(토요모임) [19. Jan. 2019 ] Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Howdy ! 

It's me Scarlett !   

This week we will talk about the ' Creative Compact '  Do not be obsessed with all the articles too much. Just pick some articles what you have interests and prepare your opinions related to those articles. :) 

Hope you enjoy the topics. 

◈ Social Innovation

-------- On balancing creative freedom and execution discipline with DP Sridhar

-------- A Creative Approach To Problem-Solving Sparks Innovation

◈ Roles of Creativity

-------- Creativity Is The Skill Of The Future

-------- We Have to Get Serious About Creativity and Problem Solving

-------- What Is Creativity And The Importance Of Creative Thinking

◈ Creative Solutions

-------- The Creative Compact

-------- These 5 Women Are Using Blockchain To Empower Communities

◈ Environmental and Natural Resource Security 

-------- Here's the real impact of the food we eat on the environment

With luv 

Scarlett

------------------------------------------

What is Creative Thinking? An Essential Skill for the 21st Century

------------------------------------------

Creativity as a Life Skill: Gerard Puccio at TEDxGramercy

--------------------------------------------------

<Questions> 

Q1. What is the creative thininking? What is the definition of conformity? 

Q2. Why do we need creative thininking?

Q3. How well do you balance conformity and creativity in your life?

Q4. What is diversion thininking? And what is conversion thinking?

Q5. What is your thinking style? Diversion or conversion type? Please make detailed examples.

Q6. What is your secrets to stay creative? 

Q7. What is more important for you between creativity and efficiency? 

--------------------------------------------------

< Useful Expressions >

1. Actions speak louder than words.

행동이 말보다 소리가 크다. 다음은 "말보다는 행동"이라는 의미를 전달하는 표현들이다.

- The greatest talkers are the least doers.
- Deeds are more powerful than words.
- Doing is better than saying.
- Deeds are fruits, words are leaves.

2. I ' m a bit all or nothing. 

나는 살짝 모아니면 도야. 

*** Splitting (also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism.[1] The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., an individual's actions and motivations are all good or all bad with no middle ground). 

- All or nothing thinking

- Splitting

- Black-and-white thinking

--------------------------------------------------

On balancing creative freedom and

execution discipline with DP Sridhar
03/29/2016 02:10 am ET Updated Dec 06, 2017
Rajesh Setty, Contributor/ Serial entrepreneur

I had an opportunity to have a deep dive discussion on the topic of innovation with Sridhar DP who is the founder and CEO of ienabler. Specifically, we focused on striking the right balance between creative freedom and execution discipline.

First, a quick intro about Sridhar-

Sridhar has been active in the field of Strategy & Innovation for the past 20 years and has worked across diversified industries in solving a variety of business problems with epitomized nuances across globe. One significant point that he has come across while consulting with clients is the lack of a structured approach to Innovation-led Growth (ILG). He further adds that “for this magic to happen - striking a right balance b/w creative freedom vs execution discipline” is important.

Moving on to the Q&A about the above-mentioned topic.

■ Rajesh Setty: Why is striking a balance between creative freedom and execution discipline important?

Sridhar DP: Growth is imperative for organizations to succeed.
But, what kind of growth?
Is it efficiency or profitability or productivity growth?

Whatever be the area of focus on the growth factor, the point to ponder is most of the traditional growth strategies like adding capacities, managing cost structures, process automation, lean six- sigma have reached their threshold.

Also, these strategies are copied and organizations lose their unfair advantage quickly. So, business requires a new concept to breakout. This is where Innovation-led growth (ILG) becomes inevitable in the  given current dynamics of the economy.

But, are businesses designed to adapt this? 
The answer is No.
The paradox with Innovation- led growth is in two fold terrain,
On one hand, we need creative freedom. For example, “Generate new ideas and spot new opportunities” that requires free thinking and non-linear approach.
On the other hand, we need execution discipline. For Instance,”Product fitment, feasibility and viability” that requires structured approach. 

In eval‎uating the above workings, most businesses are built for execution discipline and some on creative work. In today’s business context, organizations need both to succeed and not either one. 

In the absence of such a balance, the data show that success rate and return on Innovation investment is abysmally low for New Product /Service/Process. Most critical questions are asked post product or launch process. So, in order to address this, striking a right balance at Individual level, Managerial level and at the leadership level is critical for the businesses to be relevant for future growth.

To quote Peter Drucker, “the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two-and only two-basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest is costed”. Among these, two functions, Innovation will be highly effective when organization build their own capabilities.

■ Rajesh Setty:  What are the key challenges in balancing creative freedom and execution discipline?

Sridhar DP: There are few important key challenges in striking the balance between creative freedom & execution discipline.
First, in general, the leadership and organization as a whole has not been designed to strike this right balance. Some of it could also be traced back to the linear education system, our upbringing and the ecosystem in which we operate.

Second, the rigid structures in some established organizations are set up in such a way that only R&D is meant to develop new products leaving other departments to be busy in their routine. 

Third, the myth that is created in people’s mind that they belong to a certain thinking pattern like right brain, left brain also decelerate the performance of employees. Most breakthroughs happen in the fulcrum. There must be some structure around this non-linear process

To enable an agile structure, Innovation-led Growth (ILG) has to be all-pervasive. This would allow:
A Marketing and Sales Manager to think beyond his role and capacity to create value,
Operations staff to think of a new process rather than just working on improvisation, or
Someone in the organization about a new or adjacent business.

The disruptions around the business world are happening in terms of market change, new technology adoption, changing customer demographics and their expectations, We need to adapt to the Agile structure. iEnabler‘s offerings would help in addressing these key challenges in totalitarian, by working with the leadership team with a repertoire of time tested innovation led growth framework, patent-pending innovation enablement software and lots of whiteboards.

■ Rajesh Setty: How to strike the right balance? 

DP Sridhar: A structured process to manage non-linear journey to innovation is important to ensure growth.
An ineffective quick fix model that most organizations would follow, is to run idea contests, hackathons, or simple idea voting systems. This might trigger some enthusiasm in the workforce, but will not add value to the growth roadmap unless this becomes part of organization’s DNA. So, In other words, Innovation should not be reduced to a vision statement, but to be demonstrated by uncompromising meticulous continuous action.

Here are 6 pillars that organizations should consider for striking the right balance:

1. Empowerment

An organization needs to generate creativity and drive innovation to gain competitive advantage. The best way to do this is to empower teams with the right tools, the right processes and right techniques.

2. Enablement

Enable employees to adopt an “entrepreneurial mindset” to showcase their ideas. This will allow them to propel innovation and show initiative to facilitate successful workplace revival and an opportunity to re-energize individual and organic organizational growth.

3. Effectiveness

Effectiveness isn’t just a trait of an idea, but more importantly, it’s a holistic approach that embraces many touch points and transcendent themes to solve a problem.

4. Eval‎uation

Eval‎uating Innovation-led growth initiatives is something that very few organizations have understood. Most of them use the traditional criterion method that works against the constructive collaboration. It is prudent to have a constructive and collaborative approach that enhances the quality of an idea or an opportunity to the fullest potential.

5. Engagement

The most important part of any business idea is to maintain traction, and that requires engagement which can draw the right audience. An Innovation-led growth process should help businesses to create a meaningful engagement with the audience, be it internal or external.

6. Efficiency

Efficiency is the result of all the other Es coherently and cohesively coming together to function in a synchronous manner. There must be  proven techniques defined as part of the business process. It will improve the efficiency of generating new business concepts at a faster rate continuously.

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rajesh-setty/on-balancing-creative-fre_b_9560746.html

--------------------------------------------------

A Creative Approach To Problem-Solving Sparks Innovation

The trouble with innovation, though, is that it isn't easy. Creating the next big thing requires the stars to align. Hard work and luck are both parts of the equation, but there's another trait that makes innovation possible -- creativity. Creativity is the key to innovation, and it's what makes entrepreneur culture so enticing.

03/17/2016 02:08 EDT | Updated 03/18/2017 05:12 EDT
Dale Turken / Seasoned business leader, innovator and Dadtrepreneur.

