Competency, Capacity, Creativity, Improvement

Let me help you “C”(see) how Competency, capacity, and creativity are cited by experts as a path to improvement. For more ideas about this, see the post Capacity Enables Creativity and Crisis Mitigation.

Insight

For years I have been making steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast. I cook the oats with raisins, flax, hemp, and chia seeds. I then serve it with fruit and granola, after which I top it with maple syrup. I love it. Generally, I put 1.5 cups of water with the oats in a pot to boil. I then go back to the sink to get more water and add water as needed while I cook the oats. In the end, I add a bit more water, sometimes having to go back to the sink for more water. I leave it to simmer while I do 10 minutes of yoga (see 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏽‍♂️🧘🏼‍♀️MorningYoga is Great🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏽‍♂️🧘🏼‍♀️) and stretching to start my day.

INSIGHT! This morning I realized, WAIT!, I could just fill my water container to the 3-cup level, pour 1.5 cups in when I start, and add as necessary while cooking. Doing this saves me from having to back to the sink for more water after I start cooking. Sure, not a big deal. However, this creative, helpful insight only occurred because I was very competent at making my breakfast.

What could be possible as you become more competent at your job and elsewhere? Practice creates habits so we can do things without thinking. Since I didn’t have to focus on “how” to make breakfast, it gave my mind “white space” to be creative. (see Generating Great Ideas with “White Space” from Exercise) My creativity was unleashed because my mind had the capacity to think in a better way. If I had been struggling to learn this skill, that insight would not have been possible.

Enables Improvement

I am not sure how to categorize this. However, I have found other ways to increase my capacity and improve my efficiency. Really what I am doing is multiplying time. See Be Fruitful and Multiply – Time That is…. That is, I am doing things today that enable me to do more tomorrow.

Locker Room Efficiency

I often left my lock in the gym after my workouts. After my workout, I could get distracted by my phone, friend, or something else when I got dressed. Inevitably I often left my lock in the locker room and had to purchase a new one. This meant not only buying a new lock and needing to remember a new combination. To solve this problem, I started visualizing myself taking the lock off the locker and immediately putting it on my gym bag. I visualized this whenever I would think of it and also when I would put the lock on my locker and when I would take it off the locker. So far, it has been great, I now automatically put my lock on my bag right away. Now, even if I talk with others, get a text or call, or am thinking about other things, I take my lock. I made securing my lock a habit, and it helps because habits are What We Do Without Thinking.

Another improvement that enabled improvement was suggested to me by my wife. During the pandemic, my family all did 10 minutes of yoga together online with Kasandra and her 30-day challenge, even though we often were in different locations. In doing this, sometimes we would miss a day or want to do two sessions. My wife said, why don’t we just line up the day with the day of the month. Wow, so simple and likely because she wasn’t as concerned about knowing what to do. Now I always know what day I am working on in a 30-day challenge.

Build Competency

As I tell my students, it is vital to become really good at what you do. When you are good, you become more creative and effective. Tony Dungy helped his SuperBowl winning football teams to automatically do the right thing on the field. This then gave the players the capacity to adapt and adjust as needed – it worked. When we are more competent, we have more capacity. Therefore, if or when things change, we have the capacity to adjust as needed.

So Simple?

So simple? The examples I provided are simple everyday examples. If this is possible daily, what is possible in your work and in your life? Get really good at what you do. Become super competent and more capable. Becoming good at what you do will unleash creativity and ideas you never knew you had. A by-product of being competent is creativity and improvement. These results help you become an even better version of yourself,

Becoming really good at what you do can help you feel good and proud of yourself, which is selfish. It will also help all those around you, which is selfless. It is also likely to inspire others to do good work, which has been referred to as elevation. This also means your actions are pervasive. Doing this means you can start doing regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. I look forward to hearing about how your competency enables great new ideas for improvement – please share how you generate comprehensive improvements.

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

AI is Loose: Is Bard Better?

The artificial intelligent search engine wars are starting. Microsoft has plans to use OpenAI and Chat GPT with Bing. I tried out that search engine with my Powerful Chat GPT Good?? post. As noted, it was not very accurate, though it did capture some good information.

To compare, I tried out Google’s Bard. You can try Bard and use Google’s AI by putting Bard.google.com as your URL. It notes all over the page that is experimental. They also encourage us to provide feedback on the information provided to improve their responses. I did a search by asking, Can you tell me about paneugenesis?

In the first few searches I did, others were given credit for the concept of paneugenesis. However, after providing feedback about the factual errors, new searches with the same query correctly attributed the concept of paneugenesis to me. It learned fast.

Is Feedback Considered Accurate?

