Are books the only thing that makes us different from animals?

I was reflecting on my liking of written communication - I like it written down, not always, but some of the complicated ideas and some important conversations I want to be saved. I like to re-read things that are dear to me. I like to look at pictures for long time to focus my thoughts and maybe come up with something different
This August I did a Toastmaster speech on the topic of sustainable development. And as I was researching things that might be close and interesting to people who are not experts (yeah, I tend to think of myself as an emerging expert) - I came across the fact that we, as humans, are pushing the rest of life on the Earth away. Practically we are invading animals' and plants' homes and chasing them away - yes, just like that.
And then the next thought was - what gave us that right? Are we better in any way? I don't like the idea of someone being "better" than the other living being in general. Or even I don't like the idea of "better". Better for what? Without context "better" means nothing.
But ok. Are we more clever to decide the lives of the rest of the Earth population? I am not an expert on intelligence, but some research has shown that mostly the scientists agree, that we just do not understand the intelligence of other species. And in the same time - they actually understand ours quite often. Hmmm.
Well, I think we are behaving like invaders for the one simple reason - because we can. Just like in the history, more powerful races, tribes, states took over the less powerful ones and imposed their "better" rules on the oppressed, now we are doing the same to the animals. But we should also remember that power is not permanent, it favours some and for some time and then it shifts away. By killing our allies -  animals - we might be opening a road to power for our enemies: viruses, harmful bacteria, parasites..
But I digress. Something made us more powerful than other species. And it's not just our intelligence. I think it's our way to preserve, distill, pass on and grow our knowledge. Basically, it's books. As kids we absorb the knowledge of generations and come to adulthood prepared for many things that we had no chance to experience, the books gave us options for dealing with future situations no matter where in the world we are and how weird and different the environment is.
Maybe I am missing something, but I think animals don't have that wonderful transferrable information storage. Maybe that's what made us so powerful.

P.S. By books I mean a vast information media - anything that one can create from his/her own experience and pass to the other without significant loss of information.

Acquired Taste

People find so many similar rules applicable in different spheres of science, different aspects of life, for example particles attract each other on long distances, but push away on short distances. Apply it to people and it is still true. I don't think it tells as much about the nature of the phenomena, as it tells about the structure of human intelligence, ability of humans to perceive, structure and accumulate knowledge. Maybe it's also what makes us different from animals: different toolset for knowledge processing and accumulation. But I digress.
I was playing with the idea how diet rules can be applied to information. There's lots of junk information to consume. Open your cellphone and there's loads: pictures, facebook, news - you name it. Obviously, cellphone has created informational "fast food" - always available - anywhere! And the moment you get used to the sweet taste of favourable comments, delicious pictures and other junk - you don't want to strain your brain with study material, reports and complicated books. Just as a bowl of salad looks so heavy and undesirable when you just want some quick-fix energy (rather a candy bar).
Now I was thinking of the normal dieting advice to keep healthy food around and remove unhealthy. This advice can be so applicable to the information - remove the junk, and you either think, write or read what is full of useful information that can help you to grow. Again - you are what you eat and your brain is what you put into it.
I guess I need an informational diet :)))

Conscious Leadership

Now this is really topical - sounds like my PhD topic is buzzing - just got this invite today for a "3-Day MBA" learning program:

• Discover neuroscience: Understand how the brain can be shaped and changed.  
• Understand mindfulness: Acquire methods that will help you maintain focus and attention and deliver results. 
• Learn how to deal with emotions:  Master emotional reactions. 
• Become a wiser decision maker under pressure: Develop the ability to remain in the eye of the storm. 

All that I should master to write my thesis. 

PhD is the trickiest way to learn - you can't just think, and you can't just learn. First you learn EVERYTHING and then you think about it all the time.  I regularly find myself doing just that - thinking. I think this is the main reason I try to stay away from people quite a lot. Thinking takes me really long-long time. I was recently thinking that life is all about decision-making, but now I start to realise that it is actually more about thinking. I secretly contemplate some menial job like knitting so that I can just think

moral Dilemmas

How do you act when your world view is in agreement with an action, but it includes others whose moral views will be breached?
I am talking about some ethical laws that can be important in one society but unimportant in others. Mmm..i think the lowest common coefficient rule appkies, i.e. if it's not important to you but important to the other particioant, forcing the breach of his/her moral rule is immoral.

Back to Culture or to Myself

Starting my PhD I consciously decided thst it will be something different, meaning completely different from complex, vague, debatable nature of my master's dissertation. Of course, I have selected well-structured mathematical modelling with all quantitative proofs and no emotional nonsense. It was supposed to be clear and straightforfard. Yes, was..supposed to..
No matter where we go, we take ourselves with. In trying to identify the uniqueness of my study, i came uo with values. Yes, I want to connect inner values with decisions, help unveil those values that motvate the decision, make the decision makers aware of it. And - values again took me back to cultural values, my faviurite Hofstede, my faviurite diversity of cultural views, no black and white, just grey, just something working somehow, mixing up into this wonderful mash of expectatiins, norms and behaviors that somehow amazingly comolement each other comprising a culture. Well, the journey promises a turmoil..but also there will be splendour...

