a Smart Move<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; "><div id="articleHead" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-top: 5px; clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; "><h1 style="font-size: 25px; line-height: 28px; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Why Apple's Porn Purge is a Smart Move</h1><p style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Jeff Bertolucci, PC World</p><p class="date" style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">Feb 21, 2010 5:14 am</p></div><div id="articleText" style="clear: both; "><div class="articleBodyContent"><p>It appears <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/search?qt=apple" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">Apple</a> is embarking on a new anti-smut crusade to rid its <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/search?qt=app+store" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">iPhone App Store</a> of "<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/189800/apple_reportedly_bans_overtly_sexual_iphone_apps.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">overtly sexual content</a>." According to news reports, the targets of Apple's ire include relatively tame adult <span class="image ltmd" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; float: left; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; max-width: 180px; "><img src="http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/161534-iphone_apps_thumb_original.jpg" alt="" style="max-width: 361px; height: auto; " /></span>fare, many of which manage to incorporate the word "boob" into their titles.</p><p>Apple's actions are designed to appease customers who've complained in the company's support forums and elsewhere about adult content in the App Store. According to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/data/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223000381" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">Information Week</a>, Apple developers have also griped about the sex-themed apps, which they say are proliferating in some App Store categories and making other apps harder to find.</p><p>At first glance, Apple's move appears either prudish or hypocritical or both. Sexually-explicit content <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/167392/app_store_adult_content_now_you_see_it_now_you_dont.html?Tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">was already verboten in the App Store</a>, and some of the newly banned apps were about as racy as the <em>Sport Illustrated</em> swimsuit issue.</p><p>And if Apple really wants to protect App Store users from sexually-themed content, why doesn't it remove<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/search?qt=safari" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">Safari</a> from the iPhone and iPod touch? After all, the Web browser is by far the most efficient porn-delivery app ever devised.</p><h2 class="articleBodyContentSubHed" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><strong>Why Apple Is Smart</strong></h2><p>Apple's true motivation, it seems, is to protect its booming <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/137239/first_look_16gb_ipod_touch.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">iPod Touch</a> and <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/187967/apple_ipad_a_handson_tour_in_pictures.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">fledgling iPad </a>operations.<span class="image rtmd" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 180px; "><img src="http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/158231-iPod_Touch_180.gif" alt="apple ipod touch" style="max-width: 361px; height: auto; " /></span></p><p>Take the iPod Touch, for instance. Apple's portable media device is wildly popular with kids, who love the gaming, browsing, and audio/video tools.<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/185560/the_secret_to_apple_ipod_touchs_success_kids.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">Parents like the fact that the Touch</a> provides much of what makes the iPhone cool, only without the pricey monthly wireless bills.</p><p>Indeed, analysts have called the iPod touch an "iPhone on training wheels," and Apple realizes its device is a gateway drug to the iPhone. In other words, kids who are comfortable with the iPod touch are more likely to migrate to the iPhone when they're older.</p><p>Which leads us back to the App Store. Apple can't afford to allow its customers -- even a vocal minority -- to gripe about so-called smut in the App St<span class="image ltmd" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; float: left; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; max-width: 180px; "><img src="http://images.pcworld.com/shared/graphics/cms/appleAppStore_180.jpg" alt="" style="max-width: 361px; height: auto; " /></span>ore, even if the complaints are overblown. The impression that Apple condones adult-themed material finding its way into kids' hands would no doubt hurt iPod Touch sales, and ultimately impact its iPhone and App Store business too.</p><p>As for the iPad, it's clear that Apple will position its new tablet not only as a consumer device for the home, but also as an educational tool. Software developers are already designing <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/188427/interactive_textbooks_headed_to_ipad_report_says.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">interactive textbooks for the iPad</a>, according to reports. Again, Apple mus<span class="image rtmd" style="overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; max-width: 180px; "><img src="http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/188197-apple_ipad_inline_original.jpg" alt="apple ipad" style="max-width: 361px; height: auto; " /></span>t squash the impression that the App Store is a haven for smut to increase the odds of classroom sales. A few negative news stories <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=70246&expand=false" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(28, 96, 159); text-decoration: none; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 71, 132); clear: none; ">about wobbly-boob apps</a> could very well spur many school districts to think twice about adding the iPad as a study tool.</p><p>Bottom line: The porn purge is a smart business move on Apple's part, even if it appears prudish to outsiders.