[The Prometheus Shot – E008 :: Edison’s Ruthless Innovation: More than a Light Bulb ]
This post is part of the Prometheus Shot series.
Category: Learning
[The Prometheus Shot – E007 :: Ramanujan’s Math Visions: Will, Intuition, and Mentorship ]
This post is part of the Prometheus Shot series.
[The Prometheus Shot – E004 :: Who Invents – Watt: Innovation, Steam Engines, and Industrial Revolutions ]
This post is part of the Prometheus Shot series.
Or… Is your current work Great? (Check the questionnaire)
Are you doing what you should be doing? Does it make sense that all of us should be working on Great things? How can we find out?
The Atlas of Worldly Wisdom is – in a sense – a guide that aims to help the learner find and pursue their own “Great Work”.
In management, as should be the case in life, we frequently think about the most that can be achieved given the limited resources available to us (Optimization).
So the question is : What is our great work? How can we find it?
Extreme Imagination and Creativity (as in Sci-Fi and Fantasy) can be practical. They are useful as inspiration, for education, and even as inputs into scientific and engineering processes.
Here are a few thoughts on that.
Do schools and universities really kill creativity?
Misaligned incentives, approximate thinking, and conflicting goals, can explain why the education system is perceived to be a creativity killer.
I wrote a blog post about a few interesting books, including one titled “How the World Thinks”. A reader objected, saying that thinking is done by people… So, does ‘the World’ think?
How much do your genetics and your (cultural/social) background control your destiny?
The answer is ‘A lot!’… but things aren’t hopeless..
What should I read?
With the millions of books out there, seekers of knowledge (and wisdom) will – expectedly – ask the question.. Where should I start?
The answers are usually disappointing. Why should you care about someone’s recommended readings list, after all?
Here’s an attempt to tackle this.
How much can we ‘compress’ wisdom? Are there general lessons that we can infer from history? from the intersections between different thinkers from around the world? Is there such a thing as ‘the greatest ideas of all time?
This post compiles ideas from 4 key books to reflect on history, philosophy, Wisdom and the applicability to our work and every day life.