CDOQ

Last week, I attended a workshop on Global Human Potential at Esalen . It was an educating workshop taught by three distinguished people: 1) Ralph Abraham : Chaos theory pioneer and mathematician 2) Mary Catherine Bateson : Cultural anthropologist and Margaret Mead's daughter 3) Jean Houston : Philosopher The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know. Following are a few interesting things I learned during the workshop: The teachers are worried about the cultural crises we are in. Humans are facing multiple crises- Identity, Intimacy, Generative, etc. If we don't take an initiative to change things today, the civilization may end in 150 years. Fractals , which are a fascinating phenomenon in nature i.e. a self repeating pattern which creates a shape that is like the self-repeating part, has a philosophical definition as well. In philosophy, fractal is a boundary between two regions. Humans repeat same patterns over and over and these patterns come to define ...

People say that their wedding day is the happiest day of their lives. Aren't they implying that it is all downhill after the wedding?

You can not improve something which you can not measure.

In most corporations, markets are segmented based on available data and not on buying behavior of consumers.

A man's needs should not be sacred. Many people go into bankruptcy because they think that their needs are sacred and they maintain their lifestyles even when their incomes significantly decline.

Charlie Munger, one of my heroes, recently gave an interview on the BBC re why the current financial crises occurred. See the entertaining video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8326369.stm

Why do the life spans of species vary drastically- from a few seconds to thousands of years?

Tragedy is the monumental collision of will and destiny. Adapted from writings of Roger Osborne.

One of my heroes- Russ Ackoff -passed away last week on October 29th, 2009. He was a brilliant man who I learned Systems Thinking from and his pioneering work in this area did make the world a better place. Dr. Ackoff's ideas are integral in policy making and management and will be with us forever. My condolences to his family and friends.

Everyone has problems.

A man with no desires and no fears is a very luck man. Joseph Campbell said that all worry is result of fear and desire.

Calligraphy is considered the highest art form in China. Process is emphasized in Calligraphy, unlike most other art forms. Furthermore, Calligraphy became popular in China after the arrival of Buddhism which helped the Chinese learn about individualism for the very first time. Hence, Calligraphy became a form of self-expression.

Winning an argument or being proven right at the loss of goodwill is usually not a victory.

Homeless people do not celebrate Halloween.