A change of perspective is worth 80 IQ points

We’ve all done it–struggled over some problem until a frustrating end of the day. But after “sleeping on it” and stepping into a hot shower, a breakthrough idea pops up, as if out of nowhere. This often comes from getting too close to the problem. A little distance can make a decisive difference.

The quotation from the title is attributed to computer scientist and all-around deep thinker Alan Kay. And it’s more true now than ever before.

In my career across lots of big-name and smaller companies, I’ve often deployed this aphorism to help nudge folks out of a self-imposed box that was putting up barriers to effective problem-solving. After all, possibly the worst use of time for a bunch of brainy folks is to expend significant effort towards elegantly solving the wrong problem.

Although I’ve worked at a number of places, I’ve never quite fit in. Although I didn’t know it at first, there’s a word for this: “generalist.” On the other hand, pretty much every job posting dwells on the qualifications for whatever specialist fits a particular job description. So instead of continuing the chase, I’m offering a timeslice of my curious, contrarian, neurodivergent, peregrine mind toward interesting problems that are out there.

Curious about my perspective? Let’s talk.

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