"Stories are just as integral to the human experience as design." Daniel Pink "A Whole New Mind" Jonathan Gottschall, author of The Storytelling Animal, says that storytelling is the most powerful way of communicating. Throughout history, storytelling has glued families, tribes and cultures together. Today, storytelling has moved into the business world and several values …
Cloud Lamp – Thinkibility Nibble
Wow, this cloud lamp is spectacular! It produces lighting and thunder. And plays music. Product and furniture designer Richard Clarkson has created a fluffy cloud lamp that looks like a real cloud. Apart from producing lighting and thunder when someone enters the room, it also plays music with visual feedback. We invite our readers to …
Dancing Statistics – Thinkibility Nibble
I very much like this idea - explaining concepts and making them interesting by using unconventional methods. By shifting the medium used to explain statistical concepts, we may enhance our own awareness of concepts such as frequency distribution and make it easier for others to understand the concept. The following blog post is from the blog …
Think Creatively – Thinkibility Boost
The poet John Keats talked about "Negative Capability", a willingness to live with mystery, make peace with ambiguity, and embrace uncertainty. The search for the unknown drove the poet to use imagery and sound effects to write his three famous odes. The video below focuses on creativity in art. The term creativity is often linked …
Too Many Emails – Thinkibility Nibble
Friday - at last you do not have to check all your emails. Or are you going to check them this weekend? In this RSA animate video, David Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer at Microsoft, talks about ways to embrace the full potential of technology while at the same time making sure that we are happier …
Making Thinking Interesting
Often it is stressed that we should be creative and search for alternative choices or possibilities. And seldom the interpretation of a phenomenon itself is subject to creative alternatives. In history, politics and news we follow mostly the elucidation as given by experts, journalists or opinion leaders. In organisations, we make “sense” of what is …
“Let’s Design New Truths” by “Playing with Ideas”
Please welcome a new guest blogger on Thinkibility who will share his exciting story about supporting women, men and young people in Pakistan. Shamir Faraz is a student who is currently doing two masters, one in English and the other in Sociology. He is the CEO of a charity called Hope Welfare Society. Shamir is …
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Life Redefined
In an attempt to live my life as an artist – in contrast to a life long list of to-do-things – I bought a Moleskin Art Journal. According to the introduction, meeting art is a personal experience and a dialogue between art and yourself. . . If to live is an art, then an Art …
Street Thinking
In my Thinkibility Notebook, I note interesting things I notice. I try to develop a habit to spot and reflect upon perceptions and things that catch my attention. A paradise for harvesting interesting ideas is the daily life on the streets. What do you think of a hairdresser's that advertise: “Only today it is possible …
Seth Godin – Creative Mornings
Seth Godin writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting and leadership. He also challenges perceptions and inspires people to change. Change everything! In this talk at Creative Mornings in New York he challenges our perceptions of work. He talks about how people who take responsibility are often given responsibility. Every month …
Thinkibility Idea Pool – How to Use a Math Equation
Some families have a special chair for each family member. Every morning, everyone sees the home from the same perspective. If you are like me, you love to move around and change the perceptive. So furniture that you can change or even a house that is flexible are my kind of ideas. Overall, people’s attitude …
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Shapeshifter
Imagine putting your fingers through the screen. Pulling and pinching the images! A 2D elastic screen that is shape changing. Obake (o-baa-keh) is a Japanese words that means a mythical creature that can shapeshift. The word also means an elastic 2d screen that shapeshifts. The screen was created at MIT Media Lab by Dhairya Dand …
Lying in a Creative Way
What a paradox - we often lie but we value honesty in others. During a week, we tell many lies. Around 11 untruths per week are told by Americans! We tell lies to make a story more interesting, or we may want to avoid conflicts and hurt feelings. Anita Kelly studied the relationship between health …
Hacking – Turning an IKEA Chair into a Bicycle
What do you do when you open a parcel and see an instruction? Do you read the instruction before you try to assemble the parts? Do you try first yourself and only read the instruction after you have failed to assemble the parts? Or do you change the instruction and build something else? Envisioning what …
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Blocking the Left Brain Functions
One of the most fascinating books I ever read was written by Paul Watzlawick, a family therapist, psychologist, communications theorist, and philosopher. In his book The Language of Change he explores the idea that sometimes a completely nonsensical interaction may lead to a very concrete result. He suggests that using language patterns from the left …
Mulitiple Overlapping Ways – MOW
For centuries, we have valued when someone neatly assign labels to new discoveries. We focus on searching for differences and then we may use a new word to describe the function. How is this part of the brain different from this part? How is a new diet different from a previous diet? How are female …
Conceptual Thinking
Many people are not very proficient in Conceptual Thinking. Perhaps because it is nowhere taught. Conceptual Thinking is thinking with the aid of concepts. Some people describe it as the ability to effortlessly walk up and down the ladder of abstraction. A concept is 1. A general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences. …
Innovation – Improving Annoying Things
Does the wire from the iPod or iPhone annoy you? Well, you are not alone. Many everyday things are a little bit annoying. Just annoying enough to make us complain. But often not enough to make us engage in some serious thinking about how to overcome or solve the problem. This is a missed opportunity. …
One Bright Idea
Richard Turee from Kenya found a simple but innovative solution that prevents lions from killing livestock and humans. Richard, whose family lives within the Nairobi National Park boundaries, raises livestock. He grew up more or less hating lions since they are a threat to the livestock. But his views upon lions have changed and by …
Thinking Inside the Box
Thinking inside a box is not easy. We may get inspiration and improve our thinking if we are sitting or walking outside a box (go here to read a blog post). But is that true? Are there boxes that may help us to exercise our creative muscles? Look at the pictures and imagine that you …
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