Choice Book, A Whole New Mind, 2 of 3

Design: 

Quote: "The democratization of design has altered the competative logic of businesses.  Companies traditionally have competed on price of quality, or some combination of the two.  But today decent quality and reasonable price have become meraly table stakes in the business game- the entry ticket for being allowed into the marketplace.  Once companies satisfy those requirements, they are left to compete less on functional or financial qualities and more in ineffable qualities wuch as whimsy, beauty, and meaning." (Pink, 2013)  This quote sums up not only this particular chapter, but, I think, a major portion of Daniel Pinks argument.  Business needs to re-allign its functional model in order to compete in the US marketplace.

Question: This may be more of an overarching question for the whole book, but I just thought of it during this chapter.  Daniel Pink discusses our quest for meaning in the first part of the book, how much of our actions now to stay relevant are merely stretching for meaning?

Connection: I like the section about the CHAD school.  I want to incroporate an idea discussed about the Roman aqeduct.  I think it would be fun to use google maps to study the topography of an area of the Roman Empire and have students design an aqueduct in that particular region.

Epiphany/Aha: My Aha moment comes on the tails of another quote. "Some pundits might write off these fevelopments as mass manipulation by wily marketers or further proof that well-off Westerners are mesmerized by style over substance.  But that view misreads economic reality and human aspiration.  Ponder that humble toaster.  The typical person uses a toaster at most 15 minutes per day.  The remaining 1,415 minutes of the day the toaster is on display.  In other words, 1% of the toasters time is devoted to utility, while 99% is devoted to significance.  Why shouldn't it be beautiful, especially when you can buy a good-looking one for less than $40?  Ralph Waldo Emerson said that if you built a better mousetrap, the world would beat a path to your door.  But in an age of abundance, nobody will come knocking unless your better mousetrap also appeals to the right side of the brain."  This shows why we moved to the Common Core.  We can no longer merely do the work required.  We need to learn to think critically in order to adapt and think differently about our place in the global community.


Story:
Quote: (Although businesspeople are often suspicious of stories... the fact is that statistics are use to tell lies and damned lies, while accounting reports are often BS in a ball gown... If a businessperson understands that his or her own mind naturally wants to frame experience in a story the key to moving the audience is not to resist this impulse but to embrace it." (Pink, 2013)  I chose this quote because it is familiar to me.  I used to work for a car rental company, writing tickets and selling the supplemental insurance.  When I would try to use logic to sell car rental insurance, it didn't work.  I couldn't sell a bloody thing.  However, once I switched to telling a story working on the emotional appeal, I started selling like no other.  I had one of the top sales numbers in my area, all because I told stories instead of accident statistics.

Question: To be honest, I enjoyed this chapter so much and agreed with pretty much everything in this chapter I can't think of a question.  I teach Social Studies and English, so story has been central to my class for years.

Connection: This chapter, as I stated a second ago, resonated with me and my class.  I think that by using technology my students can create stories throughout the year.  They can use istopmotion app on their ipads to make digital stories about the content.  They can write podcasts and create a class youtube channel.  The possibilities are endless.

Aha: Humans have been telling stories from the dawn of civilization, from the Epic of GIlgamesh to the Epic tale of Harry Potter stories are central to our lives.  As we have moved away from stories being a central point of our lives, to spreadsheets and statistics, there was a huge rise in cinematic productions (my own observation).  Why is this?  Possibly because we NEED story in our lives.


Symphony:
Quote: "The most creative among us see relationships the rest of use never notice.  Such ability is at a premium in a world where specialized knowledge work can quickly become routinized work- and therefore be automated or outsourced away.  'The next 10 years will require people to think and work across boundaries into new zones that are totally different from our areas of expertise.  They will not only have to cross those boundaries, but they will also have to identify opportunities and make connections between them.'" (Pink, 2013)  I like this quote because it reminds us that even those things that seem completely apart, do have a connection, and you sometimes need to dig deep to search for it.

Question:  In relation to my class, how can I incorporate symphone from the begining?  My students need to learn the basics of the material before they can see the connections, is this something that is more geared towards the final project of the year, to let them see the whole thing?

Connection: I like how this chapter is about seeing the relationships between various things.  Especially as I teach students the history of the ancient world they will need to learn to see the connections between the various civilizations.

Aha: My aha moment came when the discussion turned to dyslexia.  I thought it was amazing, and now that Daniel Pink explained it, it makes sense.  Dyslexic people are more right brained than non dyslexic people, so it makes sense that they would be great at seeing the connections between various things.  It makes me wonder if people who are ADHD have the same right brained tendencies than "normal" people?

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