“This is how great intellectual breakthroughs usually happen in practice. It is rarely the isolated genius having a eureka moment alone in the lab. Nor is it merely a question of building on precedent, of standing on the shoulders of giants, in Newton's famous phrase. Great breakthroughs are closer to what happens in a flood plain: a dozen separate tributaries converge, and the rising waters lift the genius high enough that he or she can see around the conceptual obstructions of the age.” EnoughMomentsHappensAgeWaterPracticeBuildingGeniusIntellectualStandingShouldersLiftsPhrasesGiantsRisingDozenIsolatedFloodBreakthroughNewtonLabsPrecedentObstruction Book:The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World Source: The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
“It is extraordinary how safe flying has become. You are now statistically more likely to be elected president of the United States in your lifetime than you are to die in a plane crash. What an amazing achievement as a society! But what we end up focusing on are the catastrophic failures that are incredibly rare but happen every now and then.” EndsStatesHappensDiesPresidentUnitedUnited StatesSafeAchievementLifetimeExtraordinaryFlyingPlanesNow And ThenCrashPlane Crashes Author:Steven Johnson
“Organizations that empower folks further down the chain or try to get rid of the big hierarchal chains and allow decision making to happen on a more local level end up being more adaptive and resilient because there are more minds involved in the problem.” TryingMindEndsProblemBigsHappensDecisionLevelsInvolvedOrganizationFolksLocalsChainsEmpoweringDecision MakingResilientAdaptive Author:Steven Johnson