Innovation is the staple of entrepreneurship. It's what separates entrepreneurs from everyone else. Their drive comes from their desire to disrupt norms and to cause a stir within industries. The digital world in which we live is the product of incredible innovation on behalf of countless people around the world.
That phone in your pocket? Innovation. That preferred ride-sharing app? Innovation. Communication with anyone around the world? You guessed it -- innovation.

The trouble with innovation, though, is that it isn't easy. Creating the next big thing requires the stars to align. Hard work and luck are both parts of the equation, but there's another trait that makes innovation possible -- creativity. Creativity is the key to innovation, and it's what makes entrepreneur culture so enticing. Maintaining a creative approach isn't just fun, it can spark innovation in your mind as well. Here's why.

Creativity Means Collaboration Means Innovation

It's amazing what one creative mind can do. It's astounding what multiple creative minds can accomplish, though. When people come together and bounce ideas off one another, they naturally feel more creative, which brings out unique ideas from a variety of perspectives.
One of the primary aspects of innovation lies in collaboration, and collaboration is dramatically more productive when people embrace their creativity in a group. Think about how Gatorade was conceived. It was the result of creative collaboration between athletes, scientists and nutritionists to perfect the ideal sports performance drink.
The adage "great minds think alike" applies here -- creative people work together and create incredible projects. Entrepreneurs are surrounded by people who see things differently, and it makes innovation dramatically easier.

Creativity Brings Out Humanity

The entire purpose of innovation is to improve lives and make things easier on people en masse. In order to do so, creativity isn't just recommended; it's required. It doesn't matter what the solution to the problem is -- creativity is the key to innovation. Innovation is so intrinsically tied to humanity, and that's why creativity is the key. It brings out humanity within people and makes them want to help others.
Creativity inspires people to discover how creative they can be when taking a humanistic approach to problem solving. Some of the best inventions were born out of a need to simplify our lives, like how Uber has made it easy for commuters to call a car whenever they need one.
It's about taking an everyday problem and looking at it through a creative lens to find a viable solution. Change the way you approach a solution and you'll discover a world of opportunities.

Stagnancy Is The Enemy Of Innovation

What's the common theme so far? Action. Creative minds are constantly moving, and that's what triggers innovation. It's important to remember that stagnancy does nothing to solve problems; it allows them to grow and develop into bigger issues that take even more work to solve. It also creates a sense of complacency, and complacency is perhaps worse than stagnancy -- it means you don't care about innovation.
When your brain is moving you're driving innovation forward, but there are times when you'll hit a roadblock in your creative process. Try taking a stroll around the neighborhood or seek out an assignment that is outside of your comfort zone to keep your creative juices flowing.

Problems Become Puzzles

Creative individuals don't seem problems as problems; they see roadblocks as puzzles or obstacles that can be worked around. Approach your problem solving through a creative lens. Look for similar patterns or habits and routines in unrelated subjects to find unique solutions that most people wouldn't think of.
Instead of looking for a single big idea, try looking for smaller solutions that solve pieces of the big picture. Imagine you're solving a thousand-piece puzzle. You want to start small, maybe starting with the upper right corner and then working your way to the final picture.
At first glance, one piece might seem useless for the portion of the puzzle you're working on but if you flip that piece around you might notice it solves another section of your picture. There's always more than one way to solve a problem and it all begins with a little creative thinking.

Creative People Find Shortcuts To Solutions

When you solve a math problem, there's usually a linear process that will lead you to the final solution. But creative people don't think in a linear fashion -- they actively find new approaches and angles to all problems. As such, they can find easier shortcuts or "hacks" that allow them to skip steps on the way to a solution.
Bill Gates said it best when it comes to creative people: "I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job, because he will find an easy way to do it."
Creative thinkers will find ways to get the job done quickly but efficiently, taking short cuts that others might not even think to take. It's having the ability to connect points "A" and "C" together without needing to pass step point "B" to get there.

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dale-turken/innovation-creativity_b_9486416.html

--------------------------------------------------

<Questions> 

Q1. Have you ever heard about the phrase "connecting the docs" spoken by Steven jobs? Do you think you are making your own dots in your world? 

