Blinded by our preconceptions

When Hans Rosling taught a global development class comprising some of Sweden's brightest students at the Karolinska Institute, a medical university, he was surprised to discover they knew less than he thought they did.

He found that what the medical students knew already - their preconceptions - caused them to make bigger mistakes than if they knew nothing whatsoever about the subject.

When the students were asked to choose between five matched pairs of countries, where one had twice the infant mortality of the other, they got it right just 1.8 times out of five, which is worse than chance. Chimpanzees could have done better.



He also tested his fellow Nobel-prize winning university professors. They performed better than the students, but no better than the chimpanzees.

Rosling uses the Gap Minder software program he developed to illustrate the dramatic improvements in infant survival that have occurred in the past 50 years. With smaller families, even in the developed nations, infant mortality in many countries has declined dramatically.

He goes on to show how social change, including health outcomes, comes first, ahead of economic development contrary to conventional wisdom which considers that economic change comes before social change.

Here's a workshop to explore some of Rosling's findings:

1. Give examples of some pre-conceptions/assumptions that you have made about people/things which were wildly off the mark when you finally found out what was really going on.
2. Give examples of common cultural pre-conceptions/assumptions that people from other countries mistakingly hold about you.
3. Now choose a country about which you know little, e.g. India, China, Indonesia, Brazil. Make some guesses about the differences between your countries, with a focus on lifespan, annual average income, population, climate, main exports, attitides and check Wikipedia to see how much you knew.
4. Brainstorm some surprising facts you know about some countries. e.g.  3.2 million US citizens are incarcerated which would translate into 360,000 Australians instead of just 24,000. One in three Indians is middle class. 92% of Australians regard themselves as middle class, only 42% of Americans feel the same.
5. Choose one fact from Question 4 and describe the consequences. Respond like this Fact: consequences.
6. Here are some changes that are taking place in the world. What might be the consequences? In China, children have no sisters or brothers, aunts or uncles. By 2015 45% of all jobs in the USA will require conversation or negotiation skills, yet schools teach critical thinking as an individual activity.
7. Thinking about an economically under-developed part of the world, including parts of rich countries, what kinds of social changes might "change-the-game" sufficiently to engender new economic development.
8. What fundamental social change could transform your community for the better? And what new economic activities could leverage off that?

Haunting music from everyday objects

Circus composer Sxip Shirey takes us back to our musical roots as a species. He shows how mysteriously beautiful and haunting music can be created using everyday objects and body parts.



In this clip, Sxip enrolls the help of an assistant.  With their lips almost locked together, they jointly create an extraordinary musical moment. Rhythmic collective heavy breathing morphs into an orgasmic delight, that should inspire others to explore new dating rituals. A kind of musical mating, at the confluence of "ecstatic melodies" "imaginable sounds" and "deep sexy beats".

Kissing will never be the same.

So here's some workshop activities to see how you might make music using whatever you have on hand...maybe even that will do.

1. Brainstorm a list of body parts and everyday objects you could use to create "ecstatic melodies, unimaginable sounds and deep sexy beats".
2. Choose your everyday object/body part "instrument", describe how you could play it, the kind of music it will produce, and how it will sound.
3. Demonstrate your new musical instrument to others, and after each person does their stuff, brainstorm some ideas about how you could expand the use of the instrument, or create an intriguing/dazzling/wierd couple of bars, a motif, a crescendo, a coda etc.

How to start a movement

Ever wanted to start a movement? To get the ball rolling in a new direction, to have followers join you in some new enterprise, game or opportunity? Or in the pursuit of an ideal or your passion?

Derek Sivers shows us how. He's a professional musician and the founder of CD Baby that generated huge sales of independent music over the web and changed forever the way music is sold. His latest project is MuckWorks to help reduce the burdens (and boredom) of creative people.

Critical to the success of a movement is not the leader but the first follower. If you don't have followers all you have is a "lone nut" doing his or her own thing.

For a movement to take-off the leader must embrace the first followers as equals and nurture them. Followers  give legitimacy to what the leader is doing.