</p></div></div></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-13592800345896265462010-02-20T02:25:00.000-08:002010-02-20T02:26:03.008-08:00New Way of Making Solar Cells Promises Cheaper Power<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 10px; "><h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 2.25em; line-height: 1.125; font-weight: normal; ">New Way of Making Solar Cells Promises Cheaper Power</h2><p class="articleSummary" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.25; font-weight: bold; ">New design produces flexible panels using only 1-2 percent as much silicon</p><p class="byline" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.4; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 484px; text-align: right; ">Art Chimes | Washington, DC<span class="dateStamp" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; position: absolute; left: 0px; ">19 February 2010</span></p><div class="boxout article" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; float: right; background-image: url(http://media.voanews.com/designimages/bg-listBoxTeaser-long.jpg); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; width: 160px; background-position: 50% 0%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; "><h4 class="sectionHeader" style="padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.25; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(180, 78, 49); clear: both; ">Share This</h4><ul class="socialNetwork" style="padding-top: 0px; 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Buzz</a></li><li class="delicious" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 25px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25; display: block; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); background-image: url(http://media.voanews.com/designimages/icon-delicious.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 0px 2px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/New-Way-of-Making-Solar-Cells-Promises-Cheaper-Power--84775367.html&title=New+Way+of+Making+Solar+Cells+Promises+Cheaper+Power+" target="" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(37, 87, 127); text-decoration: none; ">del.icio.us</a></li></ul><div class="pullquote" style="padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; width: 150px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; border-top-width: 3px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-width: 3px; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); "><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.75em; ">"You can use 100 times less silicon. And that's potentially very significant." – Harry Atwater</p></div></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; "></p><div class="boxout photo300px" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: -5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; width: 300px; "><img src="http://media.voanews.com/images/300*164/AC_atwater-schematic-diagra.gif" width="300" height="164" alt="" title="" border="0" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /><span class="caption" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 3px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">Schematic diagram of the light-trapping elements used to optimize absorption within a polymer-embedded silicon wire array</span></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; "></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; ">A new way of making solar cells promises a cheaper way to generate electricity from the sun and new ways to integrate solar power into other products. <br /><br />Solar cells, or photovoltaics, are widely made using wafers of silicon that are stiff and brittle. California Institute of Technology physics professor Harry Atwater is making photovoltaics differently.<br /><br />"Our technology uses 50-100 times less silicon," he said, "in the form of a sparse array of wires. And that sparse array of wires has exactly the same light absorption and electricity-collection properties as the conventional silicon wafer cell."</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; "></p><div class="boxout photo300px" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: -5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; width: 300px; "><img src="http://media.voanews.com/images/300*300/AC_atwater-wire-array-micro.gif" width="300" height="300" alt="" title="" border="0" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; " /><h6 class="credit" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.125; font-weight: normal; text-align: right; color: rgb(144, 144, 144); ">Caltech/Michael Kelzenberg</h6><span class="caption" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 3px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">Photomicrograph of a silicon wire array embedded within a transparent, flexible polymer film</span></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; "></p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; ">The tiny silicon wires stick up from the base, or substrate, looking something like a microscopic hair brush. And because the key component of solar cells is an expensive, highly purified form of silicon, there's a real economic benefit to this design.<br /><br />"So what that means is, in terms of cost, is you can use 100 times less silicon. And that's potentially very significant."<br /><br />But the silicon is what converts light into electricity, so you might think using so much less silicon would reduce the electrical output, but Atwater says that's not the case. <br /><br />"The light comes in and is both directly absorbed by the wires, and some of the light bounces around in between the wires. And that bouncing around or multiple scattering in between the wires results in dramatically enhanced absorption," Atwater explained. "In fact, the absorption enhancement that we see is in the range of 20 to 50 times the single-pass absorbance."</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4; ">Atwater and his colleagues have made prototypes of the design in the lab, and the product doesn't look like the typical solar panels you might see on top of a building.<br /><br />"What we do with our wire arrays is grow them on a supporting substrate, and we peel them off inside a plastic sheet, so that the material has exactly the optical and electrical properties of a silicon wafer, but instead it basically has the mechanical properties of a flexible plastic sheet."<br /><br />That flexibility opens the door to potential new applications, such as what Atwater calls "integrated photovoltaics." For example, the solar cell could be built into roofing material, saving money on installation. Other ideas for new uses come from the physical form of Atwater's novel design.<br /><br />"Well, one of the things that's interesting about these flexible sheets is that they can be curved, so you could imagine putting them in unconventional forms, like on the surface of a vehicle or something like that, where you don't have a flat surface."