Exponential Growth and Paper Folding

Here is a very cool (and surprising.... bordering on the unbelievable) video on the power of exponential growth demonstrated through a simple idea: paper folding.

A great example of how to make difficult to comprehend concepts understandable.  Nice work...

 

TftD #5

Thought for the Day:

There are a million parts in this spacecraft and if any part fails, I can be in deep trouble. Of course I am nervous, especially knowing that each one of these parts were procured from the lowest bidder.

-- American Astronaut preparing to blast off when asked by a reporter if he was nervous

TftD #4

Thought for the Day:

THE BANANA AND THE MONKEYS:

1. Hang a banana from a room's ceiling and put some steps underneath so that it is possible to reach the banana. Make sure there is no other way to reach it.

2. Install a system that makes freezing water fall from the ceiling every time a monkey tries to climb the steps.

3. Put twenty monkeys inside the room and lock it.

4. Note how the monkeys quickly learn that it is not possible to climb the steps while avoiding the freezing water.

5. Stop the mechanism and replace one of the twenty monkeys with a new one. Note how he will immediately try to climb the steps and reach the banana. Without understanding why, he will be severely punished by the others.

6. Replace a second monkey with a new one. He will be punished too. The monkey entering the room immediately before him will be the most severe punisher.

7. Go on with this process until new monkeys have replaced all twenty of the original monkeys.

8. Now, none of the monkeys will climb the steps. If any monkey even thinks about it, he will be severely punished by the others. Worst of all, none of the monkeys will have the faintest clue of why they are doing it. 

This is how the culture of an organization is born.

-- Adaptation from "El Pensador Sistémico"

TftD #3

Thought for the Day:

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

-- Emirates commercial

TftD #2

Thought for the Day:

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.

-- Niels Bohr

TftD #1

Thought for the Day:

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

-- Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

The Mobile Wave

From a recent episode of Charlie Rose....

Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy on his book "The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything"

One of the most thought-provoking (and mind-rattling, if accurate) 19 mins I've spent in recent memory.  Stick with it through the slow opening to get to some boggling visions for what lies ahead in the not-so-distant future and the ramifications on life/business.

Reflect on how our grandparent's lives weren't so tremendously different from their parent's lives and then juxtapose that against how radically different things will evolve/change within the current generation's lifetime.  No more "when I was your age..." tales from the past being shared across generations - it'll be tales of "remember when..." stories within a generation.

Hang on tightly... it's going to be a bumpy ride!