getFreshMinds.com | Ideas so fresh--they should be slapped!

Smart Spices

 

Saw this cool new way of buying spices on Cool Hunting the other day.  Looks like someone finally realized that most ordinary people don't use full-sized containers of spices before their expiration date.

(Oh yes, spices do expire... only a couple months after opening!  This was news to me, so don't feel bad if you didn't know it either!)

The brilliant part of this idea is that it takes into account how a large amount of people really use spices, and created a product that works better for them.

Of course, it is more cost-effective to buy larger containers of spices - but only if you use them.  If you only use spices infrequently, the small containers are a much better option.

The brand is Smart Spice, and they'll be available this fall.

In a world of change, should schools stay the same?

Not long ago, I wrote a post about all the things that have turned from impossible to possible.  It's had some great discussion, especially about a comment from reader Rob Jacobs of Education Innovation.

Rob very effectively highlighted one thing that doesn't change...

100 years ago, students were sitting in classrooms with a teacher and blackboard at the front.

50 years ago, students were sitting in classroom with a teacher and a blackboard at the front.

5 years ago, student were sitting in classrooms with a teacher and a whiteboard at the front.

Breathtaking speed of change! Education seems to be a little behind the curve.

It's definitely true that schools don't change much.  But is that good, or bad?

Reader Al took the opposite viewpoint and argued that it's a good things that schools are slow to change:

Some times classical methods are the best. I'm sure there may be other alternatives, but being a computer science major, the majority of my classes are taught via power point presentations and it's a very impersonal method to learn and for high school students and lower grades I truly don't believe it would work out.

So, what do you think?  Should our schools be changing to meet the times?  Is Powerpoint an effective enough change, or is it just an electronic blackboard?

How would you change schools?

The floor is open!  Please share your thoughts!

The Best of getFreshMinds.com

Welcome fellow Luther Alumni! 

This blog is about creativity and innovation, as well as "ideas so fresh... they should be slapped."

Some of the most popular posts are:

Do you doubt that anything is possible?
This one received nearly 5000 views in its first week, and is still doing strong on Stumbleupon.

Squeeze out more ideas
How to keep coming up with more ideas even when your well is dry.

The path to failed innovations
A look at innovations that didn't make it, and why.

Thinking backwards can actually be quite brilliant.
Three examples of how looking at regular things from a different perspective can be smart.

The easiest way to become a creative thinker
Pure and simple!  How to be better at thinking creatively.

How to take an idea to the next level
A consistent favorite.  Step-by-step instruction to making an idea better.

Enjoy looking around!  And if you like what you read, subscribe by email or by rss for more creativity, innovation and "ideas so fresh, they should be slapped! 

Also, this month I'm doing a "Comment for Kudos" contest, so please join in by leaving a comment.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Katie

Luther '04

 

Stretch your creativity by adding restrictions.

There's a lot of talk out there about how being creative is about breaking free - from assumptions, from rules and from the "way things are done".

People recommend everything from taking a walk in nature, to crazy improv sessions, to swimming in giant ball pools wearing clown shoes as flippers.  (Ok, I made that last one up.)

The thought is that creativity happens best without limits, when thinkers are completely free to do whatever pops into their head.

But what if they're wrong?  What if it's easier to come up with creative ideas not by escaping from restrictions... but from adding them?

Last week, Liz Strauss of Successful Blog challenged her readers to sum up their life wisdom - in only 25 words.

(25 words!  Yeah, I know.  How do you compress an entire life lesson into a standard-sized sentence?  It sounds impossible!)

Yet it wasn't.  When I sat down to tackle her challenge, I found that I could compress an entire stream of thought into exactly 25 words.  And I wasn't the only one!  Just take a look at the 49 completely different (and all fabulous) responses to Liz's challenge.

25 Words of Work / Life Wisdom

Who would think that 25 words could be arranged so many different ways?

Well, basically anyone who likes sonnets - since the rules for sonnets are so strict!

