Unlearning 101

The Test of a First Rate Mind

Two of my favorite writers and thinkers have recently released books. Clay Shirky has written a book entitled Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age in which he persuasively argues, among other things, that the Internet is making us smarter because it is allowing society to produce such knowledge accelerators as Wikipedia at virtually no cost.

On the other hand, Nicholas Carr has just released his book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, in which he outlines his thesis for why the Internet is making us dumber. (In a nutshell, Carr convincingly argues that the Internet distracts us and makes prolonged thought more difficult. In the process, the Internet is literally rewiring our brain.)

Over the weekend, the two men outlined their respective arguments in the Wall Street Journal. (Shirky’s argument can be read here and Carr’s here.)

So who is right? Many people will be swayed by various arguments and place themselves firmly on one side of the debate or the other. In my humble opinion, however, both men are right. The world isn’t black or white, it is black and white as well as various shades of gray—all at the same time.

This can be a difficult concept to grasp but as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “The test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

If you don’t believe this is true, just look at the optical illusion to the right. Does it say “true” or “false” or does it say both at the same time? Once you unlearn certainty and instead learn to embrace ambiguity, you will be one step closer to embracing the future.

Can the Internet Help Us Unlearn?

 "If this is the information age, what are we so well-informed about?" So asks David Gelernter is this excellent essay in Edge entitled, Time to Start Taking the Internet Seriously. 

Rather than rehash Gelernter's entire article, I just want to highlight a few key concepts:

1. To date, the Internet has been about increasing the quantity of information. To get to the next level, it must concern itself with the quality of information.

2. To do this, Gelernter suggests "turning Cyberspace on its side, so that time instead of space is the main axis." As a metaphor, he likens today's websites to a stained-glass window which has many panels leaded together. What the Internet must become is a rushing flow of fresh information that can nurture new ways of thinking.

3. To this end, Gelertner argues the Internet of the future "can help us change our ways of thinking."

4. In order to do this, however, the Internet move from away from it's "culture of nowness." As Gelertner suggests the Internet's ability to focus like a laser on the "now" has a couple of unhealthy implications. First, a focus on "now" prevents many people from learning more about "then." The current Internet is also "a machine for reinforcing our prejudices." Sure, people can use it to find ten different perspectives on a story but, instead, many of us use it to review the same story from ten like-minded people. 

Before Gelernter concludes with an optimistic vision of the Internet (which he says is "The best is yet to be"), he reminds his audience that "We would be fools to doubt our ignorance."

As someone who is focused on unlearning, I think it is wonderful reminder that we must all have some intellectual humility. Or, as John Brockman writes in the introduction to the article, "Many of the people that desperately need to know, don't even know that they don't know."

What don't you know about the Internet of the future and what might you have to unlearn in order to embrace the fullness of its future potential?

Video Killed the Video Star

If a picture is worth a thousand words how much is a picture within a picture worth? That's the question every video provider should be asking itself because, like this famous picture from Pere Borrell del Caso, there is often more to a picture than meets the eye. Earlier today, I came across a new full page ad in the Wall Street Journal from Cisco saying that "Video, the killer app, just got better." It is touting a new telepresence interoperability protocol. What makes "telepresence" so exciting is not simply the ability to communicate with other individuals or groups in real-time; it is the ability to share additional information with them in a deeper, more visual and, ultimately, more meaningful manner. Consider, for example, the case of a doctor communicating with a patient about a rare genetic disease which affects the heart. Instead of simply providing information orally and, perhaps, conferring with another doctor for a second opinion in real-time, the doctor will also be able show her a video of what is happening at the molecular level inside her body; display a 3-D rendering of her heart to explain how the disease is progressing; and provide the patient with a more intuitive and easy-to-understand chart (or graph) showing her the odds of being successfully treated by different treatment options. Humans are visual creatures and, to the extent that video still soon be able to layer additional data on top of -- and into -- video, we will all be better off. The change will, however, require many current video professionals to unlearn what they think they know about video. If they don't, well, let's just that video will kill the video star.

Do the Math Until It Doesn't Add Up

 

“Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is – oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate.” Alice in Wonderland

 

 

Question: Which is greater: 1 or 2? What about 100 or 10,000?

 

The answer is that it depends upon context. As Shel Silverstein reminded his readers in his famous poem “Smart,” context is everything. The poem recounts the story of a young boy who trades one dollar for two quarters because “2 is more than one.” Next, he swaps the two quarters for three dimes because “three is more than two” and then the three dimes for four nickels because “four is more than three.” The poem concludes with the boy trading four nickels for five pennies because, you guessed it, “five is more than four.”

 

It would nice to believe that Silverstein’s poem is just a cute little ditty about a misguided youth. Unfortunately, many otherwise intelligent adults continue to make comparable mistakes every day and it is a habit worth unlearning.

 

Consider the recent push among many people and marketers to get Twitter followers. On its face, it would appear to be better to have 10,000 followers than 100 followers. What matters, though, is not really the number of followers one has but rather their willingness to spread your ideas, thoughts, and opinions.

 

 As Seth Godin reminds us, if you begin with 10,000 followers and have a “tweet” that nets .8 new people per generation – which implies your 10,000 followers will forward it to 8,000 new people who will then pass it along to 6,400 -- the “tweet” has a relatively short shelf-life and the idea will soon die out. If, however, you have 100 loyal followers and create a noteworthy “tweet” which is passed along to a net 1.5 new people, your idea will first reach 150 new people and eventually it will overtake the “tweet” of the person with 10,000 followers after the thirteen generation. (See graph) If your idea is only slightly better – say it has a 1.7 net pass along rate – the effect is even more dramatic. (See the purple line).