I wonder about the feedback I provided. I saw it updated with the accurate information I provided, but does that mean it could update with incorrect information? I did not want to try it to find out. Although the responses by Bard to my query provided a lot of good information, some results made things up. For instance, some of the responses created indicated that there were books about paneugenesis and community groups that work on paneugenesis. All good ideas, but not factually incorrect.

Example Bard Search

Below is a picture of the top portion of my search asking Bard, “Can you tell me about paneugenesis?” The full output of Draft 2 from Bard is posted below. Although I would word things a bit differently, the responses were good. In Drafts 1 & 3 it incorrectly mentioned books or community groups about paneugenesis. If you do a query, users can export the full output to a Google Doc.

Bard’s Response Draft 2: Can you tell me about Paneugenesis?

As you can see, it incorrectly indicated I wrote a book, “The Positive Health Revolution.” That is just a post on this website. Other than that, the information seems good. What do you think?

Sure. Paneugenesis is a term coined by Craig Becker, a health promotion expert and author of the book “The Positive Health Revolution.” It is a process of creating comprehensive improvements by creating interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Paneugenesis is based on the principle that doing good things enables good outcomes as it simultaneously crowds out bad actions.

There are five key principles of paneugenesis:

  1. Regenerative: Paneugenesis is about creating interactions that are regenerative, meaning that they produce more good than they consume.
  2. Net-positive: Paneugenesis is about creating interactions that are net-positive, meaning that they produce more benefits than they create harm.
  3. Pervasive: Paneugenesis is about creating interactions that are pervasive, meaning that they have a positive impact on a wide range of people and things.
  4. Reciprocal: Paneugenesis is about creating interactions that are reciprocal, meaning that they benefit everyone involved.
  5. Synergistic: Paneugenesis is about creating interactions that are synergistic, meaning that they create even greater benefits when combined with other positive interactions.

Paneugenesis can be applied to a wide range of areas, including health, education, business, and the environment. When applied effectively, paneugenesis can help to create a more positive and sustainable world.

Here are some examples of paneugenesis in action:

  • A company that creates a product that is both environmentally friendly and profitable is practicing paneugenesis.
  • A school that teaches students about the importance of health and wellness is practicing paneugenesis.
  • A community that comes together to clean up a polluted river is practicing paneugenesis.

Paneugenesis is a powerful concept that can be used to create a more positive and sustainable world. By following the five key principles of paneugenesis, we can all make a difference.

The feedback I provided was that this was mostly good, except cleaning up a polluted river would not be practicing paneugenesis because it can only result in less bad. If actions were taken to make the community better than it was before, even without a polluted river, then that would be paneugenesis. I also told them I had not written that book.

It will be interesting to see how this develops and how it will impact our world. Please try out these new AI search engines and provide feedback. It is a monumental project similar to how Wikipedia was created but on a much larger scale.

Please share your experiences with this new Artificial Intelligence (AI). It appears Bard and other new AI tools can help us generate comprehensive improvements if we use them well. For these to work well, we will need to help make sure these tools help enable regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Please share how you think we can help make that happen!

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Hidden Gems Found

Like most people, I like finding great restaurants that serve what I want. I am a plant-based eater. Although I can generally get plant-based meals, meals prepared for plants rather than as a substitute are better.

The Happy Cow app has been fantastic. It has helped me find great restaurants anywhere I have been in the US. It is worth the $3.99 on the Apple App Store or Google Play. It is also available on a computer at https://www.happycow.net/. Another nice feature was the thank you letter I received after I wrote a review for Zizi’s Vegan at Berry Brook. This restaurant was one of the gems Happy Cow helped me find.

Gems Found

Recently I was in Charlotte, NC. I went to the Trader Joe’s and then was hungry for lunch. On my Happy Cow app, I found choices less than 1 mile from my location. I went to Zizi’s Vegan at Berry Brook. Although they also have a food truck, I visited their location in a health food store. It was hard to find because it was operated from a small kitchen inside a health food store.

The cook was very friendly and told me he developed the recipe for his burgers by trying it with his kids. The burgers were great, made with good things (Delish wholesome burger from lentils, wild rice, portobello, shiitake, beets, spinach & seasoning. Lettuce, tomato, onion, and veganaise. Served on an organic whole wheat bun). The burger was also quite filling. They were so good I got another for dinner and one for my daughter. She also thought it was great.

Other Gem

Another gem I found was when I was picking up my wife from the RDU airport. We wanted to stop at a close restaurant before driving home. Once again, I used my Happy Cow app, which showed me many good plant-based options. I generally also look at the ratings on the app, and they have proven to be very accurate. Again, the restaurant options were close by. We chose a highly-rated Thai restaurant, Champa. It also was great.

