The Assumption of Consistent Genius
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Just because some brilliant investors bought into telecom doesn't mean they're right.
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Malcolm Gladwell examines the science of split-second decisions.
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It doesn't take a genius to catch on to the fact that in IT, innovation is a mandate. Push the envelope of what's possible, or find yourself relegated to wayside. But, to borrow a favored David St. Hubbins Spinal Tap aphorism, there's a fine line between clever and crackpot when it comes to making good on technological breakthroughs in the enterprise.                                                      It is in that spirit that we revisit last year's level-headed look at crackpot technologies that could transform the enterprise, putting the screws to a new rack of could-be enterprise contenders. But before you write off nanotech or direct brain interfaces as the next big enterprise thing, consider this:  [ For an in-depth look at last year's crackpot tech assessments, see: 12 crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise ]  Of the dozen technologies we examined last year, several made significant enterprise-minded strides since we first assessed their IT prospects. Desktop Web apps, for one, lent credence to the conjecture that fat productivity suites might just have a shorter future than previously thought; solid-state drives popped up everywhere, from ultramobile laptops to the datacenter; and Sun's datacenter-in-a-box proved compelling enough for Google to move first to patent it. Even quantum cryptography received a vote of confidence, with Switzerland tapping the technology to protect parliamentary election transmissions.   Sure, some of this year's out-there technologies may prove fruit for future high-profile tech flops lists, but without forward-thinking, there would be no worthwhile enterprise advancement. So raise your eyebrows or your suspicions as you deem fit, and join us in assessing the potential each of the following technologies has to earn IT's respect or derision.  ? Nanotechnology ? Optical computing ? Pervasive computing ? Wireless power ? The $100 laptop ? Direct brain interfaces ? Enterprise supercomputing ? Virtual worlds
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Can a computer program generate new works from long dead legends? By Douglas McGray from Wired magazine.
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Ten thinkers and scientists that could change the world.
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Review Can it appeal to novice and pro alike?
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Fast company It&#146;s a familiar tension in business. Business people think designers are mere stylists; designers think business people are Neanderthals who forfeit quality for profit. That&#146;s because traditional business runs on logic that is inductive (using observation to prove something works) and deductive (using principles to prove that something must be). But designers rely on abductive reasoning. Huh? It&#146;s ...
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How the Fool makes it easy to find Lynch-like guidance.
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Interesting music does not tell us to be good or bad. It asks only to be admired. Getting great music and simple faith together happens, but with difficulty.
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A predictions market about technology that can benefit from the wisdom of crowds.
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I just figured something out, and it's the kind of thing that's best said publicly, even though it's likely to: 1. Be misunderstood and 2. Upset some people. But since it's all about this blog it really is best to air it here. First what triggered the epiphany. I was over at Loic Le Meur's house in San Francisco yesterday having lunch with his family and friends. We were all drinking wine (very good wine of course), enjoying the view, and talking about this and that, when the subject turned to Mike Arrington. Loic said that Mike told him that we used to be best friends. I couldn't figure out what that meant, because our friendship was the business kind of friendship not the personal kind. What does it mean to best friends in that way? And how does that relate to having a blog? It never occurred to me that friendship meant that (here's the epiphany) that I would only say positive things about Mike's business. It didn't occur to me until I heard Loic's side of a blog-fight that I saw happen from a distance, with Sam Sethi, Mike and Loic.  Complicated? You bet. Too complicated. An unspoken deal that I never agreed to. When Mike was starting TechCrunch, I pointed to his blog all the time, with glowing phrases. Because I was truly impressed with what he was doing and because I wanted to encourage other people to do it too. I wanted people to write about technology products based on how they used them, not based on alliances, investment, posturing of execs, the crappy stuff that means almost nothing to users, and imho is just a substitute for actually understanding the technology. Mike was approaching products the way I felt they should be approached. Hence the praise. Fact is, my opinion of Mike, as a person, hasn't changed much in the last couple of years. He has a personal charm and charisma that not everyone finds appealing, but I do. I like hanging out with the guy. However, that doesn't mean that if my opinion of TechCrunch, his business, isn't uniformly positive (and of course these days it is actually fairly negative) that I will withhold it. But it's also part of Mike's way of dealing with people that he sees criticism as betrayal. I just don't see it that way. I've had the shit kicked out of me so many times, and as a programmer I understand that criticism is necessary to perfect a user interface, even to get the damned thing working, that even when it hurts, I have to push the hurt aside and listen to what people are saying, and try to respond to it. Professionalism demands it.  Anyway, one of the reasons I want to write this now is that I've written about Loic's business here a couple of times in very positive terms. I don't want anyone, esp Loic, to assume that this will always be so. If they get in the way of other creative people, or otherwise act as a poor example of entrepreneurship in technology, of course I will write about it, and will say what I think. I would expect Loic and people at his company to take what I write to heart, and consider it. My feelings won't be hurt if they don't do what I say.  Same as when I said Facebook sucks. Or when I criticize Techmeme. This isn't in any way meant to reflect on the quality of the people at Facebook (some of whom I know to be outstanding people of high principle) or Gabe Rivera who I know to be a very smart and competent and honorable person. It's possible to critcize someone's work and still admire the person. My epiphany is that a lot of people who thought were my friends, didn't understand this very basic thing about me.
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This bit of genius is pretty down to earth.
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It's not exactly light reading, but there's plenty of good news in a report from the National Academy of Engineering. It's a list of the "Grand Challenges" in engineering this century compiled by an array of experts like the genetics researcher J. Craig Ventner and Google's Larry Page. What's encouraging isn't so much the list [...].
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Those of us who've been posting at Kuro5hin for some years are aware that this site serves as one of the foremost intellectual fora of the present day. What may come as a surprise is that a number of academics recognize that fact, and cite Kuro5hin in their journal articles, conference proceedings, and book chapters.  Here I survey some of the more interesting ones I've come across.
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Whatâs the best way to manage the gifted people who are increasingly important in the knowledge economy?
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By Sheikh, Imran; Lovins, Amory B  THE STRATEGIES USED BY CHEMICAL ENGINEERS TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT DESIGNS may vary, but they probably reflect the methodologies we learned in engineering school. So, it is only natural that we use them almost intuitively in the work place.
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Comment is free: Annalisa Barbieri: Once a person has been announced as an expert, they lose the impetus to use wisdom wisely