The story of Post-It® and Velcro

Post-it® is one of 3M's famous products. The basic ingredient, the glue, was invented by Dr. Spence Silver, who actually created it unwittingly. It was an adhesive that formed itself into tiny spheres with a diameter of a paper fibre. As the spheres would only make intermittent contact they did not stick very strongly when coated onto paper backing. But did you know that 3M research scientist Dr. Spence Silver took 5 years of hawking the product within 3M before he met then new-product manager Art Fry.

Art was frustrated at how ihsi scrap paper bookmarks kept falling out of his church choir hymnal. In a monent of "Eureka", Art found a great innovative use of Dr. Spencer's strange glue as a way to make reliable bookmarks. The Post-it® was born.

In this story of creativity and innovation, Spence created a new type of glue, but it took 5 years before some one else (Art) found an innovative way to use it.

The story continues...

At the turn of the 20th century (early 1900), George de Mestral was a boy living in Switzerland. He loved the outdoors and he also loved inventing.

George received his first patent at 12 years of age for designing a toy plane. As George grew up, he was often in the woods, hunting and walking through bushes and forest areas. he would be annoyed by the burrs that stuck to his pants and his dog's fur. He wondered why the burrs sutck so well. By examining the burrs under the microscope, he discovered that the burrs had hundreds of tiny hooks that grabbed into loops of thread or fur. George worked on the idea that the concept of the burrs could be use. He talked to fabric and cloth experts and worked with different types of woven and knit cloth. In 1952 George started a company name Velcro (Velcro comes from the root French words for velvet and hook)

In this story, George was inquisitive enough to find out why the burrs stuck to his clothes. After discovering the principal of how burrs works, which had been there since creation, George took the idea to create what we know now as Velcro. George innovated nature's gift to the burrs into a product.

source : my critical thinking class

Tapping into the "flow" experience

Mihaly's studies into the optimum human performance revealed that the brain produces the best work at a stat of mind, which he termed "flow".

Flow is defined as the experience of a person when he is totally focused and absorbed in the task such that the person and the task becomes inextricably fused with each other. The mind then takes on a magical world of its own and all other dimensions like time, hunger, pain and the immediate surrounding become irrelevant and unimportant.

Mihaly says that even with the most optimal environment, flow can only be experienced a few times a day and usually last about 1 to 2 hours at a time.

The revealing fact is then that creativity needs TIME. It has to be based on information, facts and understanding that is already stored int he brain. That is why there is a strong correlation between memory and creativity. Buzan believes that the key to memory is a strong sense of imagination and association. This is also the sme key to creativity. Therefore, the more you exerciese your memory through the use of this key, the more creative you become as well. As you gather information over time, you have a larger storehouse to create more imagination and association. So contrary to the belief that your memory deteriorates as you age, you actually have more arsenal to develop a stronger memory.

The early artists drew their creativity from nature. Today, there are more forms of art to choose from and some, like Andy Warhol, drew his creativity from looking at basic household items from a different angle.

The creative person does no have more facts or time, he does however look at and process infromation differently.

source : my critical thinking class

Creating, Imagining and Innovating

All human beings have the capacity to generate novel, clever or ingenious products, solutions and techniques - if that capacity is developed. Creative human beings try to preceive problems and solutions differently, examining alternative possibilities from many angles. They tend to project themselves into diffreent roles using analogies, starting with a vision and working backwards and imagining they are the objects being considered.

Creative people take risks and frequently push the boundaries of their perceived limitations. Creative people are open to criticism. They hold up their products for others to judge and they seek feedback in an ever-increasing effort to refine their technique.

Creativity, innovation and imagination can be cultivated in the field of cross domain application. For example finding associated applications between science and art, mathematics and music, dance and physics, painting and mathematics, sculpting and English. Even if the subjects cannot be taught in such a manner, we should encourage nd create opportunities to link the domains by making references to past lessons, or events and find links between them.

In each of the major subjects such as Mathematics, Science andEnglish, the aesthetic aspects can be taught from time to time. For ecample, writing poetry is both an art for as weell as a language subject. Mathematics can be used to create balanced sculpture. Scientific knowldge can be used to grow crystals to create 3D art objects. History can be told through a play, celebrating both the collective memories of the human race and human expressions through body language and verbal language. Geography can create majestic art pieces. Literature can be converted into a ballad, together with musical scores.

Innovation si the selection, development and mplementation of creative ideas. Innovating thinking requires both critical as well as creative thinking elements. A person who does not think critically tends ot accept or reject information or ideas without examining them. In a world where ideas abound, this is dangerous. In a world where the ability to source and assess ideas on an ongioning basis as part of our work and life, critical thinking is as essential as being able to read, write and count.

