Hot Math

Heard the other day that a couple of geniuses have calculated the number Pi to 10 trllion digits. It took Shigeru Kondo and Alexander Yee over a year and burned out many a hard drive. The room in which they were working heated up to over 104˚ as they worked.

It sounds a little like an experiment Willie Wonka would do with Stephen Hawking if they got together and did way too much cocaine and Mt. Dew. I have no idea if any if this is true because I wouldn’t know how to compute Pi past the nine digits on my calculator.

I don’t really understand the value in doing it. But I’d bet Shigeru and Alexander wouldn’t see the value in watching old West Wing reruns. I’d watch ten trillion of those if I could find a way to compress time. Maybe Shig and Alex could help me with that…?

Truthfully, I’m awed by their accomplishment, and I can only imagine the creative thinking they had to employ to solve the challenge and get to the ten-trillionth digit. And I can only wonder how strong they must be to be able to carry around such big calculators.

You’re crazy if you don’t like these songs

From the department of this-may-or-may-not-be-true because I heard it from a rock star, there have been more hit singles of a song called “Crazy” than any other song title.

This from either Will Champion or Chris Martin of Coldplay (couldn’t tell which one) in an interview on NPR on Sunday.

From Patsy Cline through Seal and Gnarls Barkley, decades of music lovers have heard creative artists posit and wonder around ways of being Crazy.

Why is this? I think off-the-charts right brained creative thinkers and doers do everything in the extreme, and they need extreme words to capture what they really feel.

Plus, it just wouldn’t be as interesting if Patsy was Stupid for loving you, or if Seal wasn’t going to survive unless he got a little Wacky.

Sliding into the Hall of Fame

You’ve got something people care about when you can create a Hall of Fame for it. All the major sports have one. So does Rock and Roll. And don’t forget Polka and Gospel Music. Astronauts, TV, Insurance, they all got ‘em.

Which would lead some to counter that anyone can put up four walls—or a web site—and salute something they love. And this is true. But if you build it, either digitally or physically, and people come, then it’s probably a good thing that you built it.

Hence, I love the White Castle Hall of Fame, which just announced their most recent inductees, including Constance Huening, a 90-year old who’s been eating Sliders since the 1920’s. If you think it’s easy to get in, consider this:

Since the Hall opened in 2001, from almost 8000 applications, they’ve inducted 80 people. Insert punch line here asking how many of them are still alive…

I’d bet most of them are like Constance Huening, eating a slider on every birthday. Unheralded heroes among the real people of this country. It takes a special kind of person (and a special kind of stomach) to get there.

It also takes a special kind of creative thinking to be a relatively hip and current brand after 90 years in business. Kudos to White Castle for sliding along for decades with basically the same product, and coming up with new ways to stay relevant and intriguing.

Think Galactically

Over the years, Richard Branson has been a poster boy for off-the-charts right brain thinking. His stunts are legendary, including his trip down 5th Avenue in a tank—and a cannon shot at the Coke sign--to announce Virgin Cola’s arrival in the US. With Steve Jobs’ passing he may be one of the most prominent visionary creative thinkers left standing.

And he sure does offer fun things to do and buy. The latest, launching from the (publicly funded!) first commercial spaceport, is a ticket for one of the first space flights on Virgin Galactic, if you have $200,000 burning a hole in your pocket. I’m tempted to pony up just for the experience, damn the cash flow reorganization required. Astronauts smacked golf balls off the moon 30 years ago. I'd like to try knocking one into the cup with a 9 iron from 100 feet out.

Not to mention, pioneering opportunities don't come around every day.

We can all learn a lot from a crazy right brain thinker like Sir Richard. He sets the creative thinking bar insanely high and challenges us to think not just big, but galactically.

Occupy something more positive

I'm mad as hell and I could see myself Occupying something other than my desk chair or that one really good seat at Starbucks with the good view, away from the door but close enough to people-watch.

And I understand the way anger builds up, and I get why thousands of people have joined the Occupy movement.

But I would suggest one thing:

Occupy something a little more positive.

Last week at TEDxMidwest, I heard Bill Strickland talk. Fairly quiet, somewhat unassuming, intensely passionate guy. Read about him, see if you can help his cause, but more than anything else, be inspired by his story and the stories he's helped thousands of other people successfully tell. Then see if you might feel like Occupying something more positive.

Generosity = confidence

A very wise, very good friend told me that many years ago. It stuck with me and I passed it on to many others because it’s wonderfully pithy and powerfully true.

When you give something away, people don’t just see you as likeable, they see you as confident.

So I was blown away by these five very confident people who served on a panel at Chicago Ideas Week, at Twist’s event titled “The Economy’s Effect on Creativity,” and gave away a lifetime’s worth of great advice for creative thinkers in the span of 6o minutes:

Tara Heibel, Founder and Owner of Sprout Home

John Timmons, former Director at Sears Holdings and Social Media Consultant

Sherman Wright, Co-Founder and Co-managing Partner of CommonGround

Catherine Hudon, Digital Producer and owner of Online Clothing line Shorty

Kathleen Luttschyn, Owner of the new maternity blog Style Nine and blogger for Apartment Therapy

Thanks to all five panelists, to all of the people who filled the room at Twist’s session, and to Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, an amazing institution in the heart of Chicago that is filled with ambitious designers of the artistic future.

Here’s to giving great stuff away and the supremely smart and confident people who do it.

Finding creativity in simplicity

The Postal Service is the the nation’s second-largest civilian employer, with 574,000 employees. Who’s #1?

Why, it’s that little company in Bentonville, Arkansas.

What does this mean? It confirms that when it comes to the way we shop, the vast majority of Americans like ‘em big. We want lots and lots and lots of choices; nothing very fancy; please make it friendly, thank you very much; and of course, make it as cheap as possible. But I suppose that’s pretty global.

Not a real complicated formula and I don’t think Sam Walton would argue. Sometimes ideas are great because they strip everything out and become wonderfully beautifully simple. I don't think he'd argue with that either.

PS, please check out Twist's event at Chicago Ideas Week next Tues 10.11. Space is limited and filling up.

Where do you get it from?

You go to the opera and while you’re listening to Tosca you figure out how to solve a 3-4 defense that has kept you out of the end zone.

You listen to a song by an artist you’ve never heard of and pluck out a few words that help you find the right phrase for the legal brief you’ve been struggling with.

You “Sit on the terlet.” (thank you, Uncle Sol.)

Creativity can strike anywhere. For me, it’s totally unpredictable. Matt Lauer asks a question in a way that makes me rethink how I get information.

I hear an Adele song with lyrics that speak to me.

“Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for.”

Most often, I think people find inspiration in counterintuitive places. It’s kind of like finding love. Don’t look for it. It’ll find you.

Although going to Chicago Ideas Week sure could help, especially this cool discussion on how the economy has affected creativity.