How do you express the concept of Horizontal Gene Transfer in a way most people could understand and also see where it could be useful? In fact I have several related concepts and questions I think I can express in one idea: Is  horizontal gene transfer natures software update? Can viruses can do good? Can programming teach you about biology? Is biology …
It’s not about the talent, it’s about the opportunity
In the article  Legacy of son’s success motivation for Judy Murray Judy points out that despite her sons incredible success Scotland has yet to take advantage of the major opportunity this presents. Building the sport in Scotland and improving the nations health and life opportunities as a result. She says: I want to help inspire another generation of kids, I want …
What made the Wright brothers successful
I needed a little inspiration in the challenges of being an entrepreneur and inventor. I just checked out the Wright Brothers because at the time they pioneered human flight there were hundreds of others trying to do just the same. I wanted to understand how long it took them. What kinds of things they did. How much detail they went into and …
Born after 1960? Then you’re probably poorer than your parents
The guardian reported that if you Born after 1960? Then you’re probably poorer than your parents. It’s certainly something I’m noticing so I felt the need to keep this for future reference. I feel that over the decades we are feeling the natural effects of falling from the heights of the late 19th and early 20th Century when the UK was …
Learning is Innate: How the changing world can help you adapt better
My view is that learning is innate and the changing world can improve education. What this means for competition is exciting. I see ways to vastly improve the process of understanding your opponent even before you have met them. Moving competition to a whole new realm. I’ll introduce my ideas for an ideal education experience later. Here I just wanted …
Do GCSEs favour women?
You know. I never really thought about it that much. I first came across this notion during my A levels studying education as part of sociology. Since, at the time, women and girls had had such a long time being the second class citizens of education and work it didn’t really bother me. I did notice that in all the …
Education: New Rules
Lifelong learning is a topic close to my heart. I’m very frustrated that mainstream education is only provided for the young rather than for every age. That was appropriate in the last century. Not this. It supports a culture where if you don’t take your opportunities when you’re young then you miss out. So I’m interested in the discussion I …
A message for life
My philosophy is that ‘The way you think defines what you achieve‘. By that I mean that your philosophy determines the decisions you make to any given situation and thus the outcomes you can expect. It is through these decisions that you define the life and accomplishments that you end up with. Of course there are other factors but I …
Hypertension, sodium and activity. Any relation?
So, something just struck me. No… nothing physically hit me đŸ™‚ I just heard something about blood pressure that linked a bunch of information into one. I’m not sure if this is a new insight so I’m logging it here for future reference. The first thing was reading that increased potassium in the diet is associated with a lowering in …
Adapt: Is there evolution in business?
For me the answer is a definitive yes. The more I apply evolutionary principles in thinking about business the more I see it fits and the more I feel I understand business. It’s why I like capitalism. It’s a very harsh approach, which I don’t like, but then is’n’t natural selection. Natural selection is about competing for energy and essential …
Learning on demand (LOD)
Following on from a previous article on 21st century learning I feel we’re moving to an area where learning on demand will be as normal as Video on demand (VOD). I see the emergence of 24-7 tutorials and motuto as early attempts at this. I can’t vouch for the quality and economic viability yet but I do see that the learning market is biased towards young …
A vision for 21st century learning
So I had a vision over Christmas of the kind of learning and teaching I’ve always wanted. As I wrote it down I became more and more convinced that this is possible right now. It also pulls together my passion for understanding human excellence with my experience in taking ideas to deliverables. It’s still very much a work in progress but I’m …
Can amazing abilities be taught?
I’ve been talking for a while how everything we see other people achieving we could actually achieve ourselves. We just need to learn to bring it out of us. A couple of weeks ago I ate at a restaurant and the waitress showed exactly what I’m talking about. There were four of us and we had a lot to order. …
Neural Darwinism: is this how we learn?
I’m excited to have just discovered Neural Darwinism through an interview with Gerald Edelman on all in the mind. The idea that our brain constantly adapts to our environment using the same evolutionary principles described by Darwin is what I’ve been coming to believe. It’s clear that we create and remove connections every day during sleep and that our brains are constantly evolving from the …
The only true disability is a crushed spirit
Watching Aimee Mullims ted talk title “The opportunity of adversity” is just fascinating. She makes such a beautiful case for the strengths and values people gain from disability it becomes very clear that the adversity that may entail generally adds far more to us than it takes away.
My first tennis matchplay
So I played my first matchplay today down at Sutton tennis academy. Thought I’d record it here for reference later. I’d been playing badly all week so I wasn’t very confident going in. My shots lacked rhythmn and my serve was a nightmare. I kept double faulting. The week before I had been playing so well and I was really …
Seth Priebatsch: The game layer on top of the world – Seth Priebatsch (2010)
Just like mobile and social have come along and are now here to stay. I strongly believe that games and gaming styles are coming in the next few years. Here’s a great talk explaining why. Seth Priebatsch: The game layer on top of the world – Seth Priebatsch (2010): “By now, we’re used to letting Facebook and Twitter capture our …
An ideal education: My thoughts
It’s very much a time to look at existing ways of doing things and reinvent them with all our new knowledge, tools and skills. The essence of education is, I feel, a service that changes the way you think. As you become more educated you see the world differently than before, your mind is opened. You can do things and …
How Social Gaming is Improving Education
I just had to link to this article. It’s where I think education is going in the near future.
On the origin of life: An energy cycle
I’ve had this idea floating in my head for weeks now. So I’m finally getting round to putting down into words. I’m excited to finally express it but I hope I do it justice. Here goes. We’re all aware of the theory of evolution. It makes perfect sense to me how pressure for resources has lead to so much diversity in …