Q2. Bill Gates said it best when it comes to creative people: "I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job, because he will find an easy way to do it." 

Do you think you are lazy or quick tempered?

Q3. When you face the problem, which way is better for you between 'linear and safe process' or 'risky but easier short cut'? 

Q4. What is your hobby? What is the things you like to do? 

Q5. How do you react to sluggish growth individually or socially?

Q6. Do you know anyone who is creative? Could you tell the differences that person from others?

Q7. When do we need innovation? What is the key factor for successful innovation?

Q8. What is the Innovation-led growth (ILG)?

Q9. According to above article, Innovation- led growth has two fold terrain which are creative freedom and execution discipline. First, creative freedom which generate new ideas and spot new opportunities requires free thinking and non-linear approach. Second, execution discipline which product fitment, feasibility and viability requires structured approach.
In this perspective, what kinds of job is more proper for you in your work?

Q10. Have you ever attended any idea contests, hackathons, or simple idea voting systems? What was the result of that activity? What changes did you make for the society?

Q11. A structured process to manage non-linear journey to innovation is important to ensure growth. Do you know any effective way to lead innovation?

Q12. Are you good at balancing creative freedom and execution discipline?

Q13. Do you think innovation-led growth is included in your DNA or in your organization’s DNA, which makes you leading the uncompromising meticulous continuous action?

Q14. Do you know what the agile structure is? In the organization, to enable an agile structure, Innovation-led Growth (ILG) has to be all-pervasive. Do you think your organization has agile structure?

--------------------------------------------------

What is creative thinking and why is it important

23 March 2018 Anna Hasper

The idea that, as teachers, we need to foster learners’ creative thinking is something I’m sure you have heard before. So why is there so much attention in our current learning and teaching context on ‘being creative’ and developing thinking skills in the classroom? And are we only talking about learners needing to develop creatively or should we consider ourselves are learners in this area too?
This post is the first in a series in which I’ll be exploring creativity in the classroom in more depth. We’ll be looking at ways we can work more creatively with images in the classroom and will suggest some activities. But, let’s start by considering why creativity has become such an area of focus in education and what it entails for us as teachers.

Creative, me?
Now I don’t know what your schooling was like, but I clearly remember that we focused on gaining knowledge and remembering facts. There always seemed to be a right (and wrong answer..) and one right way of doing things, at least for as far as I remember!  I seriously can’t recall a time that we were given the chance to be creative with language in our German, French or English lessons. Let alone that the teachers were creative with their materials. There was a course book and worksheet which had to be followed and completed. Sound familiar?
Maybe I’m a child of the generation that was, as Sir Ken Robinson (1) puts it, “educated out of their creative capacities..” but as a teacher I felt I had to learn to become more creative. I had to build confidence to move away from set instructions in the course book in order to develop my own creativity.
Often during teacher workshops when I ask teachers to draw, act or make a story or song one of the most common comment I hear is “Oh no.. that’s so not me. I’m not creative at all!” If we believe we are ‘not creative’ how can we teach our learners to think of and look at the world more creatively? So before we go any further, let’s outline why creative thinking is now even more significant than ever before.

Why is creative thinking seen as important in the classroom?
The pace of change in the world is accelerating rapidly and it will continue to change with the development of new technologies etc. This means that the way we taught, or were taught ourselves, in the past might no longer be appropriate for our learners’ future. Nobody can fully predict what skills – let alone knowledge—learners will need to succeed in life. A powerful way to empower our learners is to provide them with the tools and skills, to manage and deal with change effectively. To do so they need global citizenship and 21st Century skills; creative thinking is one of those and is regarded as a key skill for success. Lin (2011) highlights that a creative pedagogy involves an interplay between creative teaching and creative learning so in order to develop creativity in the classroom we need to start with ourselves and be more creative as teachers!