<br /><br />The Caltech professor says he's optimistic about commercializing his new solar cell design because the manufacturing process should not require development of any new technologies. And he stresses that it should reduce the cost of generating power from the sun.<br /><br />"The wonderful thing about solar energy is that it's accessible and available everywhere in the world, from the cloudiest place in northern Europe to the sunniest place in north-central Africa to the Outback of Australia to South Asia. And in fact [the use of solar energy is] growing worldwide for that reason."<br /><br />Harry Atwater's description of his new design for solar cells is published in the journal <em style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Nature Materials</em>.</p></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-18417262228639485912010-02-19T20:36:00.000-08:002010-02-19T20:38:02.287-08:00DropNet Fog Collector Harvests the Mist to Create Pure Drinking Water<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4pIMAZroNiSZwT94qqhcYZ42L9TKuDs4vJefzrWFKwJiTQb9Bx3rllj-ovgAHpi3dZ3gL6eEoDPffqhYsiFk34ePE0-EXJTkbaj5P5BWOwPPBWzHflp2T9pWQ13cNFJF5Y7w7tSCZJ0/s1600-h/fog-collectors.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4pIMAZroNiSZwT94qqhcYZ42L9TKuDs4vJefzrWFKwJiTQb9Bx3rllj-ovgAHpi3dZ3gL6eEoDPffqhYsiFk34ePE0-EXJTkbaj5P5BWOwPPBWzHflp2T9pWQ13cNFJF5Y7w7tSCZJ0/s400/fog-collectors.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440180118718397826" /></a><br />DropNet Fog Collector Harvests the Mist to Create Pure Drinking Water<br />by Rebecca Paul, 02/19/10<br /><br /><br />Every year 2.5 million people die from thirst or from drinking polluted water, and The United Nations expects that by the year 2025 two-thirds of the world’s population will be suffering from water shortage. While studying Industrial Design at Germany’s Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Imke Hoehler based her final thesis on finding a resolution to this important challenge. Her DropNet fog collector offers a versatile design that literally harvests drinking water from thin air and mist. This easy to assemble design could have a significant impact on the bleak and waterless future many climate scientists believe to be inevitable.<br /><br /><div>By utilizing natural and local resources, the DropNet could greatly improve the drinking water supply in many isolated areas that have limited infrastructure. This fog collector filters tiny water droplets from fog clouds and causes the droplets to coalesce. Each unit can collect 10-20 liters of water per day, and an array of several structures could easily supply a whole village with clean healthy drinking water. Due to its tent like construction the DropNet collectors can be assembled by non-skilled workers on both flat and uneven grounds.<br /><br />+ Imke Hoehler<br /><br />Source:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/19/dropnet-fog-collector-harvests-the-mist-to-create-pure-drinking-water/">http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/19/dropnet-fog-collector-harvests-the-mist-to-create-pure-drinking-water/</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-30581810002450522292010-02-17T16:42:00.000-08:002010-02-17T16:43:14.147-08:00A city under the sea?A city under the sea?<br />by Claire Huang clairehuang@mediacorp.com.sg 05:55 AM Feb 18, 2010<br />SINGAPORE - The Singapore public has been prepped for the notion of underground cities - but what about underwater ones?Following the Economic Strategies Committee's recommendation that the Republic explore the use of more subterranean space, observers are expecting the government to introduce related changes to land zoning policies and measures in the upcoming Budget. <br /><br />"At the moment we're only using the top shallow depths. In fact we can go deeper, as much as 100m, depending on the geological formation," said Associate Professor Chu Jian of the Nanyang Technological University's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.<br /><br />And his research shows the feasibility of underwater cities. "In fact, the idea is not new. An underwater city in Bulgaria has been created," he said. <br /><br />"And underground cities are not expensive, if done on a large scale - the same as for land reclamation in the past."<br /><br />Strong seawalls could be built to block the water, creating space behind - for shopping centres, factories or storage space. <br /><br />"If you have larger-scale constructions and more international firms are willing to bring in more advanced machines and technologies because it's more cost effective, this will further reduce construction costs," said Assoc Prof Chu.<br /><br />Currently, Singapore has three such underground networks: At Raffles Place, at CityLink Mall and linkways at Orchard Road. The government is also in the process of implementing the Jurong Rock Cavern for oil and gas storage at Jurong Island. <br /><br />But such measures can get tricky, given the considerations of buildings above ground and geological formations. "For example, if you want to do deep excavation below (Raffles City), it may not be feasible."<br /><br />The committee had also recommended transforming the existing Keppel and Pulau Brani area, once its lease expires in 2027, into a Tanjong Pagar Waterfront city.<br /><br />Because of years of container work there, the ground - which was used for heavy-duty work - can be converted into foundations for high-rise buildings, said Assoc Prof Chu.<br /><br />Source:<br />http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100218-0000098/A-city-under-the-seaPhihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-91990806265554151082010-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:002010-02-17T08:29:28.377-08:00PCs around the world unite to map the Milky WayWednesday, February 10, 2010<br /><br />At this very moment, tens of thousands of home computers around the world are quietly working together to solve the largest and most basic mysteries of our galaxy. <br /><br />Enthusiastic and inquisitive volunteers from Africa to Australia are donating the computing power of everything from decade-old desktops to sleek new netbooks to help computer scientists and astronomers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute map the shape of our Milky Way galaxy. Now, just this month, the collected computing power of these humble home computers has surpassed one petaflop, a computing speed that surpasses the world's second fastest supercomputer. <br /><br />The project, MilkyWay@Home, uses the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) platform, which is widely known for the SETI@home project used to search for signs of extraterrestrial life. Today, MilkyWay@Home has outgrown even this famous project, in terms of speed, making it the fastest computing project on the BOINC platform and perhaps the second fastest