Did You Know - Innovation Happens

A few years ago a Technology Director at a high school in CO, Karl Fisch, created some presentations that took a look at technology and its increasing impact on education and innovation.

Today, I looked at a slicked up version of his most noted work that was done for a business meeting in 2008. Sure it's a cool presentation, but it also does a fine job of sharing some of the ways that recent technology advancements have had a big impact on us.



If you continue to keep your eyes and ears open, these things are here to stay and the pace of change will only accelerate. How do we get the next generation ready for things that the prior one could barely imagine? I suggest that we do more to capture and maintain the creativity of youth that is not bound by the rules of society.

Imagine some words you may have heard if you could have been there when these folks were young...

If the world is flat, maybe we should go check out the edges. - Little Christopher Columbus (future explorer)

I think I could find lots of fun stuff to do if I could keep the candle on all the time. Little Humphrey Davy, then little Thomas Edison (the guys that linked the light bulb and the idea)


I think I can make computers do things with these programming codes. - Litlle Bill Gates

All were a bit on the edge of the rules. They tinkered with things in out of the way places. They challenged the norms of society to do things differently. What they came up with made significant impact in the world.

Kids, keep dreaming and parents, give them the latitude to pursue those ideas...otherwise we might be stuck putting our thoughts into stone.

Another bit of insight from Karl Fisch and his blog. What if...

Gattaca Meets Minority Report - Your death might be used against you while alive

The other day someone sent me a link to an article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution about your body knowing how you will die(<--free subscription). Studies at Emory University are headed right toward Gattaca. The insurance and medical communities are keeping an eye on the research.

If you have watched either of my two favorite movies from recent times, you know there are all sorts of implications and flaws with this concept. On the mental side, if you "knew" you were going to die next week of a heart attack, how would do things differently this week? Quit your job, take out a big life insurance policy, suicide, attack your 6th grade bully, spend time with family?

Lot's of ways that different folks would deal with the situation. On the other hand, if you get hit by a bus this week, while you are doing the stuff that you decided to do instead of your normal routine, does that make your demise the fault of someone else? In the world of Minority Report, maybe the knowledge of upcoming death makes you more liable for things that week.

On the fiscal side, the insurance companies would love to terminate coverage for folks that they think are going to run up medical or life insurance claims. Now, it is harder to live a normal life because the DNA police are messing with perceptions of your existence. Would you do an Anna Nicole for someone in this situation (marry for money assuming death is coming soon?)

For now, nothing changes, but know that we are getting closer to a world where the more society understands about individuals, the more likely that information will be used strategically against you.

Look out for the pre-cogs!