job search notes: the moment of insight

The magic feeling at the moment of insight, when the last piece falls into place, comes for two reasons. The first reason is that it's the reward for many hours (or years) of investment coming together. In comparison to the simple act of fitting the puzzle piece into place, we feel the larger collective payoff of hundreds of pieces of work. The second reason is that innovative work isn't as predictable as jigsaw puzzles, so there's no way to know when the moment of insight will come: it's like a surprise. Like hiking up a strange mountain through cold, heavy fog, you never know how much further you have to go to reach the top. When suddenly the air clears and you're at the summit, it's overwhelming. You hoped it was coming but you couldn't be certain when or if it would happen, and the emotional payoff is hard to match (explaining both why people climb mountains as well as why they invent new things).

Innovation, very much like finding new work.

Do you agree? or disagree?


Quotation from Scott Berkun's The Myths of Innovation

Good quote - Myth of Innovations

Discovering problems actually requires just as much creativity as discovering solutions. There are many ways to look at any problem, and realizing a problem is often the first step toward a creative solution. To paraphrase John Dewey, the creator of the Dewey Decimal System, a properly defined problem is partially solved. And if your particular innovation involves the support of other people, a clearly defined problem helps form bonds and build teams were none existed before. Author John Seeley Brown said, "When we get in the spirit of following a problem to the root, that pursuit of listening to the problem brings multiple disciplines and multiple crafts together. The problem pulls people together.

Bold text is for my emphasis. I finished reading Scott Berkun's book: The Myths of Innovation this week.

The book moves to my recommended listing.

Linux vs. Windows; How do you innovate?

After reading colleague Alexander Wolfe's piece about a Linux distro called "Vixta" that apes the look and feel of Windows Vista, I confess to having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Mostly negative ones.

Here's the big reason I feel as uneasy as I do: it's tantamount to an admission of defeat. The only way Linux can "succeed" is if it looks like Windows. And frankly, isn't there something hypocritical about railing against Microsoft for not innovating and then turning around and mimicking them, right down to the chrome on the user interface?

This comes back to a question many people have asked before. Does Linux have to look like Windows to work? Not "beat Windows at its own game", which if you ask me is a red herring, but work. Granted, the Windows UI is familiar territory for most people with at least some degree of computer use, but that doesn't mean it has to be the be-all and end-all of UI design.

Read the full article by Serdar Yegulalp here.

When the dominant design is Windows, Linux (or any other OS) would need to at least pay some homage to it by being similar enough so that users (who in general do not like change) will feel comfortable enough with the interface/UI to try it. If Linux or any other OS does not provide some step of familiarity, they will not be able to make the next step into the change or unknown.

The author would benefit from reading The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun.