Thursday, February 13, 2003

Culture of Ideas. Highlights from Nicholas Negroponte's Creating a Culture of Ideas [MIT Technology Review] Yet without innovation we are doomed—by boredom and monotony—to decline. So what makes innovation happen, and just where do new ideas come from? The basic answers—providing a good educational system, encouraging different viewpoints, and fostering collaboration—may not be surprising. Moreover, the ability to fulfill these criteria has served the United States well. But some things—the nature of higher education among them—will have to change in order to ensure a perpetual source of new ideas. One of the basics of a good system of innovation is diversity. On how diversity and risk taking offsets the lower standards of education in the US for innovation One is that we do not stigmatize those who have tried and been unsuccessful. The other reason is that we are uniquely willing to listen to our young. But when it comes to nurturing our youth, we have to do better. The antidote to such canalization and compartmentalization is being interdisciplinary, a term that is at once utterly banal and, in advanced studies, describes an almost impossible goal. Two additional ingredients are needed to cultivate new ideas. Both have to do with maximizing serendipity. First, we need to encourage risk. The second ingredient is encouragement for openness and idea sharing... A key to ensuring a stream of big ideas is accepting these messy truths about the origin of ideas and continuing to reward innovation and celebrate emerging technologies. [Ross Mayfield's Weblog] 5:04:50 PM   comment []>   Software Success Has India Worried. Is the United States going to start turning its back on outsourcing, the lifeblood of India's software and services industry? By Saritha Rai. [New York Times: Business] 4:50:53 PM   comment []>

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