Dr. Cook's Blog

During the ASCD12 conference in Philadelphia I attended a session with Futurist, Watts Wacker. He began the discussion by saying that he did not come to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He immediately had my attention. Then he began to speak, and I tried my hardest to keep up. Here is the stream of conscious notes I took. In order to develop deeper understanding I took the notes, and separated them into 5 parts. I also worked with a mind-mapping genius to bring the text, and concepts to another level. I hope it hurts your brain like it did mine.

Part 5 of 5

Who would be crazy enough to tell British Petroleum, after one of the most major oil spills in the history of the world that they should partner with Greenpeace? Watts did and now it is Beyond Petroleum.

So you need to think BIG. Explore your curiosity. Why not challenge convention?  How about play? We are players who enjoy having fun. Seriously, when was the last time you had fun?

Think about innovations vs. conception. There are some people who can innovate and there are others who can create. Creatives are not always great conceptualizes and yet, conceptualization can be taught.

Reflect on the concepts of asymmetry, and maximizing your weakness. What is your golden ratio?  How do you live in virtual space?

Why did we stop teaching philosophy in schools? Philosophy helps us understand:

Ethics

Language

Community

Knowledge

If you have a problem to solve, try to use physics. Ask yourself what is leadership? Then ask yourself these questions:

Do you know who you are?

Are you being true to yourself?

Are you setting goals?

Are you developing lasting relationships?

Do you ask for help?

Are you standing up for your beliefs?

Do you help others?

Do you take responsibility for your actions?

Are you looking your best?

Does your head hurt yet?

Missed parts?

Part 1

Part 2  

Part 3

Part 4

Resources:

ASCD 12 Virtual Resources: http://ascd.social27.com/ASCD/ASCD_Home

Watts Wacker’s web site:  www.firstmatter.com

Triz-Journal: http://www.triz-journal.com/

Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

Kony 2012: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012

During the ASCD12 conference in Philadelphia I attended a session with Futurist, Watts Wacker. He began the discussion by saying that he did not come to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He immediately had my attention. Then he began to speak, and I tried my hardest to keep up. Here is the stream of conscious notes I took. In order to develop deeper understanding I took the notes, and separated them into 5 parts. I also worked with a mind-mapping genius to bring the text, and concepts to another level. I hope it hurts your brain like it did mine.

Part 4 of 5

Pintrest Logo

Fortunately, Art is back and it begets design. Take for instance Pintrest. Have an idea about a design? Try Pintrest? How about a bulletin board? A garden? Want to create your own art? Try Pintrest. Then, you can print your creation in 3D. Heard of that? 3D printers are a reality. (see video below)

Is life is too short or is life is too long? We are working diligently on improving everything from our medicine, diet, exercise, and general quality of life. We have the beginning of diet based on blood type. We have exercise routines established for any type of workout you would want to do, or not do?

source peoplejam.com

Remember Maslow? Watts asked this question to the audience, “What is more important to us? The anticipation of the event, and remembrance of the event?”  I can remember being a kid and anticipating an upcoming event. I would think and think about the event. Anticipation. Or I can think back to those special events as a child. Memories.

RM Bacon QR Code

Literacy provides us with the ability to read and write. Now you can read and write your own code, your own apps. Why wait for someone else to do it? We are learning to love to learn. Think about inspiration, what inspires you? You can literally explore whatever inspires you.

source: art.com

Watts uses the Cowboy way. When you are out on the ranch there is no time for euphemism. You need to be direct and succinct and you don’t need no fancy words. He spent time as a cowboy on a ranch helping people. Even though he is a world renown Futurist, people only saw him a Cowboy on a ranch. People will treat you like the role you are. Try to be something, and people will treat you as such. Start today by telling people you are a _______. They will treat you as a ________.

Here is a story on 3-D Printers:

Missed parts?

Part 1

Part 2  

Part 3

Resources:

ASCD 12 Virtual Resources: http://ascd.social27.com/ASCD/ASCD_Home

Watts Wacker’s web site:  www.firstmatter.com

Triz-Journal: http://www.triz-journal.com/

Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

Kony 2012: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012

During the ASCD12 conference in Philadelphia I attended a session with Futurist, Watts Wacker. He began the discussion by saying that he did not come to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He immediately had my attention. Then he began to speak, and I tried my hardest to keep up. Here is the stream of conscious notes I took. In order to develop deeper understanding I took the notes, and separated them into 5 parts. I also worked with a mind-mapping genius to bring the text, and concepts to another level. I hope it hurts your brain like it did mine.

Part 3 of 5

Einstein theories are now laws. We all grew up hearing about the theories of Einstein because at that time that is what they were… theories. Each of those theories, through the scientific process, has been proven.

There is a dichotomy with the Establishment vs. the Movement. For instance, the current President ran on the platform of hope and change as the movement. Once elected, he became the establishment. Listen carefully in the fall as the new election cycle unfolds. The other side will be talking about… change. The lesson is each side needs to respect the other side. Why? Because sooner or later, the position (establishment or movement) will change.

traxarmstrong.com

Game play has changed. Think about what games were like when you were growing up? What is the object of monopoly? Chess? Checkers? Scrabble? To beat your opponent. Have you watched any of the new games in town? Ever watch someone play Call of Duty? The object is to beat the game not each other. Now major gaming is collaborative. Not just collaborative in the sense of the kids in the neighborhood playing together at someone’s house. It is a worldwide collaboration through technology that pairs up anyone who has a system. X-Box will even provide statistics showing who is playing around the world.

