"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Act1 continued - Nassim Taleb and TINKERING feat Ali Smiths Accidental
Hello!
I've been reading more notes from Nassim Nicholas Taleb that I'd like to share - it's short and sweet.
quoted from Taleb on this site: http://benatlas.com/2009/10/nassim-nicholas-taleb-on-tinkering/
"Even academics are starting to realize that a considerable component of medical discovery comes from the fringes, where people find what they are not exactly looking for. It is not just that hypertension drugs led to Viagra or that angiogenesis drugs led to the treatment of macular degeneration, but that even discoveries we claim come from research are themselves highly accidental. Only a disproportionately minute number of discoveries traditionally came from directed academic research. What academia seems more masterful at is public relations and fundraising..."
I find this 'tinkering' idea really useful. It also links in a weird way to a work by my favorite authour, Ali Smith, Accidental. A stranger enters a family. She has a radically different way of living, and even though the members of the family don't embrace her mindset, each are accidentally changed by her departure.
More on the GREAT Ali Smith: http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth91
Taken together, the effect of randomness and accident have mind-blowing effects. The problem is, we can't predict where or when it is going to happen, SO - rather than concentrate our efforts in one place, we should all try to affect the world by trial and error in lots of related areas, rather than a directing a scientifically proven effort in one small place.
Exciting really, seeing as someone somewhere, not even connected to the game could stumble upon a random blog of one of us, and it might be the missing link, or added inspiration that changes the world.
Okay. I'm done. :o)
Views: 22
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Comment by Nick Heyming on March 10, 2010 at 6:19pm
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I like the way you put things. Here's to tinkering!
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Comment by Lynn Caldwell on March 15, 2010 at 10:02am
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Thanks! Taleb has inspired Malcolm Gladwell - 'Tipping point' which is also an extremely new and great way of looking at why change occurs and how to influence social epidemics. He promotes the idea of three different types of social changers, Connectors, Salesmen and Mavens ... interested? See here: http://www.gladwell.com/index.html In his book, Outliers, he recommends that sucess will only come after practicing roughly 10,000 hours.
For research and initiatives based on Taleb's Black Swan - see here: http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/DerivTBS.htm
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Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 15, 2010 at 10:48am
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Great post. Brings to mind the "traditional" medicine versus conventional medicine debate that has been raging in Kenya for a while. It is now being discovered that these traditional remedies made from local trees/roots/herbs actually have a similar (and at times better) effect than thier chemical brothers.
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Ahhhh....that was GREAT! From when the fourth person joined, it was crazy...I'm going to follow more now. A perfect example of a tipping point. Thanks, Panamericana! :o)
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Comment by Michele Baron on April 21, 2010 at 10:58pm
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yes, taleb's Black Swan theories are interesting as well. thank you for your post
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