Darryl Seland

Albert Einstein is widely credited as having defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” 

Disruption seems to be a very popular term in the media recently. Traditionally, something described as disruptive has a negative connotation. However, this new definition can be viewed as positive, depending on whether you believe in the status quo or not.

It is said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” It is an idiom that has been adopted from the more specific insight of Greek philosopher Plato. In Republic, Plato writes, “A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem.”

We’ve all heard the term “practice makes perfect.” It’s something instilled in us from a young age, from the repetition of the alphabet to the memorization of the multiplication table.

Tom Canterbury once said, “The trouble with referees is that they just don’t care which side wins.” For many sports fans—actually a great majority—it is, obviously, incredibly important which team wins. But seemingly more important is that SOMEONE wins.

“On a long enough timeline, everyone’s survival rate drops to zero.” It’s a quote from the popular 1999 film, “Fight Club,” and the same can be said for many of the things and ideas we create.

Socrates said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Another great mind, Ed Morse (in his keynote address at this past year’s Coordinate Metrology Society Conference), said, “Data is only as good as what you can do with it.” If you were so inclined to put these two thoughts together, you could see the current dilemma regarding Big Data.

Several months ago I wrote about the Cynefin Model and the benefits of keeping things simple to the decision-making process. And a large part of decision making has to do with choice, or more accurately, the number of choices we have. Enter the “psychology of choice.”

“21 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020,” a post by Tina Barseghian for KQED.org, describes predictions for the state of the modern classroom.

It would be futile to argue that “cutting-edge” is not a popular term. Like it or not, it’s used (when used properly) to describe just about anything new or innovative.