This clip comes from an interview with Steve Jobs (along with Bill Gates) - worth a minute and a half…

Albert Einstein - One of the Great Scientific Communicators

It’s amazing sometimes how certain things come together, but I didn’t realize that I’d run across an article that was so true in so many ways.

In this week’s edition, Newsweek‘s science editor Sharon Begley describes why scientists are their own worst enemies when it comes to communicating their ideas.  And, in my mind, the world is suffering as a result.

From evolutionary biology to climate change, scientists regularly lose the battle for the public’s attention to less correct, but more understandable alternatives.   Darwin presented the inarguable theories of evolutionary biology well over 100 years ago, and society (especially American society) is still arguing over whether it’s an accurate explanation of the world around us.

And as Begley puts it, it’s mainly due to “scientists’ abysmal communication skills.”

Begley mentions how scientists regularly present themselves and their findings with “arrogance” and a “smarter-than-thou condescension”.   Startling factiod from Begley’s article:  The United States is 33rd out of 34 developed countries in the percentage of adults who agree that species, including humans, evolved. 

How could this be, unless scientists just don’t care about communicating their findings to others so that they can understand the truth.

(Soapbox alert!…)

I’ve written several articles about the importance of communicating, and it becomes especially important for those in the sciences.  Math and science geeks think presenting is merely for marketers and sales people…  Not so!  If you care to see others believe your research and findings, you have an obligation to learn how to communicate your ideas effectively. 

Here’s the attitude that most scientists take, according to Randy Olson, a scientist-turned-filmmaker who earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard, became a tenured marine biology professor at the University of New Hampshire before changing careers, moving to Hollywood, and entering film school at USC.  Here’s how Begley presents his view:

“Scientists think of themselves as guardians of truth,” he says. “Once they have spewed it out, they feel the burden is on the audience to understand it” and agree.

And I’ll tell you – it is incredibly true!  Many scientists are exactly this way…, and they shouldn’t be.  

Read Begley’s article here, especially if you are a scientist!…

Here’s the Forbes article that tell us more…

As I paraprhase how Alan tells it, an organization had a sales team with one individual who, by most accounts, is a terrible salesperson.  He doesn’t really have the skills needs to become a successful salesperson (doesn’t listen well to customer needs, etc.), and was predicted by many to be unsuccessful.  However, this person always seemed to lead the team in sales – by at least two to three times the other staff.

At first, the managers thought his first year success was a fluke, but after two or three years of this performance, he was brought in to explain just how he does it.

So, the sales manager asks him, “When you meet with a customer, what do you do?”

The salesperson answers, “I put the catalog on the desk in front of him.”

And the conversation continues, “OK – so what do you do next?”

“I open the catalog to page 1 and ask if he wants to buy what’s listed.”

“So, what if they say no?”

“I turn to page 2 and ask if he wants to buy what’s listed.”

“OK – if they say no again, then what?”

“I turn to page 3 and ask if he wants to buy what’s listed.”

“Well, what happens if you get to page 147 and they still don’t buy anything?”

“I go back to the beginning and start over at page 1.”

This probably isn’t the easiest method to generate sales (and could lead to being kicked out of the customer’s office!), but the persistence is clear, and one could see how this could lead to better than average results – there are some people who would buy something merely to stop turning pages in the catalog! 

This doesn’t mean that other methods wouldn’t work better (they probably would…).  However, persistence is a key factor in leading to success, whether in sales or in any aspect of life.

Alan mentions this as an example of being omnipresent to your customers – always being there when your customer realizes that they need (your) help.  However, it also is a good example of what persistence can bring. 

You can read more about Alan Weiss at his blog Contrarian Consulting.

His article is titled Half A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste…

It’s a neat little saying (I once heard the late Jack Kemp, former Congressman, Cabinet Secretary, and NFL quarterback, use it in describing passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement…).  But, basically, it’s a nice way of telling yourself, “Get going!  We need an answer now!”

When scientists work on problems, we are always trading off time versus quality.  If you spend more time on the problem, you’ll (possibly) get a better answer.  But to the people who are looking for the answer, they are really interested in hearing what the answer is.  And ASAP!

The same holds (ever more so) in business.  You may have heard about “first to market” – well, this is exactly the same concept.  Customers want solutions, which means that they want a product that is good enough to solve their problem.  You may have a better solution to their problem, but the customer is interested in solving their problem now.  If you don’t solve their problem now, they will look to someone else.  So, the product has to be good enough (a bad product won’t solve anyone’s problem…), but it has to be provided now.

Message:  You have to produce.

We scientists have a habit sometimes of worrying about everything that’s not quite right.  In fact, we’re trained to look at the world, describe ways of explaining it, and then analyze the problems with that explanation in order to figure out new and better ones…

But there’s a limit to how “perfect” we think we can make something.  In fact, nothing is or can ever be perfect.   There’s always room for improvement, so we all need to figure out a way to be satisfied with the “good” while still focusing on what it takes to get to the “better”.

Especially in the business world, it is so important to get to a good answer, something that explains most of what you need, and provide that to others quickly.  Believe me, they will tell you if it’s good enough, or if it needs work.  But don’t be afraid of the feedback…

Now, I’ll admit, sometimes I find myself overanalyzing things and not taking action.  But I’m always pushing myself to “get going”, even if I have the urge to study things just a little more…  This is what got me blogging again…

Being productive is an incredibly important quality in business and in science.  We become valuable to other people by what we produce (how much good stuff), not necessarily the superior quality of very little output. 

In fact, being productive translates to being reliable and dependable to others, since they can always count on you to produce good stuff to meet their needs (usually, relating to timeliness of solving their problems).  Others can have a reputation for providing spectacular results, but you may never know when (or if) you’ll ever get them. 

Strive for perfection, but don’t let that get in the way of providing plenty of “good” to the people who care about what you’re striving for.

It resonated with me because I’m actually really lucky at finding parking spaces lately.  Ask Stephanie and Monroe – they’ll tell you…

Or at least tell you how much I tell them that I’m lucky at finding parking spaces…

So, I’ve decided to start posting again with what I’m genuinely interested in.  I’ll see how that works – I may switch things around again in the future…

I dig science, math, and the logic of things.  But not everything is black and white (but there is still a very logical way of thinking about and dealing with this grayness…)

I’ve always been interested in learning what makes our world tick – physics is awesome, game theory is really cool about how it helps to understand how people interact with each other, and abstract computational systems are just really fascinating to me…

(you might be saying, “HUH?”, but stick with me…)

But what I really like is that what I know about these really technical fields actually explains a lot of what we see in the world – whether that’s in business, politics, or even in raising our kids.

I’ll probably write some things about technology – if I find it interesting, and I think you’ll enjoy what I have to say about it…

I’ll probably connect to some things in the news as I hear them.  Seeing today’s events from a different perspective is always interesting to me…

I may even recommend some really cool books that I”m reading, because I do dig books…

I have a wide variety of interests, but what I really connect with is how all of these things have interrelationships and all make (some) sense.  I LOVE to get to the core answer behind it all, which sometimes leads to counterintuitive things…

And I really believe that we can all live better lives – achieve more of what we want to do in life – make a real difference – if we know what REALLY drives things.  And learning these lessons that takes real understanding, applying some logic, and digging deeper than what may appear right in front of you.

And… most importantly – keeping an open mind and challenging your own beliefs.  People are funny that way – sticking to what they already know because it makes them feel better/safer not to change.  I, however, would rather know than not know, and if that means I had it wrong before, then so be it.

So – I’m willing to take the ride.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy taking the ride with me…

However, as the transition takes place, there will be a number of people on our staff who will feel overwhelmed, partly because some struggle with having the right perspective.

We have a part of our company that strives to gain a deeper understanding.  They know things really, really, really well (admittedly, these are some of the smartest people I’ve ever had the honor to work with…).  However, they have a hard time describing what they know to others or even how to turn what they know into something that might be useful.

We have another part of our company that strives to develop new capabilities.  They focus on the people who are interested in what they are working on, and they turn their knowledge into beneficial products that can be easily understood and useful.

Of course, it’s always incredibly important to strive to know more or to create new innovations that do things that have never been done before.

But, for our efforts to have true impact, they need to be geared towards benefiting others.  While significant energy can be exerted on gaining new knowledge or demonstrating a new capability or invention, an equal amount of energy is needed to present these new insights into benefits for other people.  Otherwise, our initial efforts in gaining the new knowledge might ultimately be lost.

One such example is the comparison between the contributions of British chemist Sir Humphry Davy and those of American inventor Thomas Edison.

By connecting two charcoal sticks to powerful battery technology he invented, Davy demonstrated the capability of using electricity to generate light.  Davy had developed many other lamps, including candle-based safety lamps used by miners, but the demonstration of his powerful arc lamp to the Royal Society in 1809 was the first of its kind – a brand new innovation.

