Sujavna 3:4

11:00 am / Sunday 27 January 2013 / Mumbai

Should centenaries always call for celebrations? If yes, should these celebrations always gloss over the shortcomings, under-achievements, lapses and failures and focus only on the successes; should they always encourage and wish more centuries to follow? And what innovative ways can one think of when one wants to highlight the achievement of a century?

Well these are some thoughts that have occupied me since morning as Sujavna completes 100 posts over the last 103 weeks. Am I enthused to create even better submissions on this blog and how else can I enthuse and encourage you to react to these submissions?

Last week, I mentioned that I will use some thinkertoy techniques to relook at the challenge of redesigning city marathons. I am glad to say that the work is well underway and is currently at a stage where linear “scamper” techniques are being used. So questions that I ask include: Can marathons be Substituted? Can some marathon-related activities be Combined? What can be Adapted? What aspects of marathon organisations be Modified? Can marathons be Put somewhere else?  What aspects of marathons can be Erased without materially affecting the outcomes? Can there be a Reversal of activities that still enables results but in a more effective way? I also propose to augment these with some non-linear “free-dance”, “lotus-blossom” and “tug-of-war” techniques and conclude on my suggestions soon. So keep watching out for this space in my future posts.

Signing off here.....

Sujavna 3:3

11:00 am / Sunday 20 January 2013 / Mumbai

The London Marathon...The Mumbai Marathon...... well most metropolitan cities across the world now boast of an annual marathon; and claim that many charities raise a lot of funds at these marathons, (though it beats me why anyone can’t just directly donate to the charity of their choice right through the year instead of waiting for these annual events!) – yet I dare to challenge the organisers and the local governments and other supporters of these marathons that these events do create a lot of difficulties for ordinary citizens on the day of the marathon , they do create a net environmental damage (net carbon positive) and many times they do reinforce the divides between the haves and the have-nots.

But I do not just want to stop with my challenge on these premises. I want to also explore as to what innovations can probably negate my charges and ensure that the lofty ideals of getting citizens to undertake a marathon can still be achieved. How does one design a “round-the-year” “individually-logged” and “objectively-certified” series of marathon initiatives that do not call for massive city-wide planning and disturbance, but can meet (and perhaps surpass) all of the goals that the marathon organisers aim to achieve?

It is my intention to use some “thinkertoy” techniques on this problem during the next few days and report back on what alternatives are possible in my next post.

Wishing you a great weekend. Signing off .....

Sujavna 3:2

11:00 am / Sunday 13 January 2013 / Mumbai

Samarium Hexaboride, Acoustic Coolers..... well, there is an infinite number of ideas , materials, products and systems that continues to offer solutions to humanity. And an infinite more numbers of permutations and combinations between these ideas, materials, products and systems that need working upon!

An interesting debate that rightfully should have found more resonance in India also, is the one that is taking place in the USA on gun control (to ban or not to ban the right to possess firearms). Interestingly, the debate has continued to revolve around established positions and theories on the links between violent crimes and guns. I think that the debate has not ventured into any aspect of innovatively addressing delinking the possession of guns from deterrence against violent crimes, for instance in biometric-enabled movement of the gun from its normal resting place and automatic tracking by GPS of its whereabouts, including an SMS to the closest gun-registry control room as well as its owner.

In India, the week ahead will see the harvest festival of Sankaranti / Pongal / Bhogi being celebrated. The country itself has seen the contribution of agriculture to GDP decline, yet agriculture and agro-economics continue to influence the economy in many myriad and sometimes, inscrutable ways. So it is in our interest, that we need to see more innovations in agro-economics and agriculture, and more debate on the efficacy of any innovative practices and systems.

Trust you are having a wonderful weekend and best wishes for the week ahead.

Sujavna 3:1

11:00 am / Sunday 06 January 2013 / Mumbai

And as I wish you all a great year ahead, I also resolve for myself that my blog will continue to offer a weekly capture of my own thoughts on how lateral thinking and innovations can help us lead better lives.

So even as we continue to grapple with various miserable aspects such as the impact of an as-yet unresolved fiscal cliff in the US economy, the economic woes of the Euro zone, the gender crimes in India, the unresolved debates on balancing performances of various countries on social and economic development indices, we also continue to be eternally hopeful of resolving these inherent contradictions in our lives, because of the myriad fountains of innovations that progress from ideas to words to deeds, and which keep springing from various nooks and corners of our society.

And hence the journey of this blog continues. The intention (as it has been so far), will be to keep spewing out ideas as much as commenting on trends in lateral thinking and innovations as they keep being reported on mainstream media.

Signing off for now....