How to define creativity?
Now what exactly do we mean by ‘being creative’? There are many different definitions of ‘creativity’ out there and it is impossible to define an all-inclusive definition. Craft (2005) differentiates between creativity with a big ‘C’ and with a small ‘c’ the last one refers to creatively constructing and communicating meaning in the everyday, interactional context of the classroom through activities such as predicting, guessing and hypothesizing.  Pugliese (2010) cites Robert Sternberg’s definition which read ‘being creative is the ability to produce an idea (or product) that is original and has value’. Taking this definition as a starting point, creativity with a small ‘c’, I’m convinced we can all implement creativity in the classroom to some extent simply by tweaking our current practice. My own personal definition comes down to ‘less is more.’ How can we get more out of the images you find in your National Geographic resources?
So after reading this, how creative do you feel you are in your classroom? In my next blog post I’ll go into some of the models that are available to help you generate innovative ideas and develop learners’ creative skills.

But first, here are a few questions to get you thinking about creativity in your current practice:
On scale of 1-10 how creative do you feel you are?
Do you combine activity ideas?
Do you think about alternative ways to use a given resource?
Do you change the way the teacher’s book sets the activity?
Do you modify your materials, by e.g. adding colours or visuals?
Do you reverse or rearrange the order of activities?
What would you do with this image in the classroom?

-----------------------------------

References:
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en the most watched TED Talk in the word!
Craft, A. (2005) Creativity in Schools; tensions and dilemmas. London, Routledge
Lin, Y. (2011) Fostering creativity through education – a conceptual framework of creative pedagogy. Creative Education 2 (3) 149–155.
Pugliese, C.  (2010) Being Creative, Delta publishers.

Article source : https://ngl.cengage.com/infocus/index.php/2018/03/23/creative-thinking-important/

--------------------------------------------------

Creativity Is The Skill Of The Future
Apr 30, 2018, 11:46pm/ Anna Powers / Redefining science

When we look at the world we live in today, it is easy to see how the technological advances have completely redefined the way we live and communicate. With the influx of social media apps, we are now able to talk to virtually any person on any corner of the earth. Instagram, as an example, has allowed users to see live video streams of their friends in faraway places, as well as get a glimpse of the lifestyle of their favorite celebrities.  Through social media have become more connected.

Knowledge is also easier to find, in fact, we can find anything about any topic on YouTube or Google. Knowledge is no longer asymmetric, as it was in the past, when only certain people had access to an accumulation of knowledge, while others had no access to it. Now everyone has access to knowledge - it is just a matter of what we do with it.

We can do everything in the blink of an eye - we do not need to leave our house to get food, to watch a movie, to talk to a friend or get our groceries delivered. We have apps for all those services which allow us a lead a more convenient life.

With all of these advances, it is no secret that technology has also replaced human jobs. In some cases, a computer is able to do things that humans used to do in the past. An example of such case is knowledge retention or calculation - a computer is much better in calculating numbers, and as a matter of fact, academic institutions have large computing resources which crunch numbers for the efficiency of research, instead of asking human beings to do it. In the industry sector, computers have also replaced routine jobs. An example of that is making a check deposit at a bank, which can now be done at the ATM. 

So, since technology is only going to advance, the question is: what will be the most coveted skill of the future? In my opinion, it is creativity. Ultimately a computer lacks imagination or creativity to dream up a vision for the future. It lacks the emotional competent that a human being has. Thus, creativity will be the skill of the future.

However, creativity has always been valued throughout ages, and although technological advances have of the past have also revolutionized societies and moved them to a different direction,  the value our society placed on creativity has always remained constant. An example of that the importance placed on art, starting from the Greeks and the Egyptians, to the Medicis in Italy to Belle Epoque in France. When you think about old masters of art such as Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, you can clearly understand why their paintings are valued at a high premium: it is because of their inherent innovation and creativity. The price of the canvas, the oil colors and the brushes is insignificant in comparison with the price sells for, which indicates that we as a society place a value on the emotion and the creative genius in a painting. As a testament to that, Leonardo Da Vinci’s panting Salvador Mundi was recently sold for $450 million. Why did it deserve such a premium? Were people buying the canvas and the colors on it? No people were buying a trace of Leonardo Da Vinci genius, they were buying his vision, his creativity as expressed through the painting.

