"Work is the very opposite of creation, which is play. The world only began to get something of value from me the moment I stopped being a serious member of society and became - myself. The State, the nation, the united nations of the world, were nothing but one great aggregation of individuals who repeated the mistakes of their forefathers. They were caught in the wheel from birth and they kept at it until death - and this treadmill they tried to dignify by calling it "life."
- Henry Mil1er, The Revolution of Everyday Life
Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. We can't talk about science, because our knowledge of it is limited and unofficial, and usually our fiction is dreadful. A few years ago, no college or university would ever have considered inviting one of us to speak. We were mercifully confined to lurid pulp magazines, impressing no one. In those days, friends would say me, "But are you writing anything serious?" meaning "Are you writing anything other than science fiction?" We longed to be accepted. We yearned to be noticed. Then, suddenly, the academic world noticed us, we were invited to give speeches and appear on panels and immediately we made idiots of ourselves. The problem is simply this: What does a science fiction writer know about? On what topic is he an authority?Phillip K. Dick, um dos maiores escritores de ficção científica do mundo, autor dos contos e histórias que deram origem a filmes como Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, entre outros, fala sobre o ofício. Vale a pena conferir.
It's always important for a tech company to monitor what's going on in the consumer market. Too often consumer technology is relegated to stepsister status and not considered real hardcore technology. The crossover phenomenon is real and can dramatically change the business market.
"In the art of the early Renaissance... the starting point of production is to be fount mostly not in the creative urge, the subjective self-expression and spontaneous inspiration of the artist, but in the task set by the customer".
Yesterday's edition of Knowledge@Wharton included an interesting article on research done by Sheen S. Levine, a Singapore Management University professor who recently received his PhD from Wharton. Considering the value of "performative ties," Levine suggests that critical knowledge can be transferred via impromptu communications made by colleagues who are strangers - with no expectation of a quid pro quo.