public distributed computing program ever in operation (just behind Folding@home). <br /><br />The interdisciplinary team behind MilkyWay@Home, which ranges from professors to undergraduates, began the formal development under the BOINC platform in July 2006 and worked tirelessly to build a volunteer base from the ground up to build its computational power. <br /><br />Each user participating in the project signs up their computer and offers up a percentage of the machine's operating power that will be dedicated to calculations related to the project. For the MilkyWay@Home project, this means that each personal computer is using data gathered about a very small section of the galaxy to map its shape, density, and movement. <br /><br />In particular, computers donating processing power to MilkyWay@Home are looking at how the different dwarf galaxies that make up the larger Milky Way galaxy have been moved and stretched following their merger with the larger galaxy millions of years ago. This is done by studying each dwarf's stellar stream. Their calculations are providing new details on the overall shape and density of dark matter in the Milky Way galaxy, which is widely unknown.<br /><br />The galactic computing project had very humble beginnings, according to Heidi Newberg, associate professor of physics, applied physics, and astronomy at Rensselaer. Her personal research to map the three-dimensional distribution of stars and matter in the Milky Way using data from the extensive Sloan Digital Sky Survey could not find the best model to map even a small section of a single galactic star stream in any reasonable amount of time. <br /><br />"I was a researcher sitting in my office with a very big computational problem to solve and very little personal computational power or time at my fingertips," Newberg said. "Working with the MilkyWay@Home platform, I now have the opportunity to use a massive computational resource that I simply could not have as a single faculty researcher, working on a single research problem." <br /><br />Before taking the research to BOINC, Newberg worked with Malik Magdon-Ismail, associate professor of computer science, to create a stronger and faster algorithm for her project. Together they greatly increased the computational efficiency and set the groundwork for what would become the much larger MilkyWay@Home project. <br /><br />"Scientists always need additional computing power," Newberg said. "The massive amounts of data out there make it so that no amount of computational power is ever enough." Thus, her work quickly exceeded the limits of laboratory computers and the collaboration to create MilkyWay@Home formally began in 2006 with the assistance of the Claire and Roland Schmitt Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Boleslaw Szymanski; Associate Professor of Computer Science Carlos Varela; postdoctoral research assistant Travis Desell; as well as other graduate and undergraduate students at Rensselaer. <br /><br />With this extensive collaboration, leaps and bounds have been made to further the astrophysical goals of the project, but important discoveries have also been made along the way in computational science to create algorithms that make the extremely distributed and diverse MilkyWay@Home system work so well, even with volunteered computers that can be highly unreliable. <br /><br />"When you use a supercomputer, all the processors are the same and in the same location, so they are producing the same results at the same time," Varela said. "With an extremely distributed system, like we have with MilkyWay@Home, we are working with many different operating systems that are located all over the globe. To work with such asynchronous results we developed entirely new algorithms to process work as it arrives in the system." This makes data from even the slowest of computers still useful to the project, according to Varela. "Even the slowest computer can help if it is working on the correct problem in the search." <br /><br />In total, nine articles have been published and multiple public talks have been given regarding the computer science discoveries made during the creation of the project, and many more are expected as the refined algorithms are utilized for other scientific problems. Collaboration has already begun to develop a DNA@Home platform to find gene regulations sites on human DNA. Collaborations have also started with biophysicists and chemists on two other BOINC projects at Rensselaer to understand protein folding and to design new drugs and materials. <br /><br />In addition to important discoveries in computer science and astronomy, the researchers said the project is also making important strides in efforts to include the public in scientific discovery. Since the project began, more than 45,000 individual users from 169 countries have donated computational power to the effort. Currently, approximately 17,000 users are active in the system. <br /><br />"This is truly public science," said Desell, who began working on the project as a graduate student and has seen the project through its entire evolution. "This is a really unique opportunity to get people interested in science while also allowing us to create a strong computing resource for Rensselaer research." All of the research, results, data, and even source code are made public and regularly updated for volunteers on the main MilkyWay@Home Web site found at: http://MilkyWay.cs.rpi.edu/. <br /><br />Desell cites the public nature and regular communication as important components of the project's success. "They are not just sitting back and allowing the computer to do the work," he says, referencing that volunteers have made donations for equipment as well as made their own improvements to the underlying algorithms that greatly increased computational speed. Varela jokes, "We may end up with a paper with 17,000 authors." <br /><br />Source:<br />http://www.labspaces.net/101938/PCs_around_the_world_unite_to_map_the_Milky_WayPhihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-88262075351025256292010-02-17T08:26:00.001-08:002010-02-17T08:30:14.758-08:00Researchers develop hands-free texting applicationWednesday, February 17, 2010<br /><br />Clemson University researchers have developed a hands-free alternative to cell phone texting while driving. <br /><br />"If you can't keep people from doing it, make it safer," said Juan Gilbert, professor and chairman of the human-centered computing division of Clemson's School of Computing. <br /><br />He said one problem with banning texting while driving is that people are likely to continue doing it. He said it will be difficult for police to can't enforce a ban unless they actually see someone in the act. Gilbert said evidence of texting while driving often surfaces only after an accident. <br /><br />Gilbert's team developed an application, called VoiceTEXT, that allows drivers to speak text messages and keep their eyes on the road at the same time. Drivers using VoiceTEXT put their cell phones in Bluetooth mode and connect it to their car. <br /><br />"Through the car's speaker system or through the driver's own Bluetooth headset, drivers can give a voice command that delivers a text message," Gilbert said. "So you can speak to your phone and tell it to send a message to an individual. The recipient's phone recognizes the voice as a text message and the other person is able to respond appropriately."