As others join the movement the risk of seeming to be wrong or stupid is reduced. A tipping point is reached when a critical mass of people join almost simultaneously to be part of the "in crowd". After this, the movement becomes self-sustaining.

The stragglers, those most reluctant to join in, ultimately do so to avoid being stigmatized as uncool.

So here's a workshop to plan how to start your own movement:

1. Describe an idea for a movement. What is your cause, ideal or opportunity? And how is it different? Or stand-out from the mainstream?

2. What do you have do to get your first follower? To attract attention in public?

3. Once your first followers have joined, what can you do to embrace them as equals? To promote the cause even more?

4. If people join to emulate what the followers are doing, how can you orchestrate what the followers are doing to maximise attention, and promote growth of the movement, by being a brilliant follower yourself?
5. What might be the advantages of persuading someone to be the "lone nut" that you could follow?
6. What "lone nuts" do you now regret you did not follow? And what did you never get to experience as a consequence?
7. What actions of a leader or follower might cause a movement to collapse, that you need to avoid?

Why humans believe almost anything

Humans are programmed to believe - almost anything - according to Michael Sherman, founder and publisher of Skeptic Magazine.

We make associations and find patterns even when they are not there. And it's all because our ancestors adopted a conservative approach to making mistakes.



When we face a choice between making a small mistake (a Type I error) such as over-reacting to a rustle in the grass, and making a big mistake (a Type II error), such as ignoring the rustle, and being eaten by a predator, we err on the side of safety.

By making many silly little mistakes - and unecessarily wasting energy when all we hear is the wind blowing - we avoid certain removal from the gene pool, on those fewer occasions when the threat is real.

Says, Shermer, this is why we give credit to God, the angels or leprachauns when there is "no intentional agency" whatsoever. We err on the side of caution.

Our pattern detection devices can be easily tricked. Sometimes we can see two or more patterns in the one image (as in the drawing of the young and old woman).. Some people see patterns when there are none to see.

An overly active dopamine circuit helps you see more patterns, so if you're really creative, you're more likely to be fooled than if you are down to earth and practical. Too much dopamine and you see too many patterns. It's the difference between the madness of mathematician John Nash and the genius of physicist Richard Feynman.

We also tend to "infuse patterns with meaning, intention and agency". This propensity to favor Type II errors, leads us to believe in God, leprechauns, souls, spirits, demons, aliens, the Loch Ness monster, conspiracy theories and invisible agents. That there's someone in there, like in the Wizard of Oz, pulling the strings. Or when we are in trouble, someone big and powerful will rescue us.

So here's some questions to explore these ideas:

1. Brainstorm a list of all the different phenomena that people believe in for which there is little or no objective evidence.
2. What are some of the things you do that fly in the face of your own objective reality e.g. consult the astrological forecast, refuse to walk under a ladder, and why do you still do this?
3. What conspiracy theories do you "kind of" believe in? Give a detailed description of the theory.
4. If you have trouble seeing the patterns to events in your work or private life, how could you be more creative?
5. Give examples from your private/work life where you assume, wrongly, there is an intentional agent working against you e.g. someone is pulling the strings, manipulating things.
6. Give examples from your private/work life of Type I errors that you make, where you over-react to the situation so you don't make Type II errors.
7. Give examples from your private/work life of Type II errors that you have made, where you failed to act, with awful consequences?
8. How could you achieve a better balance between making unnecessary Type I errors and fatal Type II errors?

More We and less I = A longer life

Dr. Dean Ornish, the author of "Eat More - Weigh Less" knows the secret of a long and happy life.

He is an expert in preventive medicine who found that 99% of patients could reverse the progress of their heart disease. And just because you have heart disease, it does not follow it will always get worse.

Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal themselves. Faster than you might think. So if you stop doing whatever is causing the problem the chances are you will start to get better. And it works just as well for old as well as young people.

When Dr. Ornish started an institute to train hospitals and their staff, on preventive approaches, the health insurance companies got very excited. They discovered savings of $30,000 per patient, because when we make these changes, most of us can avoid expensive surgery to keep us alive.

We all know what's bad for us. Smoking, drinking and eating too much, working too hard and not enough exercise. Thirty per cent of Americans smoke. In some countries it's 80 per cent. And we watch too much television.



