week 5 – On design thinking

A lecture by Craig Austin on design thinking.

• Edward de Bono

Someone who was thought to have invented “lateral” thinking.

But did not invent the word, he made it up.

 

The brain is designed to make “self organizing” patterns

 

• Ways of thinking

    In logical thinking, it mainly works with FACT

    Whereas “design thinking” has to work with “lateral” thinking.

 

• Past based thinking

Analysis and judgment based thinking

 

• NEW thinking

Generative, (creative) thinking.

 

 

 

 

 

Cuba – The special Period

The film “The power of community” absolutely astonished me. This was a lecture that featured a film about “the special period” of Cuba. For those who don’t know what this is, it was a period where Cuba had lost around 80% of its wealth due something that we call “peak oil”. As at 2000, it was predicted that by this stage, that the world would used up half of its oil supplies.

Due to the collapse of many nations, trade for services and goods had depleted for many country’s. Cuba was one of these country’s, once reliant on surrounding country’s to supply food, oil. With the supply cut short of oil being transported into Cuba, that meant all their energy needs were cut short as well.

Transport become a massive issue, as there was no money or oil for that matter to produce diesel or gasoline, to run these transports, which meant a lot of unemployment for people not being able to get to work. Housing areas lost power constantly, where black outs would last for long periods of time. Farmers reliant on their tractors and machines, were no longer able to fuel them or find spare parts for them.

From this Economic crisis came good though. A county once dependant on importation of goods, became self sufficient in growing food, and developed ways to make money by food trade, as well as having lots of local trade within their community’s where people would simply “swap” goods.

Everything that was once reliant on pollutants, Cubans resourced natural, sustainable ways to farm, using better non chemical pesticides and fertilizes.

In terms of our ways of living, Cubans due to this economic crisis now consume 8% of what a regular American does.

We should all be taking example of this and be following this way of sustainable living, for humans and the world to survive.