 

The point is that it is the idea which matters most and not the raw number of followers. Still many people and organizers obsess over the raw number and miss the much more important point of providing excellent and meaningful content. Why? Because, like the boy in the Silverstein poem, everyone knows “10,000 is more than 100.”

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When Data and Decisions Collide: Unlearning Needs to Result

Fellow blogger and change agent, Seth Godin, has an excellent post today entitled "When data and decisions collide." In it, he recounts numerous examples of people ignoring data because it doesn't line up with their "hunches" -- or what people think they know but "just ain't so."

Godin is pessimistic about the time it will take most people to "get their arms around this avalanche of insight," but he is spot on in his assessment that those who do will have a huge advantage.

Of course, the first thing to do is to simply acknowledge that our hunches may be wrong. This simple, albeit difficult, act is the first step about the path of unlearning. As Godin points it can be the difference between getting into an accident while texting -- or not; saving $80 on a bottle of a wine; or even saving thousands of dollars on your kid's college education.

So there you have it, folks: Unlearning can save your life and save you money! I've got the data to prove it.

To Unlearn: Try Reading the Newspaper Backwards

In my 2008 book, Jump the Curve: 50 Essential Strategies to Help Your Company Stay Ahead of Emerging Technologies, one strategy I encourage people to employ from time to time is that of reading the newspaper backwards. Why? Because it can help you more clearly see where the future is headed. This, in turn, will reinforce why unlearning is so important to your survival.

Yesterday, for example, as I was returning from Dallas where I delivered a keynote presentation on the future of travel and tourism to the Texas Travel Industry Association, I began by reading the marketing section of the Wall Street Journal from back-to-front. Here’s what I noticed. On Page 8, it was revealed that Sarah Palin’s new book won’t be released in an E-book until after Christmas. This is noteworthy for the simple fact that it wouldn’t have been noteworthy as recently as last year. In other words, E-books have now become so popular that when a new book isn’t released in electronic format at the same time as the print version it qualifies as news. It’s clear from this development that e-book sales will only continue to rise at the expense of traditional hardcover books and that the publishing industry must unlearn some of its current assumptions.

On Page B7 there was a similar story, only this one related to the advertising industry: Web Ad Sales in Britain Overtake TV. On Page B6, it was announced that Lemmis Lighting is releasing a 20-year lightbulb. (Imagine this: In the future your kid or grandchild might not be able to change a lightbulb because it is something they only have to do once every two decades!) The broader implication is that both marketers and professionals in the lighting business will soon need to unlearn how they do business.

And then on Page B5 there were two articles of note. First, there was a small article announcing that Princeton University was testing Amazon Kindle’s DX e-book as part of a national pilot program; and, second, there was a larger article explaining that the airline industry is finally getting serious about employing RFID tags to track baggage. Both news stories reinforce the growing prevalence of e-books and RFID technology.

My friends, the future is here. To learn more about it all you need to do is read the back of the newspaper! If you do, I think you'll better understand why we must all continue to unlearn.

P.S. If you keep reading the 9/30/09 edition of the WSJ, on Page 3, there is article explaining why biobutanol might soon replace ethanol as America’s biofuel of choice. (It'd be wonderful if Congress could unlearn its infatuation with ethanol.)

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The World is Changing: Unlearn!

Take a look at the pictures to the right. What's wrong with them? The answer would seem pretty obvious: they are upside down.

But that is wrong. They are only "wrong" from your perspective. From outer space there is no up or down, so the globe can just as correctly be viewed from one perspective as the other. And, regarding the map, had the first explorers been from Chile -- as opposed to Europe -- the first map of the world might have placed South America on the top and North America on the bottom. If so, we might view today's more common map as the one that is "wrong."

Yesterday, I posted a link to this video, which does an excellent job of explaining how fast the world of social media is changing. To understand the speed and pace let me highlight a couple of findings. It took 38 years before 50 million people had a radio. Television reached that milestone in 13 years, and the Internet only 4 years. I don't know the exact figure for Twitter but it is certainly less than four years.

I also liked the twist on the famous quote about Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas no longer "stays there," it also stays on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Digg -- forever.

The world is changing faster than many of would like -- and more than most of us care to admit. To survive, I remain convinced one of the more critical life skills you can possess is an ability to unlearn because the way you might view the world is likely not the only way to see the world.

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This is the latest iteration of famous "Shift Happens" video with a focus on social media. If nothing else, it should serve as a reminder of to all of us why we must constantly unlearn. Enjoy!

Cathy Davidson on Unlearning

Earlier today I came across a tweet from a person (@riverblindmusic) in New Zealand who said that my post the other day (To Unlearn Learn to Disenthrall) was keeping him (or her) awake as he wrote a new song based on the word. At the time, I thought it was just a cool example of how new social media is making random connections. But, after watching this insightful video (posted below) by Cathy Davidson, it got me thinking that my pleasure in the serendipitous connection is actually something much more profound.

As I think about this, I invite you to watch the six-minute video by Ms. Davidson. To tease you fellow unlearners here are two quotes taken from the interview:

"You're in a deep pool and you're not even close to touching the bottom."

"We must go through a huge, massive process of unlearning."

Unlearning Campaigning

Technology Review has an insightful article on the power of social networking entitled "How Obama Really Did It."  What is interesting about the article is that many top leaders within the Hillary Clinton campaign dismissed the power of the Internet and social networking because Howard Dean's 2004 campaign -- which relied heavily on the Internet  - failed. In short, they assumed that because something didn't work the first time that it would never work.

Unlearning requires that people and organizations be cognizant of growing and changing trends. Just because something didn't work yesterday doesn't mean that it won't work tomorrow.