Thomas Edison, on the other hand, strove to make the light bulb practical, thus benefiting others.  Seventy years later after Davy’s demonstration, Edison took advantage of the rush to create practical light bulbs using a method called “incandescence”, which refers to light being emitted from a hot metal object due to its temperature.

As a result of thousands of attempts on Edison’s part, he created an incandescent light bulb that lasted for 40 hours and then later improved the design to last for over 1200 hours.

Now, by the electrical light bulbs that illuminate nearly every home and office in the world, we remember Edison.  In fact, many people think that Edison actually invented the electric light bulb itself, leaving Davy’s contributions, while significant, deep in our collective memories.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard in my occupation that people want to be recognized for their great ideas.  They sometimes ask how we’re going to recognize the scientist that comes up with the next $100 million idea for our company.  However, (even I sometimes fall into this trap myself…), what I tell my colleagues is that it doesn’t matter how great your idea is, it matters what you do with it.

And what you do with it needs to benefit others.  Other people need to understand why your innovative concept or capability will make their lives better.

Your work may explain something that others have never understood before.  So, not only should your work provide that answer, it needs to explain that answer in such a way that it’s clear to others.

One way to think about your efforts is to think of what you are providing, and ask:  What am I producing or what “product” am I creating that others will find useful?

If your goal is to gain understanding, you need to communicate that understanding to others.  The “product” is the understanding AND the communication of that understanding. 

If your goal is to provide a new capability, your need to present it in a way that is useful to others.  The “product” is the new capability AND communicating the way that others can use the new capability to benefit their lives.

In the end, when you benefit others, others will return the favor and recognize you for your contributions.  That’s how to make a lasting impact within the science and technology fields.

In March of this year, the European Commission voted to effectively phase out the incandescent light bulb by 2012.  This follows steps taken by the United States just over a year prior to ban them outright by 2014.

As our society grows, we invent new ways to light our homes and offices that use much less energy.  As it turns out, incandescent light bulbs, an invention dating back to the 1800s, take up to twice as much energy to use as more efficient halogen bulbs and up to three times more energy than compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs.

Of course, we’re not really throwing Thomas Edison aside, just his particular invention.  And further, we’re certainly not diminishing Edison’s contributions – there are important lasting lessons we can learn.

Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor, having 1,093 U.S. patents to his name.  Many of his patents described improvements to the main technologies of his day, including the telegraph, and burgeoning ones, such as electric motors and electric railways.

In addition, Edison created significant innovations such as the phonograph (the first device to record and reproduce sound), the kinetograph (an early form of the motion picture camera), the first commercially available fluoroscope (an X-ray imaging device), and systems for the distribution of electric power.

Of course, Edison’s most famous invention is his seminal improvement on the electric light bulb.

While others scientists invented the electric light bulb itself, Edison worked to make the light bulb practical.  According to the most prominent of Edison’s patent applications for his electric light bulb, the key was using “a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected to platina contact wires”.  With this filament, an electric current passing through it would give off light, and the oxygenless environment inside the bulb would prevent the filament from burning, thereby making the bulb last longer.

Edison’s first successful test of his invention lasted 40 hours, and he soon improved his design to last for over 1200 hours.  In comparison, bulbs designed by others could last only 12 hours or so – a 100x improvement.

However, we shouldn’t credit some stroke of genius for enabling Edison’s light bulb to be invented.  While Edison’s carbon filament was the key to his invention, Edison’s persistence was the key to his success.

It is said that Edison tried thousands of different kinds of filaments before coming up with his final design. He tried and failed, and tried and failed, and tried and failed. And while a single filament design may have failed, he never considered himself a failure; he just learned another new way not to make a light bulb.

Obviously, Edison created his inventions over 100 years ago, so we’ve certainly progressed since Edison’s time, replacing his inventions with the new innovations of today. 

The phonograph has been replaced with the iPod.  The fluoroscope has been replaced by magnetic resonance imagers or MRIs.  The kinetograph has now evolved into the handheld digital camcorder.  So, we shouldn’t be surprised that Edison’s incandescent light bulb has finally been replaced with better technologies.

However, Edison’s influence has been unquestionably dramatic, and the lessons of his success are enduring.  Had Edison not persisted in his quest to build a better light bulb, the practicality of illuminating every corner of our world with electric light could not have been realized.

When we turn on a light switch, the lights go on.  While this seems so simple to us today, we can thank Thomas Edison and his persistence for making it real.