Xerox PARC alum, John Seely Brown, teeters on the edge of sounding somewhat curmudgeonly towards the end of this video, when he bemoans the idea that technology keeps us “above the situation as opposed to in the situation.” Mainly because this rather contradicts his earlier description of the magical world of learning that modern technology can provide. Then again, it’s perfectly reasonable to sound a note of caution amid the techno-optimism. And Seely Brown’s point that in retaining a sense of curiosity, we can see change as an opportunity to learn, not a reason to panic, is well taken.
Stories, moments, people and ideas of interest from within the worlds of innovation and design, spotted and written about by Helen Walters, writer and researcher at Doblin, a member of Monitor Group. Attitude, errors and opinions all the writer's own.
Ask me anything
July 19, 2011
July 12, 2011
"What would it mean to design the systems we work in to continually evolve our ability to experience more and more flow, especially the flow of people and ideas?"
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John Hagel and John Seely Brown tackle the issue of the design—in the broadest sense of the term—of the workplace in The New Office on The Economist. Smart stuff.
(Story via Irene Au.)
May 15, 2011
"The command and control methods used to achieve scalable efficiency for the industrial era don’t work well for a world of constant change where predictability has been lost to the wind, and innovation and imagination are now the coin of the realm."
— This quote comes from the kickass speech given by legendary technologist John Seely Brown as the commencement speech at the Illinois Institute of Technology, including a lyrical and funny account of how becoming a bookie helped him to realize he had to match his hardcore quant math skills with equally sophisticated ways for evaluating context and people. Designers will relate to this. Everyone should respond to Seely Brown’s call to action: “embrace change as an adventure.”