Happy Cow Practices Paneugenesis

The Happy Cow app has helped me generate comprehensive improvements by being able find a restaurant close to where I am, which means I don’t burn excess fossil fuels. The app enables me to make delicious, plant-based food choices which we all know improves personal and planetary health. I encourage you to use the Happy Cow app to help you engage in regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions that benefit everyone and everything.

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Innate Reflex to Overcome

Despite the belief we have an evolved status, our detrimental reflex or automatic response to reject new ideas is problematic. Is this innate human quality keeping us from being all we can be? It is time for an improved response.

Is it Hard Wired?

As Daniel Kahnman and others have made clear, humans have a fast reptilian brain and a slower advanced brain in our prefrontal cortex. The Semmelweis Reflex comes to us automatically from the older, faster part of our brain. To overcome this automatic reflex, we will need to ponder ideas and critically analyze their implications using logic. Doing this has proven profoundly beneficial to forward-thinking companies that aim to make a positive impact. Interface Global, which was driven by the late Ray Anderson, provides a model. See, We Must Make It Better – Saving the Planet is not Enough!

Humans are Logical?

Despite being advanced, logical creatures, we humans are hesitant to accept new and better ideas. Although skepticism is good, missing better ideas has caused problems, especially since they are accepted as self-evident in the end. In a 2020 article in World Neurosurgery, it is explained that the innate age-old prejudice for belief perseverance is called the Semmelweis Reflex (by Gupta et al. doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2019.12.012). The article goes on to explain it is a primal human tendency to stick to preexisting beliefs, which also means rejection of contradictory fresh ideas.

Coincidences

I find it interesting how things often seem to overlap. I guess they are coincidences. This coincidence relates to the Semmelweis Reflex and the new TV series Extrapolations on Apple TV+. As noted, the Semmelweis reflex is the primal human tendency to stick to preexisting beliefs and rejection of new contradictory ideas.

Ignaz Semmelweis discovered the lifesaving doctrine of handwashing to reduce the death of new mothers giving birth. Despite solid evidence showing a dramatic benefit from handwashing, his advice was ignored and ridiculed. Rejecting new ideas, despite the evidence, seems to happen often. So often, most of us are familiar with what has been proposed as the stages of Revolutionary Ideas:

Stages of Revolutionary Ideas

  1. Ridiculed
  2. Opposed Violently
  3. Accepted as self-evident

Extrapolations Semmelweis Reflex

The new Apple TV+ show, Extrapolations, explores and attempts to show what will happen on Earth if we continue our current ways. Throughout the series, actors have a Semmelweis Reflex because they refuse to believe the realities of climate change they are experiencing. Again and again, they highlight how difficult it can be to change human behavior because we must counteract our innate Semmelweis Reflex. As noted by actors in the show, “…What bothers me is hypocrisy…”; people want comfort and ease, and then they are outraged by its consequences. They also said, “The problem has never been technology. The problem is us.” It’s time to overcome the Semmelweis Reflex.

Reviews of Extrapolations by NPR and Guardian are here and here. Below is one of the trailers.

Positive Health’s Semmelweis Reflex

Throughout my career, I have been attempting to counteract the Semmelweis Reflex in myself and others. After suffering from a near-fatal car accident, I knew to have the life I desired I had to cause more good to happen and not just fix what was broken. I recovered and earned a PhD which has enabled me to focus my career on ways to build the interdependent science of personal and planetary positive health.

The Semmelweis Reflex causes people to say we must focus on what is wrong before we can make things better. However, as most of us know, if we spend all of our time fixing what is wrong, we don’t have the ability to create what will be good.

The inability to focus on creating good was captured by a story told by Irving Zola – but is used in an article by John B. McKinlay in “A Case for Refocusing Upstream: The Political Economy of Illness” McKinlay, J.B. (1981).

“I am standing by the shore of a swiftly flowing river and hear the cry of a drowning man.  I jump into the cold waters.  I fight against the strong current and force my way to the struggling man. I hold on hard and gradually pull him to shore.  I lay him out on the bank and revive him with artificial respiration.

Just when he begins to breathe, I hear another cry for help.

I jump into the cold waters. I fight against the strong current, and swim forcefully to the struggling woman.  I grab hold and gradually pull her to shore.  I lift her out on the bank beside the man and work to revive her with artificial respiration.

Just when she begins to breathe,  I hear another cry for help. 

I jump into the cold waters.  Fighting again against the strong current,  I force my way to the struggling man.  I am getting tired,  so with great effort I eventually pull him to shore.  I lay him out on the bank and try to revive him with artificial respiration.

Just when he begins to breathe, I hear another cry for help.

Near exhaustion,  it occurs to me that I’m so busy jumping in,  pulling them to shore, applying artificial respiration that I have no time to see

who is upstream pushing them all in….”

