Darwin - research data foundered without drawings.

After the Beagle returned from its expedition, Charles Darwin lamented, “From not being able to draw, a great pile of the manuscript from the voyage has proved almost useless.”

My source: Drawing from Life, the Journal as Art” by Jennifer New pg 34

 

Med Student's grades suffered when he did not draw

Martin Wilner, psychiatrist, child of holocaust survivors

“Having drawn since childhood, Wilner initially felt pressed to give up art during medical school. In doing so, his grades plummeted so severely that he nearly failed anatomy. Once he began drawing again, he excelled academically.”

source: “Drawing from Life, the Journal as Art” by Jennifer New, pg 49

STUDENT LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE ONLINE

A new adventure for me – supporting a TLC training online.

Talk about working with a global audience after 7 years of supporting TLC in live workshops and consultations. + the need to enhance the experience – bc there are too many other things going on for them to be watching me draw. Show the whole chart below to show the origin of the vignette.

Etc etc – close it out briefly – credit the program etc.

Getting out of the BOX is the NEW BOX

Thoughts on the deterioration of a powerful metaphor.

The first time I heard someone say “out of the box thinking”, I was riveted by the image. So was everyone else it turns out. And now, some fifteen years later, people pepper conversations with it. It has become a cliche. I get the same feeling when I hear that we should “brainstorm” about a pesky problem that has come up for the upteenth time in a meeting. Did you know that a true brainstorm is defined as a temporary fit of insanity. It takes courage and discipline to conduct one effectively. But, usually the casual meeting request is followed by the same old predictable stream of consciousness chatter. And, having appeased our minds with an homage to creativity, we return to the predictable.

The cartoon above came from my sketchbook. It’s a product of my wandering mind and pen. People seem to like it, especially the orange box on the right. They single it out as the one that works for them. This has surprised me because I see it as part of a sequence. Singling it out is understandable; it carries some of the power of the original utterance*. But preferring it after all these years is like singling out a word at the end of a sentence for praise. As I drew the five box series I was mulling over how metaphors lose their power as we use them unconsciously. Need some innovation? Push the “think out of the box” button.

One way to retrieve that power is with a picture. My doodle had that unintended consequence: a pleasing recovery. Now, I wonder what we have to do to spark our next inclination to brainstorm?

A side note: the colorizing of the drawing came later on my iPod touch, of all things. I had been showing people the sketch. And in yet another peripatetic moment, I re’-worked it in Sketchbook-mobile, a $3 app from Autodesk! Makes me want an iPad. The colors re-invigorated the metaphor. They put a visual exponent on it!

* I wonder if anyone knows who said, “out of the box thinking” first?

AMBIENT KINESTHETIC MODELING with HOLY SCRAP

Working with your hands is inherently satisfying. For many people doodling or fiddling with whatever is at hand staves off boredom during long meetings and workshops . You can take charge of this simple fact by leaving some “holy scrap”

on the table. Encourage people to play with your offerings; but it is best not to attach ANY significance to them. Many will begin to play with them as soon as their attention to the front of the room action fades. And some people will never touch the stuff.

It can be argued that the unconscious manipulators are processing information and thoughts kinesthetically. Many facilitators notice that there is a more benign energy in the room. And frequently there are some wonderful products.

HOLY SCRAP is any combination of simple things such as pipe cleaners, play dough, wire, colored paper, tape etc that will entice people to pick them up and play with them. I stick with ordinary stuff that is not branded. People project more of themselves onto things that are not already carrying a big message.

I have documented this ambient phenomenon informally for a number of years now. Enjoy the photos.