There was a vision: “The destiny of computers is to become interactive intellectual amplifiers for everyone in the world pervasively networked worldwide”.
In the 70s, Xerox Parc was THE research facility in the United States. Technology such as the graphical user interface, ethernet networking, and the laser printer was created at Xerox Parc.
A couple of the principles Mr. Kay lays out are mindblowing:
Fund people not projects — the scientists find the problems not the funders. So, for many reasons, you have to have the best researchers.
This one was particular mindblowing. Find the best people, and provide the support they need to create great things.
Problem Finding — not just Problem Solving
Progress is made on solving problems, and if you can’t find problems to solve, then you’re not making any progress.
For a long time, I’ve been a list-maker and a note-taker. You should see my desk. It can get littered with them pretty easily. The worst is when I would take down some valuable details and then leave the paper sitting on my desk at school. I have literally driven to school late at night…
The ninth graders in Elise Delamatre’s classroom at the City Neighbors High School in northeast Baltimore are sitting in a circle of armchairs, presenting their opinions about the merits of the color blue and Nacho Cheese Doritos. “Blue is the best color. It’s calming. It’s awesome,” says one girl, standing to address the room. Other…
The Nautilus is a research vehicle operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, a nonprofit founded by Robert Ballard, one of the people who helped us find the Titanic. It conducts scientific research and offers live video and audio streams to those of us who are unable to come along. This year, it’ll journey along the…
What Bode was saying was this: “Knowledge and productivity are like compound interest.” Given two people of approximately the same ability and one person who works ten percent more than the other, the latter will more than twice outproduce the former. The more you know, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more…
The Minotaur King has a grip on the hero, Master Heebs, who refuses to divulge where he has hidden a rare and precious gem. Tasked with liberating their master and reclaiming their resource-rich land are 22 eighth graders armed with tablets and a mini whiteboard. They will defeat the Minotaur King with a series of…
Why, all of a sudden, are so many successful business leaders urging their companies and colleagues to make more mistakes and embrace more failures? In May, right after he became CEO of Coca-Cola Co., James Quincey called upon rank-and-file managers to get beyond the fear of failure that had dogged the company since the “New…