A story told by Irving Zola – but is used in an article by John B. McKinlay in “A Case for Refocusing Upstream: The Political Economy of Illness” McKinlay, J.B. (1981)

Take Action!

Promoting personal and planetary health is self-evident after it is done. As we know, taking these actions is often ridiculed and opposed, as is predicted for any revolutionary ideas. This means to improve personal and planetary health, we must first overcome our Semmelweis Reflex.

We can overcome this innate reflex by practicing paneugenesis. To practice paneugenesis means to proactively create more good by generating comprehensive improvements through the creation of regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Please share how you proactively practice paneugenesis…instead of waiting to save people from drowning.

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Kushner Created Meaning

I learned from the linked article in the Washington Post that Harold Kushner, a rabbi whose books brought solace to millions, died at 88. He was a hero of mine. I have read most of his over a dozen books and found them all helpful. I was especially touched by his most famous Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” It meant a lot to me as I recovered from a near-fatal car accident in 1984 that killed the driver and the other 2 passengers in the car. I have re-read that book many times, each time learning more. His books helped me contemplate meaning and purpose.

Meaning & Purpose

Meaning and purpose in life are desires of most of us. Rabbi Kushner provides us with many clues on how to find it. I have contemplated questions about meaning and purpose in these posts: Meaning from Meaninglessness, Making Sense of Chaos, Meaninglessness, Disorientation, and Randomness & Creating Outcomes. Also, the post, Everything Happens for a Reason! Make it Good! relates to what I got from my many readings of Harold Kushner’s book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”

Although the book became a bestseller, the obituary stated that Kushner wrote the book to “redeem my son’s death from meaninglessness” and to try to understand why the world is not fair. His son died as a teenager from progeria, the rapid aging disease. As he contemplated the bad things that happened to him, his conclusions were another example of an undoing of tradition. Kahneman and Tversky’s extensive scientific work demonstrated breakthroughs generally break with traditional practice. Michael Lewis reviewed their work in his book, “The Undoing Project,” and I discussed their work in my “Undoing” Needed to Create Better!” post.

Rabbi broke with traditions by giving up the belief that God was good, but not all-powerful. As he explained,

…“If I, walking through the wards of a hospital, have to face the fact that either God is all-powerful but not kind, or thoroughly kind and loving but not totally powerful, I would rather compromise God’s power and affirm his love,” Rabbi Kushner once told NPR.

…“The theological conclusion I came to is that God could have been all-powerful at the beginning, but he chose to designate two areas of life off-limits to his power,” he continued. “He would not arbitrarily interfere with laws of nature, and secondly, God would not take away our freedom to choose between good and evil.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/05/04/harold-kushner-bad-things-good-people/

Below is a short video summary of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People:”

I hope this helps in your search for meaning and purpose. If you have not read his book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” I strongly recommend you do. It is a short book, just over 100 pages, but very powerful. It helped lay the foundation for how I work to create meaning and purpose in my life. I do this by working to generate comprehensive benefits by creating regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Please share how you generate meaning and purpose in your life.

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

More Good = Long Term Better

I was told to use KISS, Keep It Simple St%^$ when I was young. If we want to create better for everyone and everything, this provides good advice. What is simple = just Do Good!

  • Send a nice note to someone, even someone that is not your favorite
  • Do a random act of kindness
  • Work hard and do good work
  • Take a walk
  • Do a workout
  • Go swimming
  • Share an honest complement by finding someone doing good things
  • Reduce use of materials, (i.e. walk or bike instead of drive)
  • Read something thought provoking and/or inspiring
  • See our connections or similarities rather than differences
  • Set and accomplish a short term goal that moves you closer to your long term vision
  • Find and eat some fresh fruit and vegetables (pick fresh if you can)
  • Do backyard composting
  • Grow a garden in your yard for fresh m vegetables

Doing good things, crowds out bad things. (see Becoming our Best Is Best, Great New Years Message!, Be Led by Your Dreams, Good Begets Good and Bad Begets Bad: Green Grass Theory, More than a “Whack a Mole” Life, Questions Enlighten and many more).

Abhishek Jain makes this same point in his linked From ‘Less Bad’ to ‘More Good’ post.

Why More Good?

In simple terms, we should just add good because it gets to what we want faster. It also helps earn the good feelings generated. If we attempt to stop certain things, human nature automatically finds reasons to defend a previous action. As Wendy Wood, PhD documents in her research and outlines in her book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, anything we do we defend and assume it must be helpful. If it wasn’t, why would we do it? I review more about her book at What We Do Without Thinking.

