Unlearning 101

Rules? What Stinkin' Rules

I really like the photo to the right. I have no idea if it's real or if it's photoshopped but it makes a powerful point: What good are rules if they can't be enforced.

I was reminded of this point yesterday after Wikileaks released the Afghanistan War Logs. As the following quote from this post in PressThink eludes, the rules for reporting -- or not reporting -- state secrets have changed. 

"In media history up to now, the press is free to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the laws of a given nation protect it. But Wikileaks is able to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the logic of the Internet permits it. This is new."

This is new. It is time for the media, politicians and the public to unlearn their old rules.

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.

The News Industry Must Unlearn -- Now!

This past summer, on my other blog , I posted this article: To Survive the Future, the Publishing Industry Must Unlearn the Past . Today, I came across this excellent post on the "future of news" from David Martin. I strongly encourage you to read it and here are two excellent quotes from the article which I hope will whet your appetite:

"Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma? At the top." -- Gary Hamel

"When it becomes necessary to develop a new perception of things, a new internal model of reality, the problem is never to get new ideas in, the problem is to get old ideas out. Every mind is filled with old furniture. It is familiar. It is comfortable. We hate to throw it out." -- Dee Hock

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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The Time to Unlearn is Now!

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."

Unlearn Experience: Cultivate a Beginner's Mind

Thomas Huxley once encouraged people to: "Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.” I really like this quote because we can all benefit a great deal from "thinking like a child.”

A correlary to this is the idea that “inexperience” is not always a negative characteristic. This is especially true if people’s experience precludes them from understanding how the accelerating pace of technological change might change their future in ways which are completely unexpected or maybe even foreign to them. To this end, I highly recommend this article, entitled "Judgment Trumps Experience,” which appeared in the Wall Street Journal a few months back. One sentence in particular stands out for me. It reads: "And often, especially in today’s dizzying world, we need to understand what Zen Buddists call the ‘beginner’s mind,’ which recognizes the value of fresh insight unfettered by experience.”

It’s a wonderful quote and in today’s “dizzying world” it is more appropriate than ever. Now, if you want to take this message to heart and become what I call an exponential executive, the question you must then ask yourself is this: What are you doing to cultivate your own “beginner’s mind”?

Unlearn the Cellphone

Technology Review has a good article on the extraordinary advances now being made in the field of flexible (and stretchable) electronics. It can sometimes be difficult to imagine both how these advances might lead to new products in the near future and why some product designers and engineers will need to unlearn many of their ideas of what a cellphone should do and look like. But rather than lecture you about the possibilities, the fine folks at Nokia have produced a video which conceptualizes some of the possibilities. Enjoy and keep your mind open to unlearning:

The Future Requires Unlearning

Recently, I participated in the first-ever Ignite Minneapolis event. The format stipulates that you can discuss any topic you want but you must use 20 slides and you have exactly 5 minutes to make your case. Below is my presentation on why I believe unlearning will be just as—if not more important—than learning in the 21st century. (I apologize in advance for my swearing but when you have to capture the attention of 500 (often intoxicated) 20-30 year-olds who are Twittering during your presentation, sometimes drastic action is required.)

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New Voice Recognition Technology Mandates Unlearning

Late yesterday, Google released a very cool new mobile application which employs voice recognition technology. The question is not so much what the technology can do today, the question is what will the technology be able to do in the near future—and how might it require professionals in the education, health care, and a host of other businesses to unlearn?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this technology could unfold and how it might alter people’s behavior. Below are my initial thoughts from my other website: www.jumpthecurve.net: