Rob/Ken,
I've not read the whole thread but you seem to indicate the
need for identification of what appears to be 'significant problem solvers'.



This is interesting because for someone to suggest a solution, you need
believers or followers, even customers to initiate the trend. As Ken said, you
would have people across many disciplines. This raises the next problem with
identification, we assume that such solutions are not or 'not so' multi or cross
fertilized. We don't have Heine (sp?) sight to aide us in assessing who would
be able to do it so successfully. 



Then of course, who's to say that good designers have truly solved the problems
ensuing from the life cycle of their products in comparison to the current
or past alternatives? LCA Assessments analyzing the 1st 10yrs of product existence, may
differ greatly from the 100s to follow.



Lastly, most of what I would consider that which made me able to be an arguably
successful problem-solve, fortunately or unfortunately; I did not learn in
school.



Side point: I once visited an Eco-commune near Bobcaygeon ON commune that lives
completely from the land, http://www.russethousefarm.ca.
This was by far more sustainable living than I’ve ever seen anywhere. But, I
don’t think we’re going to easily convince billions to live this ‘cleanly’.
However, from what I can tell, this was by far the best or at least most
successful problem-solving at eco-impact lifestyle. Yet, it little has to do with designers,
engineering or excessive technological solutions. They are essentially micro farmers with wind, solar etc. energy and non-manipulated food sources. Fascinating if not difficult.


 

Does it make you wonder as it does me?



Sincerely, Joe 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Dr. Joseph D. Chiodo Ph.D, MA, Ind.Des, APTN, M.D. of ADR Ltd., Canada, UK & EU 
Active Disassembly Research Ltd. (ADSM) Technology Inventor and Founder 
C.E.O, Chief Scientist & Internation Eco-Product Resource Loop President. 
Canada Tel: +1-289-339-2010 EU Tel: +44 (0) 77 333 16 888 
www.ActiveDisassembly.com 
______________________________________________________________________________

--- On Mon, 3/2/09, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Identifying One in a Million
To: [log in to unmask]
Received: Monday, March 2, 2009, 9:37 PM

Dear Rob,

While I understand the point of identifying the one in a million, there is an
inherent problem.

If there really are as many as one in every million, there are only 7,000 of
them on the planet. They occur in all ages from just-born to nearly-dead.
Allowing for the bell curve across all age cohorts, slightly biased toward the
young, that would mean fewer than 3,000 for us to identify -- and it's not
clear what we'd do with them, since only a few would be young enough for us
to assist their schooling.

Now of those 3,000, their interests will spread across all professions,
disciplines, and subject fields. As many will likely be interested in playing
chess or the cello as will wish to invent cars or computers or find new ways to
manufacture objects.

Assuming we COULD identify them, however, I'd wonder who it is that I'd
trust to design the education system we run them through. While I see how to
make significant improvements in the system we have today, I can't see a
system so much better that anyone could hope seriously to educate the
one-in-a-million girls and boys any better than they can do for themselves. For
that matter, I can't imagine how today's politicians could shape
ministries of education that could do the job. It's not in them, and if it
were, their voters would not allow them to do so or give them the required
resources -- at least not in Australia or the United States, and I doubt that
any other nation would be that much different.

My view is that we may as well get on with the job of staffing and funding
better primary and tertiary schools to bring the general level up, then building
better universities to enable secondary school leavers to develop as well as
possible within the constraints of a shrinking world economy. In this way,
we'll educate a broad society that will be better able to nurture and
manufacture the innovations and inventions of the new Fords, Dysons, Jobs, and
the rest. And it will be a better society by and large for all the rest of us as
well.

Try W. Edwards Demings's Out of the Crisis. He offers robust suggestions
for better education. 

Your idea offers interesting grist for the mill -- I'd argue that we've
seen a lot of work on the challenges already, and we can go a great way by
adopting and adapting what we've learned from people like Deming, Sternberg,
Maslow, Dewey, and the others. Until we get that done, there would be no
socially structured system of education and development that is better for a
one-in-a-million genius than staying home.

Yours,

Ken




Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS
Professor
Dean

Swinburne Design
Swinburne University of Technology
Melbourne, Australia

Telephone +61 3 9214 6755 
www.swinburne.edu.au/design



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