Does technology spell doom for docs?
Niraj Patel, a medical student at Baylor, has a very thoughtful post on what increased computing power might mean for physicians.
Happy ugly
Ze Frank makes fun of ugly MySpace pages in this short video rant, but then uses it to offer some very perceptive thoughts on the evolution of design and the democratization of authorship tools. (HT: Chip Patton.)
Laughter is “internal jogging”
If you’re interested in the laughter clubs I write about in Chapter 8 of AWNM, check out this video, which includes an interview with neuroimmunologist Lee Berk. (UPDATE: You’ll need to forward to Page 5 to see the interview with Dr. Berk.)
10 Things They Never Taught Me in Design School
Great piece by Michael McDonough reprinted in Design Observer. (HT: Steve Epstein)
What Kind of Genius Are You?
My latest Wired piece describes the work of David Galenson (right), the most interesting economist you’ve never heard of. For the last decade, Galenson has used the tools of economics to try to reverse engineer ingenuity, to establish a universal field theory of creativity. He maintains that creative minds come in two forms: bold, quick,
Maybe someone is listening, after all
Lots of great coverage of the AWNM meme in recent days: — In the Baltimore Sun, Michael Scott has an excellent piece about Maryland colleges and universities that are challenging the notion that “the health of our economy depends on educating a new cadre of technocrats.” — In the San Francisco Chronicle, USC provost C.
Summer reading
Here are three novels that I’ve read recently and that I heartily recommend: 1. The Futurist (James P. Othmer) Yates is a business guru who travels the world preaching his futuristic gospel. One night — triggered by a romantic breakup and fueled by the contents of his hotel mini-bar — he has a dark night
The world is flat . . .
When I last visited southern Africa, nineteen long years ago, apartheid reigned in South Africa and the U.S. was involved in a pitched battle with the Soviet Union. On my latest trip, which I’m just getting around to reporting, South Africa was in its second decade of black democratic leadership and the only remnant of
. . . but not flat enough
Meanwhile, the township of Soweto definitely has its share of middle class homes. But it also has a wide swath of shanties, areas in which the biggest technological breakthrough in recent years has been the arrival of the portable toilets you see in the bottom left corner of this photo.