If You've Never Thought of It Like That

Following a question about the practicality of their work work yesterday, Creative Capital artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg dryly remarked that "I have been contacted by many police departments." Another artist, Jeffrey Gibson, was simply suspicious of the idea. "We live an overachieving culture," which diminishes free thinking. "I’m not looking to make an impact,” he said.

IdeaFestival founder Kris Kimel picked up that thread shortly thereafter saying that the subject of impact or of practicality was something he often addressed as founder and evangelist-in-chief of the festival. But surprise, like creative outcomes, can't be scheduled. So his response to that question, he said, was simply this:

I have no idea what you'll get out of it. That's the POINT.

The image above, by the way, comes from our Instagram feed. You should really have a look at it.

Stay curious™

Wayne

"Nonsense," Isn't

Image of Jamie Holmes, Geoff Oliver Bugbee

How long do you live in the question?

Since we take curiosity seriously around here, I thought I'd just turn over this blog post to the listeners of Jamie Holmes' talk on "Nonsense," which highlighted how crucial ambiguity is to human flourishing. Mystery and contradiction are indispensable to the arts, of course, but also to the sciences which often begin with a hunch, a model, a thought experiment.

To our loyal readers and fans - THANK you!

Stay curious™

Wayne

Leonardo da Vinci Attends IdeaFestival 2016

If you haven't had a chance to look, do yourself a favor and check out the IdeaFestival's Instagram feed @ideafestival.

Stay curious™

Wayne

Lies and Perception

How to Use Virtual Reality

Photo credit: Chris Schoonover

No one can for certain know how big or how pervasive virtual reality is going to become. It has all the hallmarks of a breakthrough technology in its earliest stages. The instant worldwide explosion of Pokemon Go this summer suggests a hearty appetite for instant/augmented reality, and some analysts have predicted that the augmented/virtual reality market could hit $150 billion by 2020.

To date most of the business applications of VR have come large technology and media companies. Increasingly, however, small- and medium-sized companies are finding creative, cost-effective ways to adapt VR to enhance their business.

Among the industries where VR technology is making a difference are ticket vendors (customers can get a much richer sense of what they will be able to see from which seats); real estate (would-be buyers can tour properties before ever visiting them); and education (college tours without the plane ticket).

At Inc. we try to help businesses figure out whether and how to adapt new technologies, and we recently published this guide of what to expect when you’re implementing VR.

Jim Ledbetter

Editor's note: Inc. is the National Lead Media Partner of the IdeaFestival. Inc. Editor Jim Ledbetter will lead a discussion at the festival on "Does Doing Good Mean Doing Better?" Don't miss it!