Retro Actions

Gregory Alan Bolcer (gbolcer@gambetta.ICS.uci.edu)
Sun, 17 Jan 1999 14:00:24 -0800


It's funny what you keep around. I am moving offices,
so I have to clear out my current one. I am going through
a box of eclectic paperwork. Some items:

KUCI Top 10 list from November, 1985 (I love these bands:)

1) Replacements/Tim (Sire)
2) Husker Du/Flip Your Wig (SST)
3) Wall of Voodoo/ Seven Days in Sammystown(IRS)
4) Kate Bush/ Hounds of Love (EMI)
5) Jazz Butcher/ Death Dentists 12" (Glass)
6) Jesus and the Mary Chain/ Just Like Honey 12" (Blanc y Negro)
7) Hoodoo Gurus/Mars Needs Guitars (Bigtime)
8) Todd Rundgren/ A Capella (Warner Brothers)
9) The Fall/ This Nation's Saving Grace (PVC)
10) Dead Kennedys/ Frankenchrist (Alternative Tentacles)

Other things? I found my Geldernmann account
where trading T-bonds and Swiss Francs I made $15k out
of $500 one day.

I found the 1990 OC Register article about how a bunch
of us in a mathematical behavioral sciences class got together
and formed an investment club and we used to talk about it in
class, so they had a full blown investigation.

I also found the Oneko source code and an email from 1984 description
of how cool it'd be to have virtual pets that could respond
to people and learn from them using AI and how kids would love
to have them for Christmas.

An April 1992 IEEE Potentials article on 'creativity':
Research shows that the most creatively productive
workers (the top 10%) account for about half of the contri-
butions in their field. Also according to Keith Simonton, a
professor of psychology, "empirical research has shown
that quality tends to the be consequence of quantity when it
comes to creativity...Those who produce more master-
works also produce more rubbish." Obviously being itel-
ligent doesn't hurt. But Simonton notes there are times - in
particular, when telling others about an idea - when an ex-
traordinary intellect can actually do more harm than good.

Creative people enjoy problem solving, even when the
procedure is frustrating. The lessons learned act as partial
compensation. Obstacles are challenges. The teach the
creative person that to suceed: risks must be taken, errors
will be made and wallowing through ambiguity is a required
part of the process. As a result, the creative individual is
more likely to suceed.

Creativity has been said to be "the juxtaposition of formerly
unrelated ideas to product new ideas" (The Journal of
NIH Research). To get there requires an open mind, a
diverse range of sources, th etime to mull options (leaping
to the brain's first conclusion, unlike when taking a
multiple choice test, is usually unwise) and the ability
to unite imaginative thought with rational logic.

According to Moshe R. Rubenstein, a professor of
engineering and applied science, its "the capacity to
recognize higher orders that unify diverse phenomena and
make complex situations more simple. This is the essence
of creative and productve thinking and problem solving."

There's a Microsoft slam in there somewhere, I just need
to mull it over a little more.

Greg