What we don't notice is often the most powerful

Moving while seated

True innovation often arises when polar opposites are combined. A famous example is W L Gore’s invention of ‘Goretex’, a fabric that is both breathable and waterproof. And, take a look at this: seating designed for children that encourages movement, not actual sitting.?

These are?school?chairs?with multiple positions that encourage the children to regularly change their postures throughout the day in a bid to increase their "muscular diversity" as well as their concentration levels. I’d love to see these succeed wildly!

Question: What paradoxical elements could you combine to differentiate a service or product?

99% invisible

If you’re in healthcare (and I know a lot of people reading 5MSM are) have you ever wondered how much waste a single procedure creates?

This is Maria Koick on her experience: “In August 2019 I got diagnosed with breast cancer. They had to remove my entire left breast. After a successful recovery, I recently got a deep lap surgery where they gave me an entire new breast of my own bodily materials. I am so grateful for their craftsmanship and the chance to feel beautiful again, but during this process I discovered that 60% of the surgery materials used for this operation are disposable. For example, the stainless steel scissors, flown in from Japan, are used for one cut before they end up in the bin.”

Question: What inefficiencies are invisible because they are rarely questioned?

Addiction and capitalism?

I read a fascinating diagnosis of drug epidemics by English journalist Johann Hari, whose TED Talk (with almost 20 million views!) is titled, “Everything you know about addiction is wrong”.?

He talks about two types of rat cages. The first is empty, and the sole rat can choose from two drinking bowls, one with water only, one with water laced with heroin. It turns out that all rats introduced here are dead from overdoses within two weeks.

The second is a Rat Park - full of toys, other rats, for play, for sex, for socialising. This also has the same two water bowls, but in this cage, virtually no rats overdose.?

Hari says, “We’ve created a society where significant numbers of our fellow citizens cannot bear to be present in their lives without being drugged. We’ve created a hyper-consumerist, hyper-individualist, isolated world that is, for a lot of people, much more like that first cage than it is like the bonded, connected cages that we need. The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. And our whole society, the engine of our society, is geared towards making us connect with things.”?

His thesis is that the fundamental tenets of capitalism, rather than physiological or moral failings, create large-scale addiction. What do you think??

Question: What do you suspect you might be completely wrong about?

As you probably know, I always like knowing you’ve enjoyed reading, so please click the ‘like’. Spend the week noticing the unnoticeable, and I’ll be with you again next Friday.

Andrew