Monday, April 29, 2019

Fifty-six days in the project #CriticalThinking in 365 concepts

We just finished week eight. Once again, it's the same as saying we are done with week two of course/set two of six weeks each.

More challenges were thrown our way this week. Intentional application of _dynamic process_ to more concepts, connecting even more things together. Lectures and presentations that connect to the concept introduced only at a higher level of analysis and with the readers's own application of built up analytical skill and ability to interconnect concepts and to recognize the connections and application, as well as further need for analysis beyond what the mere 1300 characters introduce and the lecture or presentation suggest.

Let's review the week:

49. bis. Bonus from end of week seven:
Turn (tables, argument, around, things up-side-down, things in your favor etc.)

50. Accurate v. Reliable

51. Pioneer
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6526791455149735936

52. Dynamic process

53. Play, Love, Do.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6527533413103124480

54. Journey

55. Accepting

56. Weakness

As always, let's think about everything we've seen. And more. Ask questions. Start answering them. Run some of the answers by each other, to see where they're going, and to certainly use more than one mind or pair of eyes to drive our dynamic process on the knowledge chasing journey we're on.

Week nine--my second most favorite number (first is obviously twenty-seven)--starts now.

Enjoy.

Adrian S. Petrescu, J.D., Ph.D.

ASPetrescu@InnovationTrek.org (office)

ASPetrescu@alumni.pitt.edu (private)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aspetrescu 

"I have learned the novice can often see things that the expert overlooks. All that is necessary is to not be afraid of making mistakes or appearing naive." Abraham Maslow (1908-70) 
"My country is the world and my religion is to do good." (Thomas Paine, 1736-7, 1809)
"Cogito, ergo sum" (Rene Descartes, 1596-1650) 
"Who is John Galt?"

Monday, April 22, 2019

Forty-nine days in the project #CriticalThinking in 365 concepts

We just finished week seven. That's the same as week one of set/course two. 

It goes without saying that you must have noticed the change of pace and depth. In just one new set of seven concepts we impose connecting them all together and asking and answering deeper and deeper questions, and we force the mind to travel on new pathways that it learns to create with some, or all, that we've introduced so far. We ask that we get into habit new processes that may be trained to become complex. Drawing a system's map? We can only get better and better at doing that by way of using and improving the process over and over again in all we do. The processes and techniques are all supposed to let the mind fly freely in new directions where over time and habit it will let it fully free of anchors, biases and constraints and ready to ask and answer more and more challenging questions on its own. We also continued introducing readings of major consequence. We invite everyone to take in the authors and streams of work and follow them thoroughly further, much beyond merely the readings introduced herein. 

Let's recap what we looked at this last week:

43. Ignorance

44. Time

45. Balance

46. Draw

47. Perspective 

48. Satisfaction 

49. Addiction

We made a lot of progress last week. The arguments we reached take some (including ourselves) decades to realize on their (our) own. 

Look back with your knowledge of today, with these seven times seven days under your belt. How do decisions made before now look with the acquired new abilities of better thinking and seeing things deeper that you built?

What other connections can you make that we could not see before?

As always, answers are always free _for the asking_!;) Ask away. 

Adrian S. Petrescu, Ph.D., J.D.
InnovationTrek

Monday, April 15, 2019

Forty-two days in the project #CriticalThinking in 365 concepts

We finished week six. If this were a University and if it were a graduate course where you had engaged daily, and seriously, with the material by now you could have earned three accelerated graduate credit hours. A foundation course for many good things to come. 

Did you engage daily? Did you dig all the concepts? Combined them all together in new ways every week? Researched more sources? Answered all the questions? Asked in return as many questions as you had?

It's not too late. Every minute of every day that you spend not pursuing your fullest potential to contribute to humankind's progress ahead is a minute or even a day wasted. Think about it. All your happiness is in nobody else's hands but your own. Do something serious about it!

Let's see the last seven concepts we introduced:

36. Integrate

37. Impact

38. "Why not?"

39. Accurate measures of performance 
(conscious avoidance or reduction of Dunning-Kruger effect)

40. Commitment 

41. Beyond

42. Precautionary principle 

If you did all the things we asked and you enjoyed it, congratulations. Another set of six weeks starts now. Either way, enjoy the ride. 

Ah, one more thing. 

Next time your house is in fire, and the firefighters come, "just say no!" It turns out firefighters, a Benjamin Franklin invention, are just socialist! Like public libraries. Or are they?;)

Adrian S. Petrescu, Ph.D., J.D.
InnovationTrek

Monday, April 8, 2019

Thirty-five days in the project #CriticalThinking in 365 concepts

We finished week five. By now we have 35 concepts to go through and combine between them and expand upon. The concepts we brought to everyone's attention range as broadly as from living vicariously to a contract with nature and from compliance, self-trust and frame of reference to measuring, robust design and flows.

This last week we added a lot, yet again:

29. Systemic Thinking 

30. Solution Seek

31. Friendly Fire

32. Personal Simultaneity Coefficient 

33. Coalition 

34. Flow

35. Natural Contract 

With these thirty-five concepts alone, when carefully addressed and understood, and when the learnings from utilizing them daily in our thinking and actions are driving our strategic views in life and business, we can already make a great difference in all we analyze, plan, implement, and help achieve. Play with the concepts. Dig deeper. Take everything for a spin. Ask questions if you have them. We'll be more than happy to engage and help with any and all ideas you may have.

Best of enjoyment,
Adrian 

Adrian S. Petrescu, Ph.D., J.D.
InnovationTrek

Monday, April 1, 2019

Twenty-eight days in the project #CriticalThinking in 365 concepts

We finished week four. Only forty-eight more to go.;)

Starting March 4, 2019 we work on a small project named Critical Thinking in 365 words, or better yet, in 365 concepts.

When I was only three years and a half my parents chose to give me to German kindergarten. Here in Nebraska parents fought to the US Supreme Court to teach their children German and they won in 1923. For a brief of Meyer v Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, see here:


We saw that at the end of first week. The same story represents today something else though:

the _opportunity cost_ of not learning piano instead. 

I still barely play piano. My German has been somewhat rusty for a while now, replaced at the top of the list of languages in use other than English by Spanish a while back and by French more recently. Yet, I would not have it any other way. German was instrumental in getting accepted to diplomatic school and jobs (and ultimately coming to the US twenty seven years ago this month) which I would not have had a chance at otherwise. 

As we said already: critical thinking is like learning a language. It's also like learning a musical instrument. You practice every day. Once you like it you do it for fun every day. 

Question for the week: what happened in 1823 that changed the world forever for the most prejudiced against from among us here in these United States, and we still haven't fixed it yet in a significant way no matter how much (or how little!) it's been tried? Hint: it's all about property rights. 

Think. So we might as well think well. Best of enjoyment!

In the fourth week we included:

22. Equilibrium 

23. Inspiration 

24. Measure 

25. Robust design 

26. Feedback loop

27. False negative 

28. Opportunity cost

As we wrote before, it's never only the concepts. It's everything: order in which they are introduced, questions posed and questions left out, but especially playing with the concepts as if they were new skills when learning piano or guitar. Use a few from before to play with the new ones. See where all goes anew. Try them out. Don't be shy. Tell us what you found or how and why you feel we're in error. 

Engage!;)
(JLP)

Adrian S. Petrescu, Ph.D., J.D.
Chief Future Architect, InnovationTrek
We got here. What's next?
Accelerate Innovation. 
In companies and self.
Grow flow. Naturally.