Posts Tagged 'innovation'

Babbage and Turing: Two Paths to Inventing the Computer

Posted on April 29th, 2021 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion, Off-topic

A younger me at the Babbage difference engine built by the Science Museum Success has many fathers, and so it is hardly surprising that there are numerous claimants to the title “inventor of the computer”. These include innovators like Aiken (constructor of the Harvard Mark I, 1944), Zuse (Z1, 1938), Atanasoff and Berry (ABC, 1942), Flowers (Colossus, 1943), and Mauchly and Eckert (ENIAC, 1946). But two men stand out, head and shoulders above all of them: Charles Babbage and Alan Turing. These two Englishmen invented the computer from scratch, but unlike the others, both failed to construct an actual machine.. Read more

Progress and Pig-Headedness in COVID-19 vaccination

Posted on December 29th, 2020 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion, Off-topic

Well, at long last we have a COVID-19 vaccine – many of them, of which two are FDA-approved – and a vaccination drive is underway, just in time for the new year. I just got my first shot! Edward Jenner vaccinating his son. Note the cow outside! Colored engraving by C. Manigaud. [Source] Here I want to share some thoughts and observations about the vaccine situation. Soon after the pandemic became a thing I listed in my newsletter some ways that this pandemic, or rather our war against it, is different from earlier historical ones. One way I noted was.. Read more

How to Hold Magnificent Conferences in the Time of Corona

Posted on July 21st, 2020 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion, Organizational Solutions

In May I went to a large international conference, EcoMotion 2020, devoted to the exciting innovative field of autonomous vehicles and other novel means of transport. There were 3,000 attendees from 54 countries and 211 exhibitors. It was a magnificent event. Welcome speech at the start of the event Of course, in May I couldn’t possibly have gone to a large conference… not with the blasted Coronavirus imposing social distancing and travel bans. In May I stayed at home. And yet I went to EcoMotion 2020, and it most definitely was a magnificent event. The impact of COVID-19 on the.. Read more

Information Overload and Innovation: a Vicious Circle

Posted on September 18th, 2014 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

An unusual lecture subject Yesterday I gave a somewhat unusual invited lecture at the Innovation as Culture conference in Tel Aviv. The lecture was about Information Overload, something I speak about often, but in this case I was asked to consider it from an Innovation point of view. After some thought I realized there were a number of points of congruence between these two subjects: after all, innovation requires thinking, and information overload is a major barrier to deep, focused thought. On the other hand, many solutions to information overload are extremely innovative. That’s two areas to explore already –.. Read more

New Insight Article: How You Can Instill a Culture of Innovation in Your Company

Posted on January 14th, 2014 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

Everybody, you’d think, likes Innovation. What’s not to like? And yet, as I’ve observed repeatedly, many companies pay lip service to innovation, but not that many walk the talk. Even hi-tech companies that thrive on making innovative products may not foster a culture of innovation internally. My latest insight article shares some thoughts and observations derived during my many years as a change agent within a large global enterprise. It discusses some critical success factors, some pitfalls to avoid, and a number of examples of proven techniques for making your company and in particular its workforce more innovation-enabled. Enjoy! [Image:.. Read more

Konrad Zuse, Alan Turing, and the World’s First Computer Startup

Posted on October 18th, 2013 · Posted in Startups

Having a hobby you’re passionate about is important. Having a job you’re passionate about is important. And if you’re lucky, there will be a congruence that allows work and hobby to cross-fertilize each other. My hobby of many years is the study of the history of computing technology (you can see some of my collection on my hobby site), and it’s ended up merging with my work. It enriched a number of my lectures – this one, for instance – by providing an unusual treasure of innovative examples; and it led to engagements as curator and scientific consultant for cool.. Read more

On the Volatility of Startups

Posted on August 25th, 2013 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion, Startups

        To a first approximation, all startups fail. This should never be a deterrent to starting one up. – I wish I could attribute this to some famous name, but hey, it’s all mine… and very true. As I mentioned before, these days I’m writing a white paper I call “Solutions to Information Overload: a Catalogue Raisonné”, being an encyclopedic compilation of every solution I know to Information Overload. Many of these are products from small startup companies, and I’m repeatedly delighted by the originality of thought and the positive energy characterizing these. Less delightful by far is the observation.. Read more

Startup Innovation: an Automatic Presentation Skills Coach!

Posted on June 26th, 2013 · Posted in Startups

Startup innovation knows no bounds Living here in Startup Nation, and having worked with and been around startups for much of my life, you’d think I’d grow used to these little powerhouses of innovation. And yet they always manage to surprise me, with an endless stream of innovative ideas and applications. Perhaps my favorite kind of startup is one that takes existing technology and applies it to make something completely different. Recently I went to the Innovation Day fair of StarTau, Tel Aviv University’s entrepreneurship center, where they teach students to become Entrepreneurs (and Intrapreneurs – I actually lecture there.. Read more

BrainYno: the Ultimate Solution to Information Overload?

Posted on June 5th, 2013 · Posted in Individual Solutions

The holy grail of Information Overload solutions Interruptions are a major component of Information Overload (indeed, they cause more harm than the rightly reviled second component, email overload, as I’d shown here). However, we’ve known for years that not all interruptions are created equal: the damage depends on the context. An unrelated phone call while you’re taking an exam certainly does more harm than one when you’re slouching in front of the TV. Microsoft Research had developed a wonderful application some years ago called Priorities, which looks at every aspect of a knowledge worker’s attentional context to determine whether to.. Read more

Better Place is gone, leaving our world a sadder place

Posted on May 27th, 2013 · Posted in Off-topic

Two years ago I made a hopeful off-topic post here upon sighting a parking lot with charging posts for Better Place’s novel electric vehicle system. I titled in “The future is here!”. Today I made another sighting – I went into a gas station I haven’t been to before, and there was the wondrous structure you see in the photo – a robotic battery swap station for Better Place’s cars. A few dozen of these stations are said to exist around Israel, but this was the first time I saw one. Alas, I was a day too late to rejoice. .. Read more