Thus, the fact that technology brings about change is not new. In fact technology of the past has also brought about change. And as is with any change, it can be viewed as both positive and negative. But, the key to staying ahead and participating in the creation of the future is our own creativity. We must embrace and develop our creativity, and then use technology creatively solve problems of the world.

Dr. Anna Powers is an entrepreneur, advisor and an award winning scientist. Her passion is sharing the beauty of science and encouraging women to enter STEM fields.

Article source : https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2018/04/30/creativity-is-the-skill-of-the-future/#710261fb4fd4

--------------------------------------------------

We Have to Get Serious About Creativity and Problem Solving
05/07/2014 01:51 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017
Vince M. Bertram, Ed.D., Contributor/ President and CEO, Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The United States can no longer excuse its poor academic performance by asserting that students in other nations excel in rote learning, while ours are better at problem solving. Recent test results clearly tell a different story.

Last month, the latest round of international standardized test results showed American students are lagging behind the rest of the developed world not just in math, science and reading, but in problem solving as well. The 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test examined 44 countries’ students’ problem-solving abilities — American students landed just above the average, but they still scored below many other developed countries, including Britain, Singapore, Korea, Japan, China and Canada. 

Content knowledge and the ability to solve problems must both be priorities for our students. While some ability to solve problems comes from knowledge of facts and persistence, other problem solving requires curiosity and creativity. Without this broader skill set, our students will not be prepared for the jobs of the future and success in the global economy. Our education system, then, must focus not only on building students’ content knowledge, but also inspiring creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset. The countries that do so will be the ones that prosper.

I recently visited South Korea as the U.S. Department of State’s Speaker and Specialist on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and engaged with diverse Korean audiences on the topics of STEM education and workforce development. South Korea’s students excel in the fields of math and science, consistently ranking among the top 10 countries on international assessments. They also excel in an area that some might find surprising: problem solving.

How do they achieve these results? South Korea is one of the most competitive, high-stakes education cultures in the world. According to BBC News and other sources, students attend school from roughly eight in the morning until four o’clock in the afternoon, and then a large majority heads to a hagwon (an after-hours tutoring school) where they will spend several more hours before completing homework for the next day. In South Korea, students take an exam at age 18 that will determine their placement in university, and, to a great extent, their career path.

But despite this high-stakes culture, South Korea is not just focusing on rote learning. In the latest round of PISA exams, Korean students ranked number two in the world in problem solving. During my visit, Korean representatives noted that the education system is increasing emphasis on students’ creativity.

In America, we must make core subjects like math and science relevant for students, and at the same time, foster creativity, curiosity and a passion for problem solving. That’s what STEM education does. STEM is about using math and science to solve real-world challenges and problems. This applied, project-based way of teaching and learning allows students to understand and appreciate the relevancy of their work to their own lives and the world around them. Once they grasp core concepts, students are able to choose a problem and use their own creativity and curiosity to research, design, test and improve a viable solution.

Children are born with a natural curiosity. Give a child a toy and watch him or her play for hours. Listen to the questions a child asks. Children have a thirst to understand things. But then they go to school. They are taught how to take tests, how to respond to questions — how to do school. At our own peril, we teach them compliance. We teach them that school isn’t a place for creativity. That must change.

America is home to many of the world’s greatest innovators and a place where entrepreneurs can bring innovations to life. Curiosity, creativity and persistence in solving problems have made these innovations and successes possible. We should be a world leader in problem solving and creative thinking instead of being satisfied with being in the middle of the pack — and with the right focus on STEM education, we can. We must stop reducing and minimizing students’ creativity and excitement and instead begin nurturing it in every classroom, in every city, in every state in America. We must invest all the resources and energy we can into creating an educational culture that values not only excellence in math and science, but excellence in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/vince-bertram/we-have-to-get-serious-ab_b_5272884.html

--------------------------------------------------

What Is Creativity And The Importance Of Creative Thinking

In the design industry, being just creative is not enough. Over the last few years, the design industry has undergone major changes and the importance of creativity is something that you should know about.
You must now do your best to not just be creative but also keep whatever you are creating relevant to the users. This is a key to making a successful app or website.