But the real epidemics are loneliness and depression. We eat when we get depressed, alcohol numbs the pain and some people think of a packet of cigarettes as 20 friends.

Two thirds of American adults are now overweight! An obesity epidemic. To lose weight you should either eat fewer calories or burn them off with exercise.

It's also better to eat lower calorie foods. Fat has 9 calories per gram, carbohydrates four. A big fatty meal makes you sleepy. It slows down the blood flow. And we rest instead of exercising.

We eat too many simple carbohydrates which have all the fiber removed such as sugar, white flour, white rice and alcohol. When you eat simple carbs, your blood sugar zooms up and your pancreas has to work overtime to make insulin to bring it down. And so diabetes has become an epidemic.

Unrefined carbs like fruit, vegetables and whole wheat flour are rich in fibre fill you up and you don't get the rapid rise in sugar levels. If you eat less of the energy intensive foods, you feel hungry less often.

However, not all fats are to be avoided. There are some good fats, like the omega-3 fatty acids. Three grams of fish oil every day, can reduce the risk of heart attack and sudden death by 50 to 80%.

So, if you change the behaviors which cause you to be tired, depressed, lethargic and impotent, your brain will get more blood, you will have more energy and your sexual function will improve, and you will have more fun.

Another secret to a happy, healthy life is to have more we (we-llness), and less I (I-llness). Numerous studies show that lonely or depressed people are five to ten times more likely to get sick and die prematurely. So phone a friend. Be of service to others. Give. Be compassionate.

Here's a workshop to explore Dr. Ornish's ideas:

1. Brainstorm a list of what you will do a) to connect more with others (friends, family), b) be more compassionate, c) give more and d) be of service to others to improve happiness and reduce depression.
2. Knowing that fats have 4 calories and carbohydrates have 9 calories per gram and fibre (fruit, vegetables and wholemeal flour) fills you up, design a breakfast, lunch or dinner which will help you reduce your calorie intake.
3. Make a list of all the foods that are high in fats, and which will make you sleepy and not want to exercise, that you plan to eliminate from your diet. e.g. sausages, bacon and eggs for breakfast.
4. Make a commitment to live an extra 10 years by making a list of all the extra fun things you will be able to do. e.g. 520 extra romps in the hay. 3,650 walks in the bush or along the beach.

Humans, the second replicator

First there were genes. And now there are memes.

According to paranormal sceptic and scientist, Susan Blackmore, humans have let this second replicator out of the box....Pandora's Box...and it's here to stay. Like it or not.

Blackmore, who began her scientific career in the hope she would be able to demonstrate evidence for paranormal activities, has found none, and is now a confirmed skeptic.

She says that memes came about because humans imitate each other, like how to light fires, wear clothes, or perch sunglasses on our foreheads. Or how we fold the ends of the toilet paper over in hotel bathrooms.



The word "meme" was coined by Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene. Blackmore took the idea and turned it into a full fledged theory.

Memes are parasites of our brains, a symbiant. In the same way that genes survive in the members of our species that have competed and survived, so too do memes. It's all copying with variation and selection. The best memes live on and are transmitted from one generation to the next.

In a sense, when a new gene or meme survives, or is selected, you get design out of nowhere with no conscious designer in sight.

According to Blackmore, memes have forced us to have big brains, to use fatty tissue called myelin to insulate the neurons. Brains that love music, religion and art.

And because we all now have big heads, it it dangerous to give birth to new members of the species, which places our memes and our species at long term risk.

So be warned. There's another replicator lose in the world and its called a Teme, or technological meme. Temes are the tools we use, such as the motor car, washing machine or computer. And they are becoming smarter every day, and could soon live on without us.

So here's a series of questions to explore these issues:

1. Give examples of "genes", "memes" and "temes", that explains the differences between them.
2. In what ways might the transmission of "memes" have an influence over the genes that are transmitted? Think about the consequences of memes such as medicine, social welfare etc.
3. Explain how the idea of a "meme" is itelf a meme.
4. If memes are "design out of nowhere", how did the concept of "meme" get started and develop? Was it Richard Dawkins, Susan Blackmore, the universe, the "system", ancestor memes or what?
5. What influence might genes have on the development of "memes" and "temes"?
6. At what stage of human development might "temes" take on a life of their own, and how might this happen?
7. What factors might contribute to a meme or teme dying out?

