Talent and Genius

Somewhere on the net I've read this wonderful aphorism from Arthur Schopenhauer:

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."

It's really crazy, but a small and simple phrase can stimulate thinking and you can write an entire book on it.

So, what's "talent", do you have definitions of this? What's "genius", can you describe it?

Probably there are many people out there that can be defined talented, but do you know a genius?

I'm thinking more on this, and my conclusion is that, probably, each of us can be a genius in some fields. That's why the new interactive web (web2.0) is now pervasive in everything we do. I can share my mind on a blog, describe something on Wikipedia, connect with friends and share past experience and thoughts on Facebook and create a network of trusted professionals in LinkedIn.

Probably I'm not a genius, but I can share my ideas and if we, as a community, work together on ideas, we can create real innovation. What do you think on that? Feel free to share your comments.

Sincerely,

Luca

We Are What We Do

No, this is not a philosophical or religious thinking about our nature, is just the name of a web site allowing you to track good actions that can change the World!

Too ambitious? Maybe, but at least many of these actions are good for yourself.
A small sample of actions:

2. Read a story with a child
5. Smile and smile back
7. Plant a tree
[...]
100. Fail

I've found some interesting ideas and I'm sure that someone else will find inspiring this site.
Have a look at: wearewhatwedo.org

MIT Open Courseware

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. In a few words I'll define it as a nice "open-source-like" way to share knowledge.

I've always loved these guys at MIT, obviously I'm light-years behind, but they are able to express complex matters easily and clearly. I'm used to listen in my spare time some lectures and it's really interesting to get in touch with bright minds.

I've recently listened to a nice discussion named "The World is Flat" from Thomas L. Friedman where he describes various events in our history that contributed to flattening the world. He spokes about technology, history, .com bubble and almost every aspect of our culture.

The address is:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm

Have a nice learning!

Apple's March 6 Event

Disclaimer: I've always admired Apple, so any opinion expressed in this post may be influenced by my passion toward that company.

TNBI - The Next Big Idea

I've been really impressed about Apple's event of March 6th, where Steve Jobs introduced new features of iPhone 2.0. It's really amazing how many people care about Apple's moves in the industry and how disruptive is their influence.

But what really impressed me was the choreography of the event. Everything has run smoothly, without any glitches or problems. There were no classic slides, but all was clearly emphasized with white on black.

At the end a really inspiring speech of KPCB's John Doer announcing iFund: a $100M investment initiative that will fund market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform.

Take a look at:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/iphoneroadmap/

Kudos for Apple and for their ability to inspire others.