Professionals are now required to be more responsible and understand that there are creative ideals. There are also effective, practical practices that must be exercised in the applied creativity professions. They must then follow these practices and apply them in their work.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” Steve Jobs

I believe that changing your ideas and understanding on where you place creativity in our work and professional communication is important as it affects the quality of design a professional makes.
It also features prominently in the outcome of our professional prospects. I also respect the fact that we all have our differing ideas on these issues and it is therefore worth exploring them.

So, why is creativity important?

■ Learning to be creative

Creativity is something that you can learn. The only difference is many people must realize it take patience. The creative profession must also choose his or her thoughts carefully.

There are scientific methods that have been tested and proven to help you learn to be creative. Below are some of these techniques along with quotes from those who have shown great talent in their works.

There are important yet simple lessons all over we can learn-have a different color palette and take time off from your work-preparing yourself mentally to receive new experiences as well as training yourself to perceive thematic patterns-however the greatest lesson for all people and experiences, is one, that we can always learn to be more creative.
Many perceive creativity to a talent for the chosen few. Others see it as something external that is mostly out of our control. Creativity is not an exclusive right to a selective group of people. It is true that there are those who are gifted with a greater aptitude for literal creative thinking but thinking and idea generation are skill that one can learn easily.
According to the teaching of Garard Puccio of the Buffalo State College in New York, creativity is a four stage process. It starts from clarifying, ideating, developing and finally implementing.
To clarify is to ask the right question; while ideating is the exploration of many ideas as possible. The final steps are making sure your ideas are convincing and practical for other people. This is what he refers to as developing and implementing.

A less focused mind is likely to make connections faster and realize a novel solution to a problem than a focused mind. Puccio suggests making yourself less focused to anything else to be able to get to the stage where you can easily brainstorm.
This will give you the chance to be more innovative as you focus your mind away from just one option. This is not always possible with the mind being in an analytical state it is normally in.

Puccio’s ideating technique involves asking his students to brainstorm on a particular problem and after the discussion he presents them with a random object and asks them to come up with a connection. The connection has to be made to between the discussion they just had and the object. It must be a practical connection as well as convincing.

“It’s about forcing the brain to give up old patterns and search for new ones. That’s often what happens when inventors make a breakthrough.”

■ Be curious
I have learned that the best way to learn from original ideas is to read books. This is how I found out why creativity is important. I do spend much time online but from my experience, reading books get you to the source that is pure and unpolluted. It is the way to learn from the thought leaders firsthand.
The internet is a huge source of ideas, some are duplicate other are very original. The challenge is to find the right material in all the noise on the internet. It is therefore smarter to get the information offline, internalize it and then share it by being original on the internet.
Your mind is easily creatively stimulated by the culture in the real world. It is important that you make sure it is getting the right stimulation by choosing the exposure of the right content only.

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” Leo Burnett

Invest in your own life to get ahead in life. Consider attending as many conferences as you can and getting the high end information from industry experts and making your notes of any new stuff you observe. Find a way to apply it in your own life.

Remember useful information is usually scattered around in nuggets. Visit museums, markets, galleries and even retro junk shops. This is the way to fire up your synapses and stimulate creative thinking and ideas in your work.

■ Imitate
If you think about it really well, a creative idea that you might have could not be a new idea at all. We’re bombarded daily with lots of information and inspiration and what we’re really doing when we’re creating something new could be something that has been done before and we unconsciously replicated.
This has been common with artists. They produce a piece of art thinking that they have come up with an original masterpiece. It is later that it is realized it is a copy of a piece they had been exposed to earlier on and forgotten about it.

The process of learning and expansion of thought begins by copying. A young child learning starts by copying what is availed by the teacher, and then they build on that. It is like being shown a mathematical formula then applying it to solve a problem.

“A great part of art consists in imitation. For the whole conduct of life is based on this: that what we admire in others we want to do ourselves.” Quintilian

A good way to start is look at what looks inspiring to you from respected piece for work. After going through a good number of them, making sure you make your own personal references of course, try to replicate them randomly.

