Unlearning 101

Unlearning the Toaster

At first appearances, the idea of a portable toaster may seem absurd and, perhaps, it is. But is there any reason a toaster can't look like the one in the picture to the right?

One of the real benefits of unlearning is that it can help spur creavity and innovation. For example, what if the purpose of the portable toaster is not to allow users to have toast-on-the-go, but instead to help customers remove the bulky toaster from the kitchen counter. Or what if the product is designed for the elderly widow who likes a single piece of toast only once a week? Or what if the device doesn't even end up being used by people to make toast and, instead, is used by urban dwellers who can't easily start a fire but who want to quickly roast a marshmellow to curb their craving for a Smore?

Unlearning Home Construction

One of the things I really enjoy about studying emerging technologies is that the field constantly challenges my thinking and forces me to think differently about the future. To this end, I invite you to read this article on a new “print-a-house” construction technology.

In the near future, it is possible that homes will be built in a few hours using automated fabrication techniques. Among other things, this means that the construction industry will need to “unlearn” its existing construction methods. It also suggests that “affordable” housing could become more than just a political platitude—it could become a political reality.

A Watched Kettle Never Boils -- or Does It?

EcoGeek has an interesting article explaining how advances in nanotechnology can lead to the creation of a kettle that boils faster. The advance is significant not just because it could help consumers and businesses save money and time by bringing water to a boil faster, but because it suggests that a variety of other products—such as solar cells and catalysts—might also become radically more effective.

Of course, before many of these advances can be adopted people will need to unlearn the idea that a “watched pot never boils.”

Chrysler Needs to Unlearn More Than Just Culture

The Wall Street Journal has a less-than-insightful article about new CEO, Bob Nardelli's, efforts to reform the moribund culture at Chrysler. It is, perhaps, unfair to suggest that it is the article which is less-than-insightful. Rather, it might be that it is Nardelli's solutions which are less-than-insightful.

More specifically, Nardelli has to do more than just scream the mantra, "We need to install a mind-set of never being satisfied with 'good enough'." (That was an actually quote from Nardelli from the article.)

If one needs to remind his or her executive leadership team of such a basic idea, God help him. What Nardelli needs to do is go beyond platitudes. He needs to give his leaders concrete examples of how others in the automotive industry are "unlearning" their business in order to gain a competitive advantage.

To do so, I would encourage Nardelli to study BMW's efforts to unlearn; as well as look at how Ford is using nanotechnology and General Motors is applying "smart materials" to rethink many aspects of their next-generation automobiles.

This step alone should be proof that Chrysler can't be satisfied with "good enough," but it should suggest a few other aspects of its business that it might want to unlearn.

BMW Unlearns

The German automaker BMW, in introducing its new "Light Visionary Model" prototype automobile -- which it dubs GINA (Geometry and Functions in "N" Adaption), writes this: "The key to affecting the development of tomorrow's mobility lies in our readiness to challenge what is established and in the ability to present new options." In short, BMW is unlearning.

I encourage you to watch the short video below. If you notice how doors and hoods no longer open so rigidly -- they gently fold and zip open -- and how the lights do open but they "blink" open (much like human eyes), I think you'll agree that the benefits of unlearning could give BMW a very distinct competitive advantage in the near future. I particularly like Chris Bangle's quote at the end of the video: "Context over dogma." Words to live by!

The Unlearning Vortex

Marcel Proust once said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” I was reminded to this quote yesterday after reading John Markoff's insightful article on Pax Scientific -- a company that has applied biomimicry to create new industrial designs for everything from aerospace designs to parts for air conditioners.

What is so interesting about the article is that Pax Scientific has found it difficult to find a market for its product and technology in spite of the fact that it can often demonstrate double-digit increases in product efficiency.

The problem is not the technology, rather it is users inability to unlearn their old ways of doing business. Because they think they "know" what an airplane or air conditioner part should look like, they are unwilling to consider models that do not conform to their pre-conceived ideas. In short, they can't "see" with new eyes.

Those companies, however, that can unlearn the fastest should be able to achieve a competitive advantage in the commercial marketplace. 

Unlearn the Need for Paper

Yesterday, I watched this five-minute video of futurist Patrick Dixon discuss why the future of paper is bright for the foreseeable future. He could very well be correct, but if you watch the video below it is possible to envision a scenario in which the future of paper is not so rosy. As flexible electronic technology continues to get better, it'll be interesting to see if schools, newspapers, traditional media and scores of other businesses (including the paper industry) can unlearn their old ways of doing business and embrace the new opportunities that this technology portends.

The Iceberg Principle

It is common knowledge that only about 20 percent of an iceberg floats above the waterline. Yet, if you are a ship captain, you need to concern yourself with the remaining 80 percent. If you don't, you could end up sharing a fate similar to that of Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic.

This "iceberg principle" does not, however, just apply to the shipping industry. In many scientific and technical fields, information is doubling at an astounding rate -- approximately every seven years. This means that by the year 2015 everything we know today about a field such as biology or physics will represent just half of our future knowledge; and in 14 years time, what we know today will represent a mere 25 percent. This vast assortment of new future knowledge will likely rip apart certain industries and businesses with the same effectiveness of the iceberg that sliced through the Titanic and dropped it to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

If you hope to survive, one thing likely to help you is to unlearn the habit of focusing on that portion of the "iceberg" which is above the waterline and start concerning yourself more with what you don't know today -- but will need to know in the future.