<br /><br />Source:<br />http://www.labspaces.net/102035/Researchers_develop_hands_free_texting_applicationPhihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-56155111997885485362010-02-16T22:32:00.000-08:002010-02-16T22:33:09.686-08:00Flexible, Nanowire Solar CellsFlexible, Nanowire Solar Cells<br />Exotic materials and cheaper substrates could lead to better photovoltaics.<br />By Tyler Hamilton<br />WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2008<br /> <br />Researchers at McMaster University, in Ontario, say that they have grown light-absorbing nanowires made of high-performance photovoltaic materials on thin but highly durable carbon-nanotube fabric. They've also harvested similar nanowires from reusable substrates and embedded the tiny particles in flexible polyester film. Both approaches, they argue, could lead to solar cells that are both flexible and cheaper than today's photovoltaics.<br /><br /><br />Nano solar: A side profile of gallium arsenide nanowires growing on a silicon substrate. The nanowires grow upward from the substrate, creating a surface that's able to absorb more sunlight than a flat surface is. <br />Credit: McMaster University<br />MULTIMEDIA<br />• See how the technology works.<br />Now the researchers' challenge is to improve the efficiency of the cells without increasing cost. The research team, led by Ray LaPierre, a professor in the university's engineering physics department, has been given three years to achieve its goals--backed by about $600,000 from the Ontario government and private-sector research partner Cleanfield Energy, a Toronto-area developer of wind and solar technologies.<br /><br />LaPierre says that the aim is to produce flexible, affordable solar cells composed of Group III-V nanowires that, within five years, will achieve a conversion efficiency of 20 percent. Longer term, he says, it's theoretically possible to achieve 40 percent efficiency, given the superior ability of such materials to absorb energy from sunlight and the light-trapping nature of nanowire structures. By comparison, current thin-film technologies offer efficiencies of between 6 and 9 percent.<br /><br />Story continues below<br /><br /><br />"Most of the nanowire work to date has focused on silicon nanowires," says LaPierre, explaining that McMaster's approach relies on nanowires containing multiple layers of exotic Group III-V materials, such as gallium arsenide, indium gallium phosphide, aluminum gallium arsenide, and gallium arsenide phosphide. "It creates tandem or multi-junction solar cells that can absorb a greater range of the [light] spectrum, compared to what you could achieve with silicon. That's one of the major unique aspects of our work."<br /><br />When used in conventional crystalline solar cells, Group III-V materials are known to have much higher efficiencies than silicon, but the great cost of these materials has limited their use. LaPierre says that cost becomes less of an issue with nanowires because so little material is needed. This is in part because the structure of the nanowires provides a more efficient way to absorb light and extract electrons freed by the light. In conventional solar cells, which are made of slabs of crystalline material, greater thickness means better light absorption, but it also means that it's more difficult for electrons to escape. This forced trade-off is overcome with nanowires. Each nanowire is 10 to 100 nanometers wide and up to five microns long. Their length maximizes absorption, but their nanoscale width permits a much freer movement and collection of electrons. "The direction in which you absorb the light is essentially perpendicular to how you collect electricity," explains LaPierre. "The dilemma is overcome."Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-27004219664329069432010-02-16T21:57:00.001-08:002010-02-16T21:57:48.714-08:00Nobel physicist designing 'toy' black hole for researchNobel physicist designing 'toy' black hole for research<br /><br />Bangalore: Eric Cornell, one of three winners of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Physics, said that he was in the process of developing a ‘toy’black hole. This would help in a better understanding of theories around the space body. In 1915, Albert Einstein first published the general theory of relativity. Among the astrophysical implications of that theory is the presence, in space, of regions that distort space and time, allowing nothing, not even light, to escape. The black hole was posited as the end-state for massive stars.<br /><br />The Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter that was first proposed by Satyendranath Bose and Albert Einstein in 1924, became a reality when Eric Cornell and his colleague Carl Wieman at the University of Colorado in the US produced this state of matter. It was for this effort that the two scientists, along with Wolfgang Ketterle of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received the Nobel in Physics.<br /><br />Speaking of the project to create a black hole, Cornell said, “It will be like a miniature model of the black hole. It will help in the study of the big bang phenomenon and the history of the earth. A student and I are part of the project.” Cornell was addressing an audience at the MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology.<br /><br />The artificial black hole that the scientist is in the process of developing will trap sound, instead of light. This will aid in research of the theory of Hawkins radiation, first proposed by Stephen Hawkins in 1974. No empirical evidence for this exists, and the theory throws light on the process by which the black hole evaporates over time. The process proposed by Hawkins shows that the radiation would reduce the mass of the black hole. The Hawking radiation theory suggested that a black hole is not black, but glows, though the light is too weak to be seen.<br /><br />The ‘toy’ black body is still in a preliminary stage, and is being developed at Cornell’s lab in the University of Colorado. “As of now, it has no commercial application. We are building it to understand how objects behave when they come closer to the black hole,” Cornell said.Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-14260780687446851172010-02-16T21:44:00.001-08:002010-02-16T21:44:51.337-08:00Microsoft challenges the iPhone!Microsoft in challenge to iPhone<br />GORDON FARRER<br />February 17, 2010<br />MICROSOFT has unveiled a new mobile phone operating system to challenge smartphones such as the iPhone and BlackBerry.<br /><br />Launched in Spain, the Windows Phone 7 Series system focuses as much on personal media functions as on business ones. Samsung, LG, HTC and Ericsson are expected to start selling phones using the system late this year.<br /><br />A coalition of 24 telecom companies also announced an open platform for developing applications to work across all phone carriers, devices and operating systems. The move is seen as a direct challenge to Apple's App Store.<br /><br />Joe Belfiore of Microsoft said the aim of the new system was to simplify smartphone use. A goal was to integrate functions that mean the most to people, including photos, contacts, video, games, music and work applications.<br /><br />Windows Phone 7 pulls together data from social networking sites and other services to constantly update contact information and recent social media activity of users' friends and families.<br /><br />The phone features ''tiles'' - similar to iPhone icons - that change appearance as information is updated.<br /><br />The operating system is seen by some analysts as Microsoft's last chance to get back in the smartphone game, having been left behind by the likes of Apple, Nokia and Google, which recently released the Nexus One smartphone.<br /><br />Nick Ingelbrecht, a mobile analyst with Gartner Research, says marketing the product will be a challenge for Microsoft because in a saturated market, Windows Phone was not a strong brand.Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-76108120327862497002010-02-16T21:43:00.001-08:002010-02-16T21:43:26.985-08:00Interesting news (King Tut died from Malaria)King Tut's DNA reveals real killer<br />By Jennifer Macey for AM<br /><br />Updated 1 hour 36 minutes ago<br /><br /> <br />Death mask: Dr Markel says while it was malaria that killed King Tutankhamun, there is also new evidence that he suffered from a rare bone disorder. (AFP: Lennart Preiss)<br /><br />Researchers say Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun may have died from malaria and was not murdered as previously suspected.<br /><br />A team of international scientists studying DNA blood samples from the mummified remains of the 19-year-old king have found traces of the malaria parasite and evidence that he may have suffered from a crippling bone disorder.<br /><br />The findings are being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.<br /><br />Medical historian Dr Howard Markel from the University of Michigan says it is the first time that evidence of malaria has been found in ancient Egypt.<br /><br />"The malaria was quite intriguing. It was found in King Tut and several other members of his family," he said.<br /><br />"It is probably the earliest scientifically recorded evidence of malaria.<br /><br />"Ancient Egypt had marshy areas and mosquitoes and it is not unlikely that malaria was quite prevalent.<br /><br />"Interestingly, in ancient Egyptian texts we don't find any real treatments, let alone cures, for malaria."<br /><br />Researchers also say King Tutankhamun may have broken his thigh bone a day before he died, disputing the theory that his bones were damaged by archaeologist Howard Carter, who first discovered the pharaoh's mummy in the 1920s.<br /><br />The project's lead researcher, Dr Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has featured in a documentary on the subject.<br /><br />"This fracture is an accident that happened to Tutankhamun one day before he died," he told documentary makers.<br /><br />"Tutankhamun used the desert of Memphis for hunting and for jumping. And then he could, number one, die while he was hunting in the desert or, the second thing, maybe in a war.<br /><br />Dr Markel says while it was malaria that killed King Tutankhamun, there is also new evidence that he suffered from a rare bone disorder.<br /><br />"So he probably had fractures of the bones, of the feet, and we know he walked on canes. In fact there are canes in his tomb that are well worn," he said.<br /><br />"You know, whenever you injure your foot - I am sure you know this - you walk in a different way and you are very prone to falling or tripping, so he may have fallen and broken his left leg [and] we know that he has evidence of a left thighbone fracture.<br /><br />"Now the thighbone is the largest bone in the body and then, as well as now, if you break the thighbone and it is not taken care of immediately, that is a very major emergency. You could literally bleed to death in a matter of hours with a broken thighbone.<br /><br />"So if you add those existing conditions, plus he had evidence of the worst type of malaria - something called malaria tropica, that could all set up for a perfect storm of an early demise.Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-40258125599377615862010-02-16T07:53:00.000-08:002010-02-16T17:06:52.929-08:00Blue Sweater (from huffington post)In "The Blue Sweater", which comes out today (February 16) in paperback, I share the story that gives the book its title as an example of the interconnectedness of people around the world:<br /><br />It all started with the blue sweater, the one my uncle Ed gave me. I loved that soft wool sweater with its striped sleeves and African motif -- two zebras in front of a snow-capped mountain -- across the front. I wrote my name on the tag to ensure it would be mine forever, and I wore it for years. At least, until freshman year, when my high school nemesis -- in one of those humiliating adolescent moments -- mocked my blossoming figure in the sweater. Mortified, I donated it to the local Goodwill, glad never to have to see it again.<br />Fast forward eleven years. I am jogging in Kigali, Rwanda, where I'm working to establish a microfinance institution for poor women. Several yards ahead of me, I see a young boy wearing the sweater -- my blue sweater. I run over to the child and turn down the collar. There, thousands of miles and more than a decade from where I last saw the sweater, my name is still visible on the tag.<br /><br />The story of the blue sweater has always served to remind me of how we are all connected, and how our actions -- and inaction -- touch people every day, people we may never know and never meet. The story is also my personal story in understanding better what stands between poverty and wealth.<br /><br />My experience with the book club in Kibera was a similar reminder of how fundamentally alike we all are in seeking the dignity and opportunity to shape our own lives.<br /><br /><br />We are in the Kibera slum, on our way to a meeting of the Blue Sweater Book Club. We turn through a gate and see Mama Hamza's community center, a building made of corrugated metal sheets for the walls and roof that glistens in the afternoon sun. The young men who have organized the event are outside, and everything looks beautiful.<br /><br />Suraj, the lanky, boyish looking Acumen Fellow who works with our team in Nairobi, met a guy named Kevin last year, and began talking about his work with patient capital and development. Recently unemployed and living in the slums, Kevin was interested in the ideas, so Suraj gave him my book, "The Blue Sweater", on the condition that Kevin would read it and send him a review. Kevin kept his promise and wrote me a thoughtful e-mail that I will keep forever.<br /><br />That first exchange encouraged Suraj to give the book to two more young men, including Alex Sunguti, the 22-year-old with the beautiful unedited smile who cleans the Acumen Fund office. After writing a moving, honest, open review, Alex decided to start a book club.<br /><br />Now, there are seven organizers and book clubs in five slums around Nairobi. The seven organizers -- Alex and Kevin, along with Jeremiah, Dennis, Chris, Herbert, and Dickson -- are increasingly committed to being leaders in their community despite the challenges of being unemployed and of little education. Indeed, the talents of this group alone should convince the world of just how much potential the human spirit holds if only we would get rid of the structures that bind and oppress.<br /><br />We pull into the community center at 4 o'clock. By 4:30, more than 90 people are seated in the room. Many are carrying "Blue Sweater" books: Jeremiah tells me that they'd asked each reader to come with at least one question about the book. For tonight is to be a conversation and not just a speech.<br /><br />Alex takes the stage to introduce me. Beaming radiantly, he is most powerful when he speaks of his own experiences and provokes the audience to think about theirs:<br /><br />I may not share the same experience with Jacqueline, but her story inspires me a lot. I didn't make it to advanced education after O Level. I was told to join one of the various arms of the government - like Kenya Army, Police, Navy, Security, media, banking sector among others - but I haven't gone through. It's not that I don't qualify, but I don't have money to bribe. People bribe to get a well paying job. What about the poor who have no money to bribe but have huge potential to transform the world?<br />He doesn't feel sorry for himself, but rather challenges the room to remember how powerful each of them can be. I sit in the front row listening, transfixed by the beauty and generosity of his words. I've never been given a more meaningful introduction.<br /><br />After my talk, Kevin opens the room to questions. Mama Hamza, the woman who runs the community center asks about balance. "I want to be a leader on a better level like you are," she says. "But I am a grandmother and have so many children to care for in this community. What can I do?" I look at the petite woman with a rust-colored scarf wrapped around her head, and imagine the challenges she's overcome and the leader she must be. I start by saying we aren't talking about "better" levels, just different kinds of leadership, and go on to answer as honestly as I can.<br /><br />A young woman named Khadija stands and in a voice filled with anger, lashes out, "I'm a teenager, a single mother and I don't know who the father of my child is. I have no money. I have no job. How can you say we can all be leaders? Who will follow me?"<br /><br />To my right, sits Jane in her red dress with her hair pulled back. In 2001, Jane was a prostitute, HIV-positive, had no money, three children, and no prospects. By taking tiny loans from Jamii Bora, Kenya's fastest-growing microfinance institution, she was able to start a tailoring business, repay and invest again, until she had reached the point where she was a thriving business woman, a community leader consulting people with HIV, and a home owner. Jane stands, "If you would have known me ten years ago, you would never believe that I am here today, telling you that every one of you can do it. Don't give excuses. Don't blame others. Places like Jamii Bora can help you, but you have to do this for yourselves."<br /><br />The questions continue for nearly two hours. I am humbled by the many that start by thanking me for writing about my failures. They say the fact that I kept failing gives them hope that they can fall down and try again and maybe succeed. These words cause a choking feeling -- how can they see me as someone with challenges similar to their own? I live in a loft apartment in New York City. I am privileged, yet here I am standing in front of a group of people who are seeing themselves in my stories, connecting to the human spirit that persists, to a determination to make things better, no matter our starting point.<br /><br />Our human bonds make me feel I am standing on sacred ground: I'm not sure whether I can bear this gift, this truth somehow that is hovering right there in the hot little metal box of a room. I have a deep urge to weep, but know that if I start, I might cry until I float away. Still, I know that in those tears is also a searing hopefulness that we can and do connect, that we can see ourselves in one another. I think of Ubuntu -- I am because you are.<br /><br />We can choose to feel overwhelmed with sadness or we can choose to be inspired by possibility. The challenge is to be tough and focused and to hold people accountable in concrete ways while showing up without the posturing and masks that keep us distant from one another. This night, maybe more than any single evening, reminded me how possible this is. Indeed, it convinced me it is the only way.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqueline-novogratz/how-one-blue-sweater-star_b_463051.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqueline-novogratz/how-one-blue-sweater-star_b_463051.html</a>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-7721528619114626292010-02-16T05:30:00.001-08:002010-02-16T05:34:14.490-08:007 Da Vinci Principles<object width="20" height="20"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GaJNsAUt1wQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GaJNsAUt1wQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-8934251128841681502010-02-16T04:06:00.000-08:002010-02-16T04:07:52.591-08:00How might we design a participatory system (from Tim Brown's blog)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px; "><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">Those who have stuck with me all week, know that I believe that participation is key to the next big wave of innovation in business and society. Whether it is in the fundamentals of how we think about wealth or the economy, how we parse the minutiae of individual transactions, or how we evolve our most important social systems such as health care, I believe that the interconnectedness of our information society makes this shift inevitable and highly desirable.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">The question that I inevitably ask as a designer is how we design these kinds of participatory systems?</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">The first and most obvious response to this question is that it really is all about <em>we</em>, not I. In other words, corporations and their designers cannot presume to conceive of, design and engineer complete systems and role them out to the enthusiastic applause of the masses. The best examples of current participatory systems included a significant amount of “user” participation in the design process itself. Whether it is Facebook or Apple, the richness and variety of their offerings are created by untold developers, not employed by the host brand, who have created solutions never imagined by the original architects of the platform.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">But there are other design principles that must be considered here. First, and foremost, these systems need to be human-centered. Nobody will participate in a system that does not serve his or her needs, and hence those involved in design, whether inside or outside conventional organizations, must master the skills of human centered design thinking.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">Additionally, these systems should be fractal. By this I mean they must work at both the small and large scale. Industrial production and consumerism relied on mass scale to operate. Millions of products were made at a low cost and distributed to millions of consumers; in those systems, individuals and small organizations typically could not compete with large-scale industrial corporations. Participative systems must be as relevant to a market of one as to a market of millions. Digital technology offers the flexibility to operate at very different scales. Any participatory offering must make effective use of the Internet.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">As I discussed earlier in my post,<a href="http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=296#content" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> </a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=296#content" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">:”Why We Need Economic Dashboards</a><a href="http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=296#content" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">“</a>, we have to design interactions that are profitable for all participants. And that profit must be measurable on one or more of the dimensions of the participation economy, even if they have associated costs on other dimensions. This way every interaction becomes a productive investment, not an act of consumption. This means we must design in the information feedback loops that make measurement of the various forms of participatory value easy. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wright_(journalist)" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Robert Wright</a> proposed a related idea in his book <em>Non-Zero</em>. My interpretation of his thesis is that good participatory systems will not rely on zero-sum trading of finite resources but will instead allow everyone to make a profit.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">Earlier, I also mentioned information transparency. Figuring out how to make information transparent, and understandable, will unlock unanticipated forms of value and help create the “multiplier effects” recently explained by President Obama in his defense of the bank bailout.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">It’s likely that the best ideas that emerge from our networks will not be those decreed from on high by senior executives or government officials. Hence we also need to design processes that allow us to spot new patterns, encourage the evolution of new ideas, and help new ideas scale to the point where they have impact. This is a different approach to innovation and management than the one we have been reliant upon for the last hundred years. It will take some getting used to. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Hamel" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Gary Hamel</a> has lots to say about this in his book <em>The Future of Management</em>.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">Rapid prototyping and “learning by making” is already an accepted strategy for effective innovation. For participatory systems, this is even more important because the complexity of the interactions cannot possibly be anticipated by even the smartest of plans. The reality is that these prototypes cannot live in the lab; they have to be let out into the wild. So, we need to start getting comfortable with letting others participate in our innovation activities. Of course this means that many of our accepted notions of IP and trade secrets go out of the window. This is very scary for the lawyers.</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; ">Over the coming months I am hoping to build a clearer and more precise set of design principles for participatory systems and I would welcome your ideas for new principles. I’d also appreciate your thoughts on whether this thesis makes any sense at all!</p><p style="margin-top: 25px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://designthinking.ideo.com/?tag=participation">http://designthinking.ideo.com/?tag=participation</a></p></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6603782034493818765.post-41630986947521739152010-02-16T01:24:00.000-08:002010-02-16T01:31:39.843-08:00Microsoft needs big leap to catch up on smartphone technology<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; "><div id="article" style="width: 627px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="story-content" style="margin-top: 15px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 8px; "><div id="body-content" class="body-content" style="font-size: 12px; "><p>Microsoft seems to need to do something big in order to stay competitive with its rivals</p><p><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/021510_microsoft_lags_in_smartphones.html">Link to article</a></p></div></div></div><div id="article-contentinside" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></div></span>Phihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14414128415359284846noreply@blogger.com0