Darkness Incarnate

Echoes of the ancient Art still resonated in every corner of the globe, from the mystical Kabbalists of
Judaism to the esoteric Sufis of Islam. Vestiges remained in the arcane rituals of Christianity, in its godeating
rites of Holy Communion, its hierarchies of saints, angels, and demons, its chanting and incantation,
its holy calendar’s astrological underpinnings, its consecrated robes, and in its promise of everlasting life.
Even now, its priests dispelled evil spirits by swinging smoke-filled censers, ringing sacred bells, and
sprinkling holy water. Christians still practiced the supernatural craft of exorcism—an early practice of their
faith that required the ability not only to cast out demons but to summon them.

And yet they cannot see their past?

Nowhere was the church’s mystical past more evident than at her epicenter. In Vatican City, at the heart of
St. Peter’s Square, stood the great Egyptian obelisk. Carved thirteen hundred years before Jesus took his first
breath—this numinous monolith had no relevance there, no link to modern Christianity. And yet there it was.
At the core of Christ’s church. A stone beacon, screaming to be heard. A reminder to those few sages who
remembered where it all began. This church, born of the womb of the Ancient Mysteries, still bore her rites
and symbols.

One symbol above all.

Adorning her altars, vestments, spires, and Scripture was the singular image of Christianity—that of a
precious, sacrificed human being. Christianity, more than any other faith, understood the transformative
power of sacrifice. Even now, to honor the sacrifice made by Jesus, his followers proffered their own feeble
gestures of personal sacrifice . . . fasting, Lenten renunciation, tithing.

All of those offerings are impotent, of course. Without blood . . . there is no true sacrifice.

The powers of darkness had long embraced blood sacrifice, and in doing so, they had grown so strong that
the powers of goodness now struggled to keep them in check. Soon the Light would be entirely consumed,
and the practitioners of darkness would move freely through the minds of men.

ref : The Lost Symbol

becoming immortal (1)

if you ask me, "what would you want to be in the future?" i would probably answer nothing. i would probably say that everything, including future, is uncertain. the only certain thing about the world is uncertainity. such as, etc. but last night, when i was sipping a cup of coffee in the middle of isomania, i had a line of thought. i remembered that when i was young, very young, there was the only thing i've wanted to be. until now, in my deep unconciousness, this desire still remains.

it was the first and foremost desire of my life. throughout my life, from younger to this day, i wanted to be a superstar, a writer, a politian, a poet, a programmer, even an architect. these desires appeared after an idea, I WANT TO BE AN IMMORTAL !

think i'm nuts, eh? well, it was sort of crazy idea but i'm sure that this was the only reason of my existence. i wanted to be an immortal, i wanted to live forever. this desire appeared in early years of my life. from the day that idea started in my mind, i searched for the ways to be an immortal. religions after religions, they could not give any definite and possible way to be an immortal.

early Buddhism has a way to be an immortal. i'm not talking about Nivanna. in early Buddhism, or maybe we call Hinduism? people can medidate and control their minds to be an immortal. also in Myanmar, there are many immortal stories such as Zaw Jyi, Bo Bo Aung, etc. i interested in these stories and researched for some logical facts. but unfortunately, the more i researched, the more unlogical things i saw in religions. does our mind control my soul? is there any soul in my body? how do you prove that soul exists? is there really immortals?

after reading books after books and thinking thoughts after thoughts, i've unknowingly became an atheist and a rationalist. well, a little bit nihilist. i've finally figured out that such thing as immortal soul doesn't exist and i'm not even sure whether i do exist or not. but last night, (as i've said before) while i was sipping a cup of coffee, i had an idea. the idea of how to become an immortal and what really is immortal...

to be continued....

grand opening

well... this post is just a test.

i'll try my best to share my knowledge and feelings. i've alread had a blog in myanmar version. for friends who can't read burmese, i made this blog. :)

the title says it all. HOLY BLADE, religious philosophy and religious blasphemy. i love religions but i can't accept religions. in this blog, you'll see most of my religious views and thoughts. the title is named opposite of the HOLY GRAIL or HOLY CHALICE. the opposite of GRAIL is BLADE, which represents the male. so... i named my blog HOLY BALDE, the blasphemy of the HOLY GRAIL. :P

first, don't misunderstand me that i'm insulting Christianity or some other religions. i love blasphemies and this is just another blasphemy that i've done in my life. so.. don't get me wrong.

second, my english is bad and this blog contains a lot of grammar mistakes and spellings. please be patient and read well. :D