DUMB ENOUGH TO BE SMART Very few people would say that it is smart to be dumb. Intelligence is a highly valued commodity. Who among us has not gone through one day being grateful we had some smarts while more often wishing that we had more smarts? On the other hand, sometimes it is a knowledge lack that indirectly leads you to success in your quest for knowledge. Sometimes being dumb results in being smart. Such was the case for two Toronto engineers, Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson. They were on a quest to build the world’s first human-powered helicopter—and they succeeded! Experts had repeatedly concluded that a human-powered helicopter was an impossibility. Reichert and Robertson somehow missed that “fact.” Sometimes it is not knowing specific information that can indirectly fuel your success as David Noonan describes (“Impossible Flight” Scientific American, November 2014, pp. 78–83): “The two Canadian engineers are not helicopter designers, which is why they were ignorant of the scientific papers dooming them to futility.” (p. 80) The team’s success also illustrates the power of a small team resolving a problem versus the big-company bureaucracy-laden behemoths resolving a problem. Big companies can do a lot of things, but their sheer size is not a guarantee of success and it certainly was not so in this case: “[Reichert’s and Robertson’s success], after so many before them had failed, demonstrates that in an era dominated by large teams of engineers working for huge companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, a small, nimble group can solve the hardest problems.” We need to appreciate big companies’ prowess, as long as we do not accidentally equate bigness with omnipotence and omniscience. However, we need equally to appreciate the small teams, the small companies, and even the team of one. No one has a corner on the knowledge market. Knowledge is available to be pursued every day. The more important question is are you dumb enough to be smart? https://youtube/watch?v=0zKmyMEXsCw [Today’s post— Blog.reliableinsights.]
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:37:00 +0000
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