Unlearning 101

Technology Will Become More Human

For too long, technologists have forced all sorts of technical gadgets upon people. The result is that humans have had to adapt to technology. There is, however, a huge shift going on in the design industry -- technology is now becoming more human. To better understand this idea, watch this 4-minute video about the shape-shifting mobile phone of the future:

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 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 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:

Unlearning the Computer Interface

Microsoft has developed a cool new interface that allows consumers to control images on the front of the device (or phone) from the back. As devices get ever smaller, this seems like a natural evolution of where interface technology is headed. Will other device manufacturers be able to unlearn the current paradigm?

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:

Unlearning the Past

Sometimes it is hard to forget how much change we have experienced in the recent past. To better help illustrate the point, I’d like to show you two photos. The top photo is from the 1991 hit movie, Pretty Woman. To demonstrate that Richard Gere’s character was a super successful businessman they showed him using a then state-of-the-art technology which was beyond the realm of the average person: the cellphone.

Fast forward to 2008. On the cover of this past Friday’s Wall Street Journal was a photo of an unemployment line in Spain. What was fascinating was that three of the people standing in line were using their cellphones. (Note: The photo to the right is not the photo that was published in the paper.)

My point is this: Technological progress has a way of taking yesterday’s elitist and expensive technology and converting it into a commodity-like necessity for the next generation.

In the next ten years what expensive technologies do you think will become inexpensive? Some of my predictions include: flexible solar cells; rapid prototype manufacturing machines, “Kindle"-like electronic books, and medical diagnostic technology.

Unlearning Bubbles

The Internet, the real estate market, fuel cell technology, nanotechnology and, now, "clean tech" have all experienced an investing "bubble." In retrospect, it is easy to point to signs that the market was inflating to dangerous levels. It is even easier to suggest that such bubbles are a bad thing -- precisely because so many investors got burned and lost a great a deal of money.

Bob Metcalfe, an early and successful Internet entrepreneur, see bubbles differently. He sees bubbles as a good thing. Here's his quote: "From Internet history, we know that bubbles are normal. Bubbles are an accelerator of technology progress. Bubbles go against the status quo. We should encourage bubbles."

I suspect that such statements are much easier to make when you're already a billionaire; as opposed, say, to someone to just lost a large amount of money in the stock market. Nevertheless, there is a certain logic to his argument and we may want not to dismiss all bubbles as cases of irrational investors getting sucked up by the winds of "irrational exuberance." Instead we want to view them as "technology accelerators." (This might not ease the financial pain of those who lost money in the bubble, but it might at least make them feel a little bit better about themselves.)

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Last week, a colleague of mine at Future Blogger, Alvis Brigis, suggested that the coming reign of online video broadcasting as the "most ubiquitous and accessible form of communication" may be short-lived. In its stead, he suggested that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) may replaced it.

To many people the idea of brain-to-computer or even brain-to-brain communication might seem a little "out there." I disagree and think that Alvis is on the right track. As evidence, I submit this recent article on the U.S. Army's plans to invest in a "Thought Helmut" for voiceless communication. And lest anyone think that voiceless communication is some far-off, fuzzy, futuristic technology just check out this amazing video demonstrating an early prototype of "voiceless communication."

Until I can read your thoughts directly, I'd be interested in reading your reactions to this possibility and how you think it may necessitate that we unlearn some things -- such as, perhaps, how we communicate in the future.