The late Isaac Asimov once observed that “the most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ..”that’s funny“
..how often do you look at the world curiously and ask
WHAT IF…
WHY DO THEY..
SURELY WE COULD..
wow, WHAT’S THAT..
Interrogate reality; and don’t trust your perceptions, they’re prone to error, and the great swell of humanity seeing things the same way doesn’t make it true [the Earth's flatness is one of the best examples of tenacious mind-bending wrongness].
Experiment! o’citizen scientist. (If only using your imagination as the lab with a gedankenexperiment as Einstein did).
“Great Questions lead to Great Quests”
(inspired by the legendary quizzmaster of all-time, the facilitor genius, Socrates)
We develop better taste in problems when we command our curiosity toward higher resolution questions. Clunky, blurry, cluttered, complex questions elicit the same in their responses. Junk in; junk out principle.
Some of the best questions are the simplest. For those who enjoy the gladiatorial frenzy* of a good question lobbed into a ring of fine minds, the Edge.org Annual Question is good spectator sport and handy social currency to appropriate for dinner parties.
All matter is just raw material waiting to be interpreted.
Peer in deeply and innocent of assumption when you chance on something that tugs your curiosity. We haven’t barely reached the edges of what’s certain. Ask any working scientist who must crush what they believed true yesterday under today’s weight of evidence.
It’s our filters – inherited and self-defined – that tweak the quality of the reality we get to see, the game we get to play.
* ah one can but dream of such nerdy pursuits, the result is thrilling but perhaps it’s more in the fashion of well-mannered jousting, with light sabers, no limbs sacrificed en route but perhaps some synapses singed. Good fun.
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13 comments
Dave says:
Oct 19, 2006
…tru dat. Reminds me of that Isaac Newton quote where he says he feels like his whole scientific career was like that of kid finding shells on the beach (or something like that).
“that’s funny” also shows a lightheartedness… which I think is an essential element too. I never did meet a genius without a cracker sense of humour!
Carly says:
Oct 20, 2006
Hey Max – I can’t seem to log onto gbclubland.com to check it out. No exams for me in fact – and I’m always keen for a Cape-Town trip!
realist says:
Oct 20, 2006
Totally digging your “What makes a Genius” series. Testament to that fact is that I’m printing them out and I HATE PAPER!!! lol Anyway, can’t wait for the next instalment. :)
Maximillian Kaizen says:
Oct 21, 2006
dammit Carly :-? was def up b4 I mailed.. now it’s vapourised (swak – must be an IO problem I messed up on that one – the BIIIG party is in FEB, with a smaller but tight1 with James Lavelle in 2weeks time)
… BUT the mate who’s throwing the party has a kicker site – lovecapetown.com (ex Microsofter who regained sanity & come back to SA). I’ll give you G’towners the heads up on legendary events going down as summer warms C’Town into action :)
Maximillian Kaizen says:
Oct 21, 2006
Realist – thank you indeed – given that I have respect enough for your blog that it initiated a link immediately.
Give a holler if you’re heading to Cape Town & meet some of the beings who embody these qualities!
Andrew says:
Oct 23, 2006
In your perennial hunt for Genius, you might also want to have a look at the Expert Performance Movement and some of the conclusions that their work is reaching towards.
Useful interpretations and information aggregation from the wonderful Freakonomics duo: original article and their commentary. Check out the bar of links on the left hand side of the page for some fascinating academic papers on the subject. I personally found that the most pertinent of them was the "The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance" whose conclusions are particularly intimidating.
Henk Kleynhans says:
Oct 24, 2006
Hi Maximillian! Did you take the photo of the ‘curious little girl’? I LOVE that photo!
Maximillian Kaizen says:
Oct 27, 2006
Henk! what a delight to see you at Gainsbourg .. so stoked to have met you. aaargh for me – my links were broken – if you click on the pics now they go home to their lensmasters. I love it too :)
realist says:
Oct 27, 2006
Hey Max,
Wow, thanks ? added you too! (not out of reciprocity ? I just happen to dig the content of your blog)
Most certainly will ? Methinks it?ll only be next Feb (for the Design Indaba)
You have an email addy?
Naulene Evans says:
Nov 10, 2006
Hi there!
Just to give you a bit of the Goddess Tarot (c. Jaques Theron) card I pulled today, it coincides beautifully with your site which I read today (for the first time, but I rememeber your wonderful work clearly at the Gallery Royalene a few years ago)
DAIMON – Higher Self -GENIUS
‘The potential and truth of every mortal expressed as a Spirit Double’
Genius (Genii) – the Roman concept of the inborn power of individuals, localities and corporations (societies, colleges, cities). The Genius kept the charge of the person or thing alive. The personal Genius is an internal force generating optimism. Oaths were sworn of the Genius of Self or others.
‘Indulgere genio’ (surrendering to one’s Genius) applied to every act of yielding to personal taste – and in particular over-indulgence
The interpretation of this card:
-Listen to inner promptings as opposed to external limiting factors. Indulge what you WANT to do as opposed to following obligations.
Well, how about that for timeously interesting? I have great faith in the unfolding, keep up the good work. Lader dada, naulene ;)
Robert says:
Feb 15, 2007
I am a flagrant slut for adventure.
Me? I just freaked out some neurons, fritzed some nerve-ends, buggered up a valve, connected the word curioity to the dots and breadcrumbs laid down by others followed the trail, had some excitement on the way, picked up clues and hints for offtrail excursions, then on my wanderings in blogosphere, I bumped into a beautiful lady called Max.
What Max is doing here is wonderful. It’s remarkable and worthy of continued expansion. It is outrageous too. And we need to encourage talented people to be outrageous, remarkable and wonderful lest they stall, stumble and slip into mediocrity.
Max, please keep building this site. Add to it bit by glorious bit until is becomes a haven for those who want to join an adventure with a truly free spirit. You.
Kirsten says:
Apr 7, 2008
Hey Max! This is a great series – insightful and inspiring. Glad I came to look. Ciao, Kirsten
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