Additionally, simply stopping what we shouldn’t do only takes away harm without doing any action that could generate good outcomes. Doing good things enables good outcomes as it simultaneously crowds out bad actions. This is why I Practice Paneugenesis to generate comprehensive improvements by creating regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Please share how you add more good!

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Regeneration is the Story

Damon Gameau is making a clear and beautiful picture of tomorrow. His story tells how to Practice Paneugenesis. As noted, in Matters Journal, Damon Gameau is Regenerating the World with Fact-Based Dreaming. In other words, his work focuses on how to create an Idealized Outcome for society and how we can generate comprehensive improvements by creating regenerative, net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, and synergistic interactions so everyone benefits in his talks and movies.

I encourage you to watch his powerful TED Presentation, The Story that shapes your relationship with Nature. In this TED Talk he shares the story we need to follow so we can practice paneugenesis to generate comprehensive benefits.

Previously, as noted in Creating a Better Tomorrow post, I highlighted his excellent movie, 2040. I purchased it for $10 on YouTube and have watched it several times. He tells a great story about a future we could have.

After you watch 2040, please share your thoughts.

Damon Gameau has undoubtedly become one of the most beloved environmentalists in Australia. His infectious and empowering optimism and visionary creations of ‘fact-based dreaming’ have opened the world to a new era of solutions storytelling.

https://mattersjournal.com/stories/damon-gameau-regenerating-the-world-with-fact-based-dreaming

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Number 2 for Good

We all know about and produce #2, yes the smelly kind. Now entrepreneurs are using it to practice paneugenesis by generating comprehensive improvements. As noted by Apple News:

This tech recycles toilet water in Silicon Valley high-rises
Within a few weeks, when someone flushes a toilet in one of San Francisco’s new high-rises, the water won’t drain into the local sewer system. Instead, it will flow into a recently installed machine in the basement, designed to treat the water on-site. After the machine is turned on next month, recycled water will travel back up special pipes so it can be used for the next flush. The solid waste—that is, poop—is treated separately and becomes a product to add to garden soil.

Read in Fast Company: https://apple.news/Ar76A2sp-QLuzfwFakNvm8A

Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO of Epic CleanTec, is taking what most of us see as waste and not only reusing it again, they are using the nutrients to grow healthy soil that can then grow healthier plants. Healthier plants mean we can be healthier. Without question, these solutions are generating comprehensive improvements by creating net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions with water to benefit everyone and everything.

Are you using EPIC Clean Tec where you live? If you are, please share your experience. We look forward to hearing from you.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

All Good Night Time Snack

Are you like me? Do you like to have a snack at night? I now have a better option than my previous cereal or plant-based ice cream choices. Chia Pudding is my new fantastic night-time snack! It tastes great, is plant-strong, is high in fiber, and helps me feel good.

There are many easy ways to prepare Chia Pudding. The easiest is to mix chia seeds with plant milk. See the video below for more specific instructions.

As noted, putting it in the refrigerator overnight is best. Many optional recipes are available on the Internet, TikTok, and Pinterest to help you discover what you like best. We use the recipe below to make a larger portion. This way we have snacks for a few days.

Chia Pudding is my new great-tasting net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interaction I use to benefit everyone and everything. In other words, eating Chia Pudding as a snack is one of the new ways I Practice Paneugenesis to improve my life while also generating comprehensive improvements. Please share in the comments your favorite recipe for Chia Pudding.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Square Roots are a Critical Mass

Most of us promote ideas and attempt to transform people toward better methods. While it seems we must get all to agree or help those least interested in change, a more straightforward approach is recommended. We should help those interested, not those predisposed to be obstinate. This distinction is essential and is what I teach my students when encouraging healthy behaviors. It is important to work with those interested because:

  1. Working with those who are not interested is exhausting.
  2. Only a few need to change to bring about widespread change.

Critical Mass

Critical mass is defined as the minimum amount of fissile material needed to maintain a nuclear chain reaction. However, as discussed by Everett Rogers in Diffusion of Innovations, a critical mass is the minimum size or amount of something required to start or maintain a movement. The size of a critical mass to start movement has been shown to be quite small.

The best explanation for this concept was captured by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. He is cited to have indicated a critical mass is the square root of an organization. To learn more, I recommend the Deming Institute podcast, In Their Own Words, episode “What is the Critical Mass for Transformation?”

That means if the organization has 100 people, only 10 people need to be followers. If the group is 3000, only 55, and if it is 30,000, only 173 people need to be converted to start a movement. Understanding this, enables us to realize change can happen. This also highlights why Myron Tribus advised we should:

“Preach to the masses, work with volunteers.”

Myron Tribus

What does this mean?