A sonnet must not only have 14 lines in iambic pentameter, it also needs a specific  a-b-a-b/c-d-c-d/e-f-e-f/g-g rhyme scheme and a conflict of sorts in the opening stanzas and a resolution in the closing ones.

Sounds really limiting, doesn't it? 

Yet Shakespeare wrote 154 of them, each unique and compelling.  (You can read them all here if you don't believe me!)

The fact is, being creative without limits can be a lot of fun.  (Who doesn't love a good ball crawl?) 

But when someone has to be creative within limits, that's when their ingenuity really begins to shine.

25 Words for the Weekend

Liz Strauss over at Successful Blog challenged her readers to write down their words of advice... in only 25 words.  So, here's mine:

Today I suggest to you
Bite off more than you can chew
Forget when anyone watches you askew
Just pursue something big, exciting, and new.

Fabulous baby tortoise photo from the very fun FrostFireZoo blog.

Do you doubt that anything is possible?

Anything and everything is possible. Do you doubt that?

Then consider that 20,000 years ago, animals were either sources of food or competitors to humans. Today many animals are daily companions that share their lives with their people.

15,000 years ago, all humans had brown eyes. Today, eyes can range in color from bright blue to green to hazel to violet.

5,000 years ago, there was no easy way to move heavy loads around. Today, almost everything that moves has a wheel.

1000 years ago, poor eyesight was an irreversible, crippling handicap. Today, most vision problems can be corrected either temporarily or permanently with glasses, contacts or laser surgery.

600 years ago, books were written by hand and literacy was only for the elite. Today, an original fiction book is published every hour.

200 years ago, the only way to capture an image was through drawings or paintings. Today, a picture can be taken with the push of a button on a camera.

150 years ago, transportation was by human or animal effort only. Today, many Americans drive more than they walk.

100 years ago, humans were bound to the ground. Today thousands of people fly around the world.

50 years ago, a computer filled an entire room. Today, many people keep one in their bedroom.

10 years ago, people wanting to listen to a large variety of music needed to carry around bulky cases of CDs. Today, a player holding thousands of songs can fit easily in a pocket.

Still doubt that anything is possible?  Just wait!

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Here's where to get more creative juice.

Running low on creativity?  Not able to finish that big project, stuck behind a writer's block, or just lacking the motivation to get started on your dream?

You might be running low on your supply of creative juice.

Contrary to what most people believe, creative juice doesn't just happen.  It must be carefully cultivated under the correct conditions, harvested at the right time, and prepared perfectly.

If you want to know more, watch this short video about how creativity has been harvested in the UK for over 350 years.

(Thanks to Gavin Heaton at The Servant of Chaos blog who pointed me to the post on Kris Hoet's 'Cross the Breeze.  And yes, this video is a joke! :-)

Different ways to achieve the same goal.

One of the fun things about traveling is seeing how the little things (that take for granted) are often different overseas.

For example, take deodorant/antiperspirant.

Few Americans or Europeans will disagree that deodorant is a very important personal hygiene product.  (Definitely no one who has been on a crowded bus for 20 minutes will disagree!)

But, even though deodorant works the same on both sides of the Atlantic, it doesn't come in the same form.

	In America, deodorant is typically a roll-on solid.
	In Europe, deodorant most often comes as a spray!

Both work the same.  (Luckily!)  But, for some reason, spray deodorant has never caught on in the States and roll-on deodorant has never made a splash over in Europe.

But isn't it interesting about the the same product with the same results (and even many of the same brands), have evolved differently?

Everything can be improved. (And here's the proof.)

There are a lot of things in our everyday life that we just accept the way they are - mostly because we're so used to doing things that way, that we don't even notice inefficiencies.

But, that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement!

Tale a look at this "eating hack" as demonstrated by The 4-Hour Workweek author Tim Ferriss.  I guarantee that 99% of you have never thought of peeling hard-boiled eggs like this!

Then, take a fresh look at how you do the most ordinary, every-day things.  What can you improve?