An excellent graphic visualization of information from this book that depicts how the war in Iraq has reached the cost level of about $3 trillion. Yes, that’s right, $3 trillion. I’ll let the piece above speak for itself, so watch it, but suffice it to say that when you think back to all of the bad, false, and misleading information that pointed our nation in this direction the complete and total misunderstanding and misrepresentation of this war’s cost to the American taxpayer is right up there.
Anyway, frustration with the cost of this war aside, this is an excellent information visualization.
The word “McMansion” has entered the common vernacular. They are ubiquitous in America, representative of an era that appears to be drawing to a close. Increasingly, these are the homes that have been foreclosed on and are sitting empty as monuments to conspicuous consumption and thoughtless, careless, irresponsible building practices. The trailer above is for a documentary that I have not yet seen, but given the prevalence of the story of McMansions these days, do you really need to? I seriously doubt that in 75 years there will be any trace of these homes left to remember them by.
The video above is an interview with Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners that I found at a newish and excellent blog named Life in Perpetual Beta. I found this blog via David Armano’s Logic+Emotion, a blog I have followed for some time and greatly enjoy. There are several great videos with individuals like Jim and David on Life in Perptetual Beta that seek perspective on things like creativity, design thinking, and authenticity. In the interview Jim talks about some of the consistent qualities he has experienced with creative people, including himself. Things like short attention spans, starting strong and finishing weak, and the all-consuming enthusiasm for discovery and inspiration. These qualities, to his point, are to be embraced as it is this make-up that sets creativity in motion. This would be absolutely consistent with my own experience not only working with exceptionally creative personalities and designers that I absolutely respect, but also with myself. It takes a different mindset to forage for inspiration and ideas than it does to methodically and consistently move something along. Process is not the mother of invention, after all.
Another great point revealed in the interview is that within any creative enterprise there is always a tension between the work that we are doing and the work that we want or need to be doing. Often, as an enterprise has success and grows there is a implied need to take on work that does not necessarily move the organization forward, but that helps to pay the bills, so to speak. Coudal gets this, and probably has learned a great deal from surfing this tension. In his interview he presents three questions to ask yourself about an opportunity:
Will we make money from this.
Will we be proud of our work.
Will we learn something new along the way.
Three simple, sharp questions that get to the root of value creation and that can focus you on those opportunities for creativity, innovation, and invention. Three simple questions that can focus you on what you should be doing.
A fantastic line from the interview:
“I have a short attention span, but I pay really good attention in those short periods.”
Just came across this animation of the planets that make up our solar system contrasted against some of the larger bodies we know of in the universe. Very similar to one I posted a while back (watch this one as well, it’s worth it), but the one above has a better soundtrack.
These animations are a great reminder of how impossibly small our planet is in the great vastness of the universe.
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