This means change can happen, and we don’t have to change everyone, at least at first. A small critical mass will bring about widespread change. Although we still should promote to all, we should focus on the most receptive to generate comprehensive improvements, not those that require vast resources because they are uninterested. Getting a small critical mass started can start a movement, and improvements will evolve from interested people that create net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits.

Derek Sivers demonstrates all these important lessons about gathering a critical mass to create widespread change in his 3-minute TED presentation, How to Start a Movement. Siver’s excellent talk is also posted at Lets Start (Continue) this Positive Health Movement.

Please share how you start a movement by working with a small group of interested people. As Margaret Meade said long ago,

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

More Diversity Benefits

Science, Quickly

In a surprising way, the April 3, 2023 Science Quickly podcast from Scientific American, Open Offices Aren’t Working, so How Do We Design an Office That Does? highlights the benefits of variety. These benefits were also explained in George Musser’s article, Fixing the Hated Open-Design Office, in , .

The insight is hinted at in his subtitle, Open-office designs create productivity and health problems. New insights from Deaf and autistic communities could fix them. As was discussed on the podcast, “…(we) design better for the center when you learn from the margins.” He suggests we flip the script because:

 Normally, accommodations are thought to be well, we’re gonna kind of tweak the office so that this particular person or this particular class of people does better, but we’re giving something up. And I think we need to invert that entire narrative, that designing for variety actually improves the office for everybody.

George Musser on 4/3/2023 Science Quickly Podcast

Understanding this design principle means that designing at the margins provides a method to benefit everyone and everything. These beneficial concepts were also explained in Architecture Creating All Good and Its the Environment Stu*?#!

This means these designs at the margins are a way to Practice Paneugenesis because it generates comprehensive improvements. These designs create net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic benefits so everyone and everything benefits.

To better understand the possibility of all inclusive design, I recommend you listen to Science Quickly podcast from Scientific American, Open Offices Aren’t Working, so How Do We Design an Office That Does? I also recommend a reading of Greg Musser’s article, Fixing the Hated Open-Design Office, in , . Please share how you can use these ideas to improve your environment.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Amazing Impossible Science

Impossible Science, as designed, developed, and presented by Jason Latimer, is something we all need to see. It is incredible and wonderful. It helped me realize our potential. As he explained,

“The only thing separating the possible from the impossible was the individual wondering about the right question…Wonder changes the world.”

Jason Latimer

Incredible Opportunity

I was amazed, awed, and grateful for the opportunity to Jason Latimer at the Arizona Science Museum in March 2023. I can’t put into words the awe-inspiring feelings generated by watching his amazing presentation. What impressed me was his continual message that he did not want to trick us like a magician; rather, he wanted us to wonder and…ask the right question. As he noted often, “It’s the right question that changes everything.”

Girl Scouts

DESCRIPTION PROVIDED FOR ARIZONA SCIENCE MUSEUM SHOW:

Jason Latimer, World Champion of Magic and the Curator of Impossible Science, will change your understanding of what is possible!

Impossible Science LIVE’s unique blend of science and magic takes audiences on the journey of making the impossible possible through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. From the foundation of all science and discovery to the leading edge of technology and innovation, this live performance demonstrates how the right question changes everything. Latimer integrates all fields of science into mind-blowing illusions that will inspire your sense of wonder.

Learn how to see beyond the illusion! Challenge your understanding of engineering and physics as Latimer walks through solid objects. Discover the power of curiosity and chemistry as Jason forms water into objects. From bending light with his hands to drawings that come to life, you will not want to miss this wonderful science experience.

“Our next cure, next technology, or next revolutionary change will come from a question that has never been asked. It’s a wonder that changes the world. It’s the right question that changes everything.” —Jason Latimer

AZ SCIENCE MUSEUM

When I went to visit the Arizona Science Museum to see, Dogs! A Science Tail, I noticed a poster for “Impossible Science.” Their response was that it was a great show and I should attend. Surprisingly, we had not seen it advertised previously. It seems they have improved the advertisements now – which is great!

The show was great because it was LIVE. Jason Latimer himself performed for 45 minutes. I strongly recommend you see him live if possible and if not review his many YouTube videos and subscribe to his channel.

The “tricks,” which were actually science, were amazing. While you can see him push balls through glasses on the YouTube video below, I saw him do it LIVE – WOW!

l also saw the airplane that flies forever, an amazing card trick, bending light, shaping water without a container, and so much more. Many are shown in the TED talk and more below.

GREAT TED TALK by Jason Latimer

If you do nothing else, watch and be amazed by his TED Talk. As you will see, he asked the right questions, and that made all the difference.

TED Takeaways

For me, there are multiple takeaways from his talk, and below are a few I found especially important:

At about 2:45 minutes: “…What are these new rules and what is ultimately possible?…”

For me, this is the mindset needed to generate Idealized Outcomes, the first step of the Paneugenesis Process. For this, we must wonder what could be but is not possible now. He did this later in the presentation when he controlled and shaped water. Which we thought could never be done??

