The other day I discussed this interesting paradox involving bike helmets and suggested that innovative designers might be able to craft a solution. I'd now like to pose another opportunity to creative designers–design safer country roads. People mistakenly feel safer on country roads even though they are far more dangerous than urban streets. In fact,…

Once we learn something it is hard to unlearn it. This is especially true if we learned it in our youth. To this end, ever since I began driving in the early 1980's, I was told to change the oil in my car every 3000 miles. While I haven't been a stickler about the rule,…

This past February I wrote a post entitled Big Problems Don't Always Require Big Fixes. In a fascinating and informative TED talk Rory Sutherland has expanded upon this theme. If you have 12 minutes, I encourage you to watch the video.   If you don't have the time, the major piece of unlearning which society must…

Did you know that an estimated one-third to one-half of the$2.2 trillion Americans spend annually on health care is spent on unnecessary tests, treatments and doctor visits? What happens while people are undergoing these tests and procedures is that the body frequently heals itself. In other words, it is possible that Americans could save an estimated…

“If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must employ methods never before attempted.” Sir Francis Bacon     Question: If the average temperature of the earth increases due to global climate change, what will be the primary cause of rising sea levels?    Did you say melting ice caps and glaciers? Wrong….

Earlier today I had the opportunity to deliver the closing keynote presentation at the Alabama Hospitals Associations' Annual Leadership Conference. Before my talk, I had the great pleasure of listening to Bill Ward, the director of the Master Health Administration Degree at the Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. At one point, Bill brought…

Big problems such as health care, feeding the world and addressing climate change don't necessarily require big solutions. In the 19th century, Ignaz Semmelweis helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women by getting doctors to wash their hands prior to assisting in the delivery of a new-born child. (Unfortunately, however, it still required the medical community…

My focus on unlearning has been borne from my work as a professional futurist. As I explain in this video, the future is changing so fast that as a people and society we must constantly change our worldview. To this end, the Wharton School of Business recently published an formative and insightful article entitled So…

"When it becomes necessary to develop a new perception of things, a new internal model of reality, the problem is never to get new ideas in, the problem is to get old ideas out." – Dee Hock   Question: How many planets are there in our solar system?   The answer is eight. If you…

I pride myself on being open-minded. Nevertheless, I am constantly surprised at how often I find myself saying "I had never thought of that." To this end, a friend of mine recently introduced me to the concept of "shared space." In it's simplest form, the concept questions society's over-reliance on traffic rules and laws.  This article in Salon…