So the kids are playing differently, so shouldn’t we provide them with something different in the classroom? There really should be no more lectures in the classroom, it will be (should be) all collaborative. Learners, with an understanding of their role, can work together to solve a problem. Sound familiar?

Missed parts?

Part 1

Part 2  

Resources:

ASCD 12 Virtual Resources: http://ascd.social27.com/ASCD/ASCD_Home

Watts Wacker’s web site:  www.firstmatter.com

Triz-Journal: http://www.triz-journal.com/

Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

Kony 2012: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012

During the ASCD12 conference in Philadelphia I attended a session with Futurist, Watts Wacker. He began the discussion by saying that he did not come to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He immediately had my attention. Then he began to speak, and I tried my hardest to keep up. Here is the stream of conscious notes I took. In order to develop deeper understanding I took the notes, and separated them into 5 parts. I also worked with a mind-mapping genius to bring the text, and concepts to another level. I hope it hurts your brain like it did mine.

Part 2 of 5

There is a Renewal of Thought. With that said, is it a renewal or a merely a shift?

sabotagetimes.com

Although some feel that our votes do not matter, we really can vote against anyone. For instance, Joseph Kony’s reputation was taken down with the help of Social Media. How did it happen? Kony 2012 was a film created by Invisible Children that advocated the capture and persecution of the Ugandan Leader Joseph Kony for the alleged atrocities he has committed against children. The campaign began on March 5, 2012 and the goal was to have him arrested by December of 2012. As the video went viral, the world spoke – over 86 million times.

Google is in everything, and they are ahead of everything. Want an answer to a question? Google it. Want directions, web sites, mail, social media, computers, software, and information? You got it, google. In this age of uncertainty, business is competitive, predatory, symbiotic, and parasitic. Yet the goodness business model exists. All we need is do right to do well.  Did you know Panera bread is experimenting with a pay what you can model? The underlying philosophy is that business is an obligation. For example, Toyota has an obligation to providing the most cost effective automobiles, but that is not their mission. Toyota’s mission is to be your car company for life. Simple as that. In addition, me is now a business model.

careforpa.org

It is clear from the age of information that there lies an opportunity to learn anything you want. You can learn more than your doctor about something. That was almost impossible just 25 years ago. We revered doctors. Now they are a means for us to get our own medical treatment. We all have the ability to develop our own algorithm about whatever we want. Authority is no longer a thing. Been in a classroom lately? The students, with their access to hand held devices (calling them a phone is so last age) that can instantly reveal that the teacher doesn’t know everything.  Uh oh, teachers, embrace that or the students will send you packing! Be your own self authority.

Missed Part 1?

Resources:

ASCD 12 Virtual Resources: http://ascd.social27.com/ASCD/ASCD_Home

Watts Wacker’s web site:  www.firstmatter.com

Triz-Journal: http://www.triz-journal.com/

Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

Kony 2012: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012

Watts Wacker and Spike Cook

During the ASCD12 conference in Philadelphia I attended a session with Futurist, Watts Wacker. He began the discussion by saying that he did not come to answer questions, but rather to ask them. He immediately had my attention. Then he began to speak, and I tried my hardest to keep up. Here is the stream of conscious notes I took. In order to develop deeper understanding I took the notes, and separated them into 5 parts. I also worked with a mind-mapping genius to bring the text, and concepts to another level. I hope it hurts your brain like it did mine.

Part 1 of 5

Guess what happened? While we were all sleeping Big Brother happened! Have you read the book 1984 by George Orwell? Who would have thought that it actually came into being? And we bought it? No, it was not imposed, we chose it, and pay for it month after month. Did you know the city of London tapes everything? There are cameras throughout the entire city.  No matter where you go a camera has its lenses focused on ….You!

We are in the 5^th age as humans. Some people think that we are still in the age of information but according to Watts that has already come and gone.

First, there was the hunter gatherer age. We traveled great distances on foot looking for our food, water, and survival. Then we had the agricultural age. We learned how to plant our food. This lead us into the industrial age where we attempted to maximize our output and products in a way that would keep costs down. Then we did a quantum leap into the information age. Technology boomed during this era, and humans needed to simply understand how this impacted them, but as the technology developed one thing became certain: uncertainty. Which lead us into this new, current age of uncertainty. In this age there is no box. The only thing that is constant is change.

Also, there are 7 generations on the planet at the same time. This has not happened in the history of the world. Is this a good thing? Stay tuned for part 2.

Mind Map for Part 1 (Click to enlarge)

Mind Map Resources

12/21/12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxQsLLOYC7Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Planet Earth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2L2UGZJAM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Big Brother http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJTLL1UjvfU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Resources:

ASCD 12 Virtual Resources: http://ascd.social27.com/ASCD/ASCD_Home

Watts Wacker’s web site:  www.firstmatter.com

Triz-Journal: http://www.triz-journal.com/

Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

Kony 2012: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kony_2012