At about 4:35: “…The right question changes everything…”

For me, this means we must constantly use and develop critical thinking skills.

About 9 minutes: “…The internet is incredible. The accessibility to information is undermining wonder…we gave the internet its answers…despite all its information, despite all its answers, (it) doesn’t think. It doesn’t wonder where the information came from and it does not challenge what it knows. Search engines do not determine what is right or wrong, just what is relevant…”

at about 10:50 minutes: “…most of the wrong ideas were true at one time…”

at about 12 minutes: “…the world was not shaped but its answers, it was shjaped by its questions…”

For me, he was promoting that we all can do good.

Creating All Good

From my perspective and understanding, he is the ultimate producer of all good. He teaches us how to continually improve the process to generate better results. He helps all of us be better versions of ourselves. He helps us rediscover wonder by asking the right questions. His work can help us redefine what is possible. Right now, a new version of better, beyond the absence of problems, must be created. By using what Jason Latimer teaches us with Impossible Science, these methods can help us imagine how to create a better future and how to generate idealized outcomes.

New Idealized Outcomes will generate comprehensive improvements that will be created through net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Jason Latimer helps us understand how we can Practice Paneugenesis!

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Why is it “Health” Care?

I have always been confused by the term “Health” care. We get care when we are sick, not when we are healthy. It is “sick” care.

I am also confused because it suggests we have health if we eliminate a disease or problem. The absence of illness is not the presence of health. Health is the presence of physical, mental, and social well-being. It is not just the absence of problems. The presence of well-being, not the absence of disease and infirmity, is precisely how the World Health Organization defines health:

Of course, they may also learn ways to decrease incidents of the same problem, but they have not learned how to be better.

As I write this, I realize this idea bleeds into so much else. On May 19, 2021, in the NYT’s Daily Podcast, “Nine Days in Gaza,” the host Michael Barbaro asked Rahf Hallaq about how it was to live in Gaza. He said, “It seems absolutely horrible due to terror and the unknown about the destruction that may come at any moment.” Despite these terrible circumstances, Michael Barbaro asked her about her dreams. Her dreams?

Is this approach wrong? Could we be backward, upside down, and confused about how we attempt to help? Could this be the best way to help? Without question, we need to help people in crisis. The crisis, however, must, by its nature, be short-term and acute. Evidence suggests dreaming about a better future beyond just not bad motivates solutions. Visualizing an inspiring future may be necessary to get beyond the emotional pain and anger of the situation.

What do you think? What are your dreams? How will you generate comprehensive improvements? What motivates you to want to create a better tomorrow? What will inspire you to develop net-positive, pervasive reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits? 

For me, an “Idealized Outcome,” something better than is possible now, would motivate me to generate all good – something that we can all work together toward achieving. I look forward to hearing how you are working to generate all good through the practice of paneugenesis.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Chunking Helps

Chunking, or taking a piece of the whole, focusing on it can help us get more done. Initially, chunking was developed to help with memory (see this post on how it helps some studying ). Chunking this the process of grouping related bits of information together, which reduces the number of “things” to manage. Let me explain it also helps us get more done.

We all want more time to do what we desire. Being a time multiplier, such that we get things done today that also makes tomorrow more efficient, helps (see Be Fruitful and Multiply – Time That is…). Language has enabled us to save time by being more efficient. Language allows us to express our thoughts and share ideas succinctly.

The Value of Measurements

The 2023 book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants by Vincent James has helped me understand that measurements are a language. The language of measurement allows us to cooperate, collaborate and get more done. Katie Hafner remarks in the Washington Post Review of this book:

…Sometimes a book happens along whose central question is at once so profound yet so utterly simple it takes your breath away. Such is the case with James Vincent’s deeply engrossing “Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement From Cubits to Quantum Constants…”

Review by Katie Hafner, Washington Post, November 30, 2022

While measurements help us organize life, chunking makes life even more manageable. In essence, it is taking part of the whole and focusing on that part. One could think of how a calendar chunks time measurement to make it more manageable Calendars are a human creation to derive structure from the natural world.

Checklists Chunks

Another example of chunking is making a list. As I learned in Atul Gawande’s “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” (see my review on good reads here or below), although creating a list (checklist) takes time to set up initially, it saves time and improves our ability to get things done.

MY REVIEW of “Checklist Manifesto”: This was a good book. It was a reminder that having a checklist is good for making the basics more effortless. Using a checklist frees our minds to do so much more. Despite their documented significant benefits to pilots, surgeons, financial investors, and all involved, he highlighted much hesitancy in professional areas to use checklists. Gawande was also able to integrate how to use checklists while also using successful leadership and management strategies. It is a good read and a great reminder of how simple checklists can help us function better as we avoid easy mistakes from inattention, absent-mindedness, or overconfidence.