Leaders, including many good ones, come and go

Unless they are in politics :))))

Balance of Views

As I am reading "Value based leadership" more and more aspects of my PhD come to the surface. The author talks about Balance as one of the 4 principles of value based leadership. Balance is acknowledging different points of view (or even different realities!) and understanding their validity and importance to see the complete picture. In decision science this balance is represented as a group decision model with multiple alternatives. Is there anybody who is right and others who are wrong? Certainly we think so, but this thinking is rooted in our conceptual reality..

value based life

My PhD plans are shaping up: value based decision making.  That sounds like what I want to do and like something that means so much to me.
Is what I am doing in line with my values? This is the best question to evaluate any decision.  It seems that doing PhD on this topic - iS indeed.  But everything else?  There are things that are clear but some are vague.  It's difficult to get down to what values are underlying a particular decision.  I think this can be the methodology that I am looking for.
Value based and "want"-based decisions can conflict. I really want a big house with a swimming pool,  everything automated. I want to fly often.  I want to have many kids.  But. .thinking carefully,  these wants are conflicting with my values: non-destruction,  nature protection,  growing from within and not at the expense of others. However on the flip side - not pursuing "wants" can be also destructive. What would be the solution?

Creativity

1. Balance efficiency with creativity. Process management techniques, such as total quality management or Six Sigma, which can increase your growing company's efficiency and productivity, are also likely to decrease your ability to innovate. Don't let efficiency-enhancing practices act as barriers to exploring new ideas. Nurture your natural creativity. Continue to invest in new ideas as you increase operational efficiency.

Taken from here:

http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/174269/great-entrepreneurs-creative-thinkers.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=Monthly&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

 I think I am sometimes trying to be too efficient, it's boring. I need to waste some time

What if the Rules were Different?

What if what you are supposed to do, to be, to look like is changed? It changes all the type - behavior norms, preferences, fashions. Should you be fat or skinny? Should you be active or sedentary? Should you have a family or pursue a career? Follow a religion or be an atheist?
What if what you are struggling to achieve today, will be declared futile, stupid or even evil in the future? There are many ways..
According to Hofstede - only the values stay the same..and that means lots of freedom. Time to look out of the box?

PS. Found "Marriage: A History" book yesterday - the rules were so different before. Turns out we've just in the crisis of Love marriage. And Man-breadwinner marriage is a thing of 1950es - ONLY (I was always wondering why this thing still sticks up to everyone's minds - probably because it is so relatively new)!

Ok, I just need somebody comfortable to sleep with (cats are not comfortable, they push me off the bed and steal the blanket)

Essential Feature of a Great Speaker

Essential feature of a Great Speaker is Great Content. This idea came to me today as I was thinking of the last SANEA lecture and Brian Stratham presentation. He kept my attention for the whole 40-50 minutes of the lecture. I wanted to make so many notes, but was too scared to miss out on what he was saying. Only wrote down a few sentences after the lecture. And even these few sentences are full of meaning still.
Was his speech perfect? Not at all. Did he have a perfect clear voice? No, again. But the content was brilliant.
So the bottom line - if you have nothing to say - rather shut up. No beautiful words, perfect tone or immaculate language will save a speech without a meaning.

Sustainable Society

Met my supervisor on Monday - looks like my research is going to take a serious sustainability angle. I think it is great :) I keep thinking about that article I've read in UAE embassy last year. It was talking about how current economy model is not working - because of environmental damage that it causes and very unequal goods distribution. Further to that I've heard another discussion of the same topic, but in that case the underutilisation of the current youth was mentioned as a symptom of the economic model problem.
I certainly do not understand what is economic model in general and what is the current one exactly, that's why my thinking is so vague. But I think that is something that I must look into in my research as well. Economically sustainable society should also be able to function without environmental damage and allowing all its members to reach decent level of living..
It's getting more interesting :)

Sunday Mornings..

I am not only getting old, I AM old! Second time I start my Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and Financial Times...My only excuse that it happens during the break on my 23 km morning run (I stop at the gym at 17 km to buy coffee and read newspaper).

PhD = Active Process of Changing Yourself

I think I came up to the root of the difficulty of writing a PhD. It is not so much in writing or learning - it is actively forcefully changing yourself from inside out. You might end up changing everything what you are standing on. Scary - who will you be at the end?

Registration..

So I wrote this post 3 years ago - I see nothing changes in my life, I still see the registration at the university as the worst nightmare. Time to get to the new level? Probably. I FEEL STUCK!

Passion vs Experience

Contemplating on my life experience: all that I've achieved was done with passion. Experience has nothing. In fact the more experienced I am in anything, the worse I perform in it. I need to pay more attention to my passions if I want to achieve more in life...maybe I should learn that zulu ;) And the biggest secret - coding is so-so-so boring! (that's I am getting in touch with my emotions). I really can't do what I know how to do already :(