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.
The article is based on a book co-authored by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans. In Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss, the authors suggested that interviewing “star employees” on a regular basis can help companies identify and then work to resolve issues that are standing in the way of success for these employees. The article also suggests some questions that might be part…
Thinking takes real effort. It requires sustained attention. Scientists have known for some time that focusing your mind consumes considerable metabolic resources. But in our day-to-day lives, we discount the effort needed to pay attention and think because it doesn’t feel as physically strenuous as, say, lifting a 50-pound weight. Source: To Avoid Thinking Hard, We Will Endure…
13-year-old Celeste Low’s dream has always been to be a spy and be able to send encrypted messages to people. While she may have some way to go before she becomes an undercover agent, the coding skills Celeste has picked up through Code in the Community have enabled her to build a tool that allows…
And yet I’ve been increasingly bemused to realize that by real-world measures of productivity — words written, problems solved, good ideas crystallized — my output has not only not multiplied along with the power of my tools, it hasn’t increased one bit. Not only that: I’ve had for some time the gnawing feeling that my…
It’s safe to say that “the career for life” is over. People now hold an average of 15 jobs in their working lifetime. What’s more, according to Deloitte the lifespan of a skill has decreased to just five years from 30 on average. Rapid technological advancements are increasingly impacting the traditionally steady trajectory of professional…
Maine Lobster Festival Strips Sea Goddess Taylor Hamlin of Crown | PEOPLE.com Taylor Hamlin dreamed of winning the Maine Lobster Festival’s prestigious Maine Sea Goddess pageant since she was a little girl, but two social media photos deemed “inappropriate” by competition officials would cause the 18 year old to be stripped of the title just 24 hours after…