Craig Becker’s review of Gawande’s “Checklist Manifesto” on GoodReads

Measurement Concerns

While highlighting the benefits of measures, we must remember economist Charles Goodhart’s Law, as paraphrased by Marily Straythern, “When a measure becomes a target, it fails to be a good measure.” In other words, measures are only guides and assistants. Also, although I am encouraging chunking, it is vital to remember how each chunk contributes to the whole. As a reminder, Russ Ackoff explains in this powerful 10-minute presentation below how we must focus on the whole, not just the parts, to make things better.

Helpful Measurement Chunks with Caveats

Although measures are not perfect, they can help. As I learned, the language of measurement helps us become time multipliers while enabling us to communicate, collaborate and work better. In other words, using measurements can help us generate comprehensive improvements. Measures help because they help us understand how to create net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits.

Please share how your use of measurements helps you practice paneugenesis or create all good.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com

Powerful Chat GPT Good??

For those of us that have an interest, Chat GPT has become a hot topic. It undoubtedly has potential, however, it is also quite scary. I recommend the 2 recent NYTimes Daily Podcasts below to learn more:

The Online Search Wars

Microsoft released a version of Bing powered with artificial intelligence. Did it just revolutionize how we search the internet?

Wednesday, February 15th, 2023

The Online Search Wars Got Scary. Fast.

Our technology columnist encounters the darker side of Bing’s A.I. chatbot.

February 17, 2023  •  32:39

I encourage you to listen to both. I have used Chat GPT some. You can access and use ChatGPT on this site. I encourage you to try it and see what you think.

Here is what ChatGPT inaccurately wrote in response to:

Write an essay about salutogenesis citing Craig Becker’s work

The concept of salutogenesis, which refers to the origins of health and well-being, was first introduced by Aaron Antonovsky in the 1970s. Since then, this concept has been widely studied and discussed by various scholars in the field of public health. One of the key contributors to this field is Craig Becker, whose work has greatly expanded our understanding of the salutogenic model of health.

The past paragraph is ok…

Craig Becker’s work on salutogenesis builds on Antonovsky’s ideas, but also expands upon them. Becker emphasizes the importance of the social determinants of health, which are the economic, social, and environmental conditions that influence health outcomes. He argues that understanding the social determinants of health is crucial for promoting health and well-being.

The past paragraph is not accurate.

Becker also highlights the importance of resilience in the salutogenic model. Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to bounce back from adversity and maintain their sense of well-being. Becker argues that resilience is a key component of salutogenesis because it helps individuals to cope with the challenges they face and maintain their health and well-being.

This is also not accurate.

One of the key contributions of Becker’s work on salutogenesis is his emphasis on the role of agency in promoting health and well-being. Agency refers to an individual’s ability to take action and make choices that promote their health and well-being. Becker argues that agency is a crucial component of salutogenesis because it allows individuals to take control of their lives and make choices that promote their health and well-being.

Again, the past paragraph is not accurate

Another important contribution of Becker’s work is his emphasis on the importance of social support in promoting health and well-being. Social support refers to the resources and assistance that individuals receive from their social networks. Becker argues that social support is essential for promoting health and well-being because it helps individuals to cope with stress and maintain their sense of well-being.

This is ok but not emphasized…

Overall, Craig Becker’s work on salutogenesis has greatly expanded our understanding of the origins of health and well-being. By emphasizing the importance of the social determinants of health, resilience, agency, and social support, Becker’s work provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how individuals can promote their own health and well-being. His work highlights the importance of empowering individuals to take control of their lives and make choices that promote their health and well-being, while also recognizing the crucial role that social support and resilience play in achieving these goals.

Inaccurate summary of my work

This is not accurate. You can see it wrote some general things about salutogenesis but it was not very accurate to my work. I do not emphasize social determinants, agency, or reslience in my work. It was even less accurate when I asked:

What research has Craig M. Becker, Ph.D. done related to salutogenesis?

It pulled incorrect resesarch citations.

I then asked about paneugenesis, the term I generated, published, and use in my work. It gave credit to another researcher. UGH!

Please try ChatGPT here and share your thoughts on your experience. Good, bad, scary, damaging, liberating????

Please help. I work to generate comprehensive improvements by creating net-positive, pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits, The practice of paneugenesis. It appears ChatGPT does not. I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

BeWell’r,

Craig Becker

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!

#SelfishSelflessSynergy

Please share your thoughts and questions below.
Contact me: BeWellr@gmail.com