10 Short Years

A perspective on Moore’s Law, via Brett Jordan

Does education relate to success?

(note: link to the Simpsons episode is now dead on Hulu… check it out on Youtube before Fox takes it down.)

Sure, it may seem counter-intuitive, or perhaps even downright discrediting to reference a recent Simpsons episode as illustrating one’s perspective on education. Keep in mind, however, the show built its reputation taking a stand on current events and pop culture. This clip follows suit, posing a few provocative questions, using a little tongue-in-cheek humor, and highlighting the irony of  Facebook founder and Harvard-dropout Mark Zuckerberg’s recent $100-million donation to Newark public schools. Check out the Simpsons clip on Hulu Youtube.

Where college degrees were once a ticket to limitless career opportunities and held as a point of pride, the Simpsons clip astutely points out that this is far from the truth anymore. We laugh at the punch line where Zuckerberg states, “Well, actually, I dropped out of Harvard,” following up with a condescending jab at the frivolous distribution of honorary degrees. Then again, we laugh when the Janitor speaks of his graduate honors, and how things “Didn’t work out so well.” We laugh at the irony of the money spent, the time invested, and the uncertain returns.

While there is no questioning the empowerment of learning, I can’t help but wonder What is the correlation between “success” and education? In fact, I’d even ask if there is any correlation at all.

Not 10 minutes after I saw this Simpsons clip, Seth Godin made a brief post entitled “Hacking Education.” In it, he quotes Arlo Guthrie, “You teach kids how to succeed when they successfully foil the educational system.”

Sometimes I wonder if Mr. Godin is following me, looking over my shoulder- his posts often echoing my exact thoughts at pretty much any given time (and that is not to say I’m half the thought-leader he is). On first blush I was in complete agreement- when kids think for themselves and overturn the system, you’ve taught kids to succeed. Seth read my mind again, question answered.

But then I thought for a minute…

1) What is success

2) Why are these kids foiling the system? What’s their drive?

In a select few cases, this quote may be dead-on. Some kids twist their education, grasping learning fundamentally and making the system what they want it to be, likely going on to do great things. Not often thought of as traditional academics, these students prime themselves to think differently, to overcome the adversity  of a behemoth system, and as Seth might say, overcome their Lizard brain and do meaningful work. This might account for (a generous) 50% of those who “foil the system”. I’d argue, these kids weren’t taught to do this. They just did it. Example: Zuckerberg, Gates, and Branson.

Then there are the other 50% (probably more like 70-80%); those who foil the system to make their own lives easier, to do less and get more, to ride the wave of others to their own personal success. Those who foil the system for all the wrong reasons- not to do meaningful work, but to do less than what is asked to free themselves of any burden they feel unjust, riding towards mainstream “success” in the form of fame and fortune. In some sort of Pavlovian way, these kids have been taught this behavior. “If I do this/Don’t do this a certain way, then I get the benefit of  ____.” Example: most of my classmates through high school and college.

Then there is the loaded question:  what is “success?”

Is it Mark Zuckerberg’s success- young billionaire going down in the history books as irrevocably changing the shape of society? A mainstream view to be sure.

Or has Zuckerberg attained the antithesis of success by developing an application that wastes thousands of hours of potentially productive time, breaks hearts, and encourages destructive social measuring against peer’s “success?”

I cannot pretend to know the meaning of success, and thus cannot draw any correlation between one’s education and their relative success. What I can speak to, however, is the power of an undying desire to learn, combined with immense internal drive and discipline. The combination of these traits will surely lead to success, whatever your definition.

The Future of Graffiti

I happened to stumble across this in my travels of the internet (which are much more limited than I’d prefer, these days), and I think it’s the perfect thing to pull me out of my blogging hiatus.

rAndom international , a London-based design collective, have prototyped what they call “PixelRoller.” Somewhere between a printer and a paint roller, the device puts the human touch back into the painting process, allowing someone to quickly apply text or an image to a broad range of surfaces using the intuitive motion of  rolling on paint.

Could you imagine if Banksy got his hands on one of these? This could put his stencils to shame…

Check out their site for a more in-depth explanation, photos and video demonstrating the device.

brb

Things have gotten a little crazy in the past month. I’ve got a ton of stuff backed up that I want to post about and hoping to start posting regularly again in the next couple weeks. So if you’ve been checking regularly and were wondering where the new posts are (and there is probably only one person out there… mom…) I’ll be back and att’em soon enough.

Travelers, rejoice.

I love to travel. I mean, I really love to travel.

And I hate to pack. Oh, do I loathe it.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been found at 2am, the morning before an epic trip, with the bathroom scale out trying to guess how heavy my bags were. There’s enough to worry about (oh man, I forgot my underwear…), and how much your bag weighs is just one more headache to consider as you’re running out the door. Given that weight restrictions are nothing new, it’s mind-boggling that it took this long for someone to develop a simple way of weighing your bags.

Digigrip has finally done it. Just press the button, and pick up your bag. Dumb-simple. (Nearly as dumb-simple is their website. Someone help these guys out.)

While I’d recommend packing as light as possible in just about any/every situation, there are those longer trips that certainly warrant a heavy bag. This little gadget can be quite a time and money saver come your turn at the ticket counter. Definitely worth the 20 Euros if you ask me. Too bad there isn’t a simple handle that can help you skirt the now-ubiquitous baggage fees.

Now if they could only make security/size restrictions/boarding procedures this ridiculously simple.

