I am a fan of TED. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading featuring a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. If I could have any job in the world, it would be my full time job to attend TED and write reviews of each presentation. As Autodesk is a sponsor and participant in TED, I envy Tom Wujec who represents us all at TED events. Thankfully there are TED videos so we can all benefit without actually attending.

Recently I watched Steven Johnson's presentation of where good ideas come from.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-09-21&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email">
TED video

I was struck by a section of his presentation where he described Kevin Dunbar's observations of scientists at work.

...where do good ideas come from? When we think about the classic image of the scientist in the lab, we have this image of them poring over the microscope, then they see something in the tissue [sample under the microscope], and oh eureka, they get the idea. [Dunbar found that] almost all important breakthrough ideas did not happen alone in the lab in front of the microscope - [instead] they happened at the conference table at the weekly lab meeting where everybody got together and shared their latest data and findings.

This reinforces what I have been saying all along. Without your participation in the Autodesk Labs process, the best ideas will never surface. Your feedback is the most important part of the process.

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Thanks to all who send us their feedback.

Favoring our connected minds is alive the lab.