Big Ideas in Quiet Spaces
In order to write about inspiration, one has to first filter out all the noise from traditional sources and theinternet-o-spherethat is screaming to tell us what we should all be inspired by. So, let me describe that which is not inspiring: Google glasses, anything related to Facebook, SnapChat, Candy Crush, drone deliveriesetc. These “look-at-me” games and toys feed, like a sugar rush,our short-term emotions in a way that is self-indulgent at best and self-destructive at worst. It all might be fun, but it sure ain’t inspiring.
What is inspiring isthat which is truly life altering; even if it’s not my life that is being altered. What is inspiring is the vision of a better, saner future, one that I may not live to see but that my children can embrace and call their own. What is inspiring is freedom from mind traps driven by the fear of “scarcity”and instead anything that reveals hope for many more.
While the US media, the biggest megaphone, is utterly distracted in its efforts to win approval and acceptance from the bubble moneyed new wealth of Silicon Valley, life-changing innovation appears to behappening elsewhere. You are just not hearing about it. Below are truly inspiring innovations, inventions or discoveries and one tribute that you may never have heard of until written in this blog.
LSU cancer research– Chemotherapy has, on average only a 2% success rate. So conventional cancer therapy for the last 30 years, which has enriched everyone’s lives but the patients themselves,has a 98% failure rate. And “success” means extending life for only five more years. Enter an LSU researcher that has found a cocktail of natural ingredients and herbs that kills cancer cells 100% of the time. When I heard one of the herbs was turmeric, I knew it was an ethnic Indian PhD behind the research – Dr. Madwha Raj –because entire communities in rural Indian who consume turmeric regularly are cancer free (and have been for centuries). It is likely you haven’t heard about this because it is non-pharmacological and was not discovered at an Ivy League school.
Australian laser blasts Dementia and Alzheimers – Yet another non-pharmacological approach to a disease that is going to devastate the largest generation of seniors the world has ever seen. Apparently Australian scientists have discovered that non-invasive laser jolts break up the toxic plaques that lead to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Not only might these lasers alleviate the neurological deterioration of diseases like dementia and Alzheimers butthey appear to also restore memory.
Solar water desalinization for the poor – Desalinization, the process of purifying salty water for human consumption, has, until now, been an extremely costly exercise. Italian designer Gabriele Diamanti has created a simple low cost solution that allows households to desalinize water through simple solar power. This allows the poorest households in the world to access clean drinking water using no electricity and creating no waste.
Everlane– An online retailer promising “radical transparency”. They tell you exactly where their clothing is made and exactly the mark up that you are being charged. It could all turn out to be a big lie, but for now I find it inspiring. I hate shopping but I love this idea and I only wish the finance and medical industries were forced to adopt it.
A Tribute:In memory of Douglas Tompkins who had to die for anyone to recall or write about his “selfie-less” efforts in nature conservation.
The greatest innovation and inspiration will continue to happen – as every great student of advertising, business and engineering knows – in the quietest moments and on some of the smallest budgets. While Silicon Valley’s unicorns (you know they don’t exist right?) continue to dazzle with money-losing best of breed distractions, if you are looking for life-improving or life-sustaining innovation you should well expect it from non-conventional heroes and in unexpected places.
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