In The Air

Just finished reading this (long) article. It is (mostly) about how putting great minds together is the perfect recipe for getting incredible innovations out in the open (and then straight to the Patent Office :-)).

It also touches on the subject of "multiples", the fact that important discoveries are made almost simultaneously by different people. Sometimes more than two different people. (And there are some great examples mentioned in the article.) Based on that it reaches the conclusion that at least some discoveries are inevitable. If Bell (or was it Gray?) did not invented the telephone then surely someone else would have done it. Therefore:

A scientific genius is not a person who does what no one else can do; he or she is someone who does what it takes many others to do. The genius is not a unique source of insight; he is merely an efficient source of insight.

Which, I guess, it's good news -- it means that I'm not completely lacking any genius; only that there's probably a need for a few thousands of me's to come up with something worthy of genius status. So, there's hope! :-)


ps/ Another quote:

In his living room, Myhrvold has a life-size T. rex skeleton, surrounded by all manner of other dinosaur artifacts.

The one-beer question is: If you let 10 different Roombas running around the above mentioned living room, will any two of them ever collide before running out of power? (I need proof before handing out the prize. :-))

Book Review: A Free Range Childhood

A Free Range Childhood: Self Regulation at Summerhill School, by Matthew Appleton

This book is a first hand account about day to day activities at Summerhill School. The author has been employed by the school as a houseparent for nearly a decade (during the '90s), so he simply narrates from his own experiences. However, he did not attended Summerhill as a student (went through UK's public education system instead).

The book is divided into 10 chapters that cover quite a lot of aspects: the child-oriented culture of the school, the role of the adults, the democratic process by which the governing rules are created, the emotional issues that children are facing, the non-compulsory lessons offered, the food policy, the sexual behaviour of the students, the cultural differences between various children attending the school. Quite a lot of issues specific to the school that I haven't seen covered anywhere else on the Net. (I have not yet read A.S Neill's books, but I plan to.)

I'd think it will be a good read for all those interested in education (and especially those looking for alternatives to the main stream offer).