Products that make us feel happy

Don Norman is an anthropologist who explores the modern day world and helps us understand how product's make people happier. Or feel they are beautiful. Or simple to use. Or add to our power or status.

It all begins with our emotions, and how they change the way we think.

When people are anxious or fearful, neuro-transmitters are squirted into the brain that cause you to focus on the presenting problem. Its "depth-first" thinking, which is good for getting you out of the mess you are in, quickly. When people are happy, dopamine is squirted into the frontal lobes, which leads to "breadth-first" thinking, which opens us up to possibilities and is good for brainstorming, or planning new projects.



There are three levels of emotional functioning of the brain:

* Visceral - that monitors inputs from our senses - sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell - and sneakily controls much of what we feel, so we automatically dislike bitter tastes, loud sounds or extremely hot and cold temperatures, but we equally and automatically love, symmetrical faces or the bright colors of fruits and plants with which we have adapted.

* Behavioral, which monitors our automatic learned actions, that enable us to converse, operate a computer, drive a car or give a speech, without having to consciously think about it, and whose emotions give us feedback about how well we are doing; and

* The Reflective, "thinking" or conscious level of the brain, which does not control anything - either the sensual inputs or our motor actions - but whose emotions give us feedback about everything else, a kind of global view of our performance.

Well-designed products appeal to all aspects of brain functioning. As designers we need to be mindful of these different ways of responding to the products design.

Designers grab our attention with an appeal to the senses by creating bright red motor cars that might otherwise be a lemon, or make bottles with such a beautiful symmetry we want to keep them after we have consumed the contents, or products we never use, but which are so stunning, we put them on show and never use them for their intended purpose.

We can "wow" the customer by attending to functionality and usability and appeal to the emotions that give feedback about our automatic actions. With products that are simple and easy to use, the simpler the better. Like the powerful sharpness of Global knives, the sensuousness of the Kohler shower, or the elegant simplicity of the Ronnefeldt tilting teapot, which keeps the tea leaves out of the liquid.

Or designers can appeal to the "thinking brain" that weighs up what is "good" or"bad", "beautiful" or "ugly", "expensive" or "cheap" or "why are you doing that?". Like the way we decide whether the purchase of a house or a motor car might add to our status. Or if it will help us live a better life? Or make us happier?

You can even get emotions to compete with each other for your attention, so one over-rides the other. Take for example the Jake Cress chair, where one leg has lost its' ball, and the visceral part of our brain says beware, that's looks dangerous, and our reflective brain says, "its OK, its just a designer's playful trick."

So here's a workshop to play with some of Don Norman's ideas:

1. What kinds of products do you associate with fun and enjoyment?
2. What kinds of products do you associate with powerful and useful?
3. What kinds of products do you associate with beautiful?
4. Visceral emotions: Choose one of your senses - sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell. Close your eyes and thinking about that sense, recall/imagine the most wonderful feeling you have ever experienced about a product. Describe the product and the emotion/feeling.
5. Behavioral emotions: Close your eyes and think of a time when you used/experienced a product, how perfectly easy it was to use, or how powerful it felt, how in-tune with your body and the way you act/perform. Describe the product and the emotion/feeling.
6. Reflective emotions: Close your eyes and think of a time when you used/experienced a product when you decided it was the best, the greatest, the most amazing, the most prestigious you had ever experienced. Describe the product and the emotion/feeling.
7. What kinds of emotions are associated with the visceral - the automatic and direct experience via the senses?
8. What kinds of emotions are associated with the behavioral - the automatic experience of our muscles in use?
9 What kinds of emotions are associated with the reflective - the thinking/decision making aspects of our being?
10. Think of the worst, ugliest, most difficult product you have ever used/experienced. Using the three different kinds of emotional experiences, what could you do to transform it?