Note:: I also did a quick search on where to purchase one of these. Aside from getting in touch directly with the dude in Sweden, I have no idea. If you find out where to get one, lemme know, would yah?

UPDATE: Looks like the link has been broken to this product, not sure if they aren’t producing it anymore?

Thermoforming Corian

This isn’t a countertop… but it’s made of the same stuff.

I’d really like to play with some thermoforming of Corian. If that doesn’t say “nerd,” then I don’t know what does.

The possibilities of DuPont’s solid surface material is pretty overwhelming. Just check out Amanda Levete Architects‘ installation for the Corian Supersurface Showroom in Milan. And this is the same stuff my countertop is made of?

Zaha Hadid has also done some pretty cool stuff with Corian in her store design for Neil Barrett in Tokyo. Both have used the generous pliability of the material when heated to make smooth, flowing forms that retain a high structural integrity. I’d like to know a bit more about the jig process that these projects must have used to get the precision in what I’d imagine to be a pretty fickle fabrication process.

 

via Dezeen

Mission Motors. Yes Please.

Hailing from York Pennsylvania with Harley Davidson‘s largest manufacturing plant, I’ve always had a soft spot for two wheels and a powerful engine. This bike is a long shot from those thundering bohemoths, though.

Mission Motors introduced their Mission One Superbike earlier this year, an electric bike that does not skimp one bit on performance (… they claim you can power wheelie at 70mph. On an electric bike. Whoa.) A strong push in a transportation market trying to revive itself, the bike certainly makes it clear that just because you’re doing the environment a favor doesn’t mean you’re going to be putting along with the mopeds.

Aside from the striking speed, the bike is also touted for its agility, response, acceleration band, and battery range. And did you see the thing? It looks like its going 70mph while sitting still thank to design genius Yves Behar lending his talented hands with the fuseproject team. I’d go so far as to say this could be a completely novel genre of bikes, breaking the molds of cruiser, sport, and touring bikes perhaps not in form, but certainly in riding experience. Perhaps you’d opt for the whiz of an electric bike over that thunderous motor or whining engine (check out this video and listen to this thing purr). Oh, and there’s no shifting.

 

Better start saving now, though. The bike is going for a cool $70k. The company states that with an entry into the luxury market, they can get the technology out there and tested while working on some more attainable, average-consumer products for the future. I think I’ll hold out for one of those…

 

 

Words to live (and design) by

“Have nothing in your house that
you do not know to be useful,
or believe to be beautiful.”
– William Morris

A great quote I saw the other day over at swissmiss. A great think to keep in mind while designing. Is what I’m designing one of those things that someone would choose to keep around?

 

via swissmiss

Coming to a gym near you

Every once in awhile I come across something on these internet tubez that really gets me thinking. This was one of those things.

At one point, virtual reality was all the rage. Champions of the technology were touting a digital revolution, where we’d live our lives through the lenses of some VR glasses. Then there were those who violently opposed the technology, running away deep into the woods to avoid being sucked into an infinite virtual reality. As it turns out, the technology was too expensive and cumbersome to take over our reality (at least for now…), but there have been some companies who have quietly kept working.

CyberWalk is one of those companies, and recently they have addressed one of the biggest issues of VR technologies- achieving realtime human locomotion. The German company has made is an omnidirectional treadmill, enabling the user to walk in a very natural way in any direction. Think the gym- on steroids. (Pun intended.) The technology is not anything ground breaking really, and evidently has been in development/used by the military for a few years now. This iteration however, seems to be one of the first to be “spotted in the wild,” so to say, and seems to be promising at that. The scientists also say that the feeling is very natural, although I wonder if it’s something akin to walking on ice judging by the wobbly people in the videos.

It might be awhile until you find one in your home though, so don’t get too excited. In order to reduce the effect of feeling “recentered” on the platform and feeling the acceleration of the belts, the platform needs to be at least 6m x 6m and is viewed as “bigger is better.” Oh, and it also weighs 11 tons and uses a series of 40 kilowatt motors.

In any event, I can only imagine what sort of marketing/research could be done with these. Imagine going down to the mall for a trip to Paris? Just hop on the omni-mill and take a walk through the Google Street View pictures of Paris. For a nominal fee, of course. Or what about Nike using the platforms with a series of high-speed cameras to perfect their already advanced running and training technologies?

A link to a BBC article outlining the technology.

Phone Perch

I’m not entirely sure why it took so long for someone to get this idea and capitalize on it. But alas, Cagnina Design finally has with their Mi-o Cell Phone Holder. Man, do I love when stuff is so simple, it makes you wish that you thought of it.

While there are plenty of docking solutions out there for your phones and gadgets, none really match the illusive chord of simplicity and functionality struck by this particular iteration. Not taking a spot on your already-cluttered desk and providing a way to tidy up that extra 2′ of cord, this product finally gets your phone up off the floor where, if you’re like me, you’ll inevitably step right on it.

From a marketing and sales standpoint, the price point is certainly right for anyone’s tight budget at $4. Cagnina has also capitalized on our general obsession with cellular devices, offering to engrave the Mi-o thereby using your daily contact with your phone as a way for companies to market to their customers. Pretty ingenious.

My only critique might be materiality. While the plastic makes for a nice pricepoint, I’d gladly pay another $10 for something out of metal or wood perhaps. If they have already recognized that we interact with this thing everyday by using it as a billboard, at least make it nice to touch?!

If you want to pick one up, head over to Yanko Design. $4.