Try and see if you can come up with similar works or close copies later own. This is a good way to stimulate your brain to learn to recognize quality work. Your brain will then start to come up with its own unique yet good ideas worth presenting to the world.

■ Have no fear of failure cause you will fail anyway eventually

We have had that moment when we have to put forward a new idea to a client. This moment is always followed by fear of what might happen. This is the moment you have to put your ego to a great risk of ridicule if your idea does not meet expectations.

“Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.” Denis Waitley

The only way to grow our confidence is to push through this fear. Even for those with the thickest skin to withhold ideas for fear of speaking them out, this is a wall that has to be overcome if you have to come to a point where they eventually get recognized.
We need to instill this new aspect taken by many emerging young startups in our education system. These young start-ups have taken up a fail-fast culture. They try new ideas as fast as they conceive them without wasting time so as to learn and succeed or fail without fear. This is an important technique if you are to make any head way soon.

■ Be tenacious

The brain is a muscle that becomes better the more it is used. There is scientific evidence that show synapses for physical channels that become more deeply ingrained the more a subject repeats an action. It is a way the brain helps as to live life by strengthening our strengths and doing away with what we do not need.

Hard work is the solution

There greatest advertising agency of its time on Madison Avenue was created by David Ogilvy. He used to work extra-ordinarily long and when coming up with headlines, he used to insist on coming up with multiple of them and all their variations before settling on one. It is this kind of devotion to his work that contributed to the success of his work.
To get yourself to a state where you can be creative, you need to fine a quiet place. Once you have found a place where you are undisturbed, set a time length of less than 90 minutes and not more. Our brains need rest after such a period of time. Now take time to allow your thought process to work on a problem.
The way to go about it is to come up with many solutions as you may manage. Even after coming up with one that you think might be the answer, keep working on more of them that are applicable form a different dimension. Acknowledge that is an uncomfortable way of doing it without letting it affect you negatively.

Be Disciplined

In life you have learned that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to learn something new. This could be driving a car, riding a bike or playing a piano. But as you apply the skill daily it becomes an effortless act that you do not have to think about.
This is because your brain’s synapses physically curve a channel in the brain for that particular skill. Then your subconscious takes over making it feel like a normal task to you.
You need to set up a disciplined and routine culture to make creativity flow within you. Have time lines and follow them religiously.

I wanted to make this article for over a year about why creativity is important and postponed it because up until now I haven’t read enough materials on what is creativity and the importance of having creative thinking skills. I hope you enjoyed the article and excuse some typos and (hopefully not) the eventual nonsense that might appear in some sentences due to a combination of enthusiasm and lack of sleep.
In any case, I hope this article inspired you. Stay humble and be creative!

Article source : https://www.designyourway.net/blog/design/what-is-creativity-an

d-the-importance-of-creative-thinking/

--------------------------------------------------

<Questions> 

Q1. How do you deal with troubles which you are facing ?

Q2. On scale of 1-10 how creative do you feel you are?

Q3. Do you combine activity ideas?

Q4. Do you think about alternative ways to use a given resource?

Q5. Do you change the way the teacher’s book sets the activity?

Q6. Do you modify your materials, by e.g. adding colours or visuals?

Q7. Do you reverse or rearrange the order of activities?

Q8. What would you do with this image in the classroom?

--------------------------------------------------

The Creative Compact

07/10/2012 11:44 am ET Updated Dec 06, 2017 

Richard Florida, Contributor/ Director MPI at U of T, Senior Editor, The Atlantic and Professor, NYU

Excerpted with permission from The Rise of the Creative Class Revisited: 10th Anniversary Edition, by Richard Florida. Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group.  Copyright (C) 2012.

The tectonic upheavals our economy is enduring are the result not just of financial shenanigans by the global One Percent, but of a deeper and more fundamental shift — the passing of the old industrial order as it gives way to the emerging Creative Economy. If we wish to build lasting prosperity we cannot rely on market forces and the Invisible Hand alone to guide us. The grand challenge of our time is to invent new institutional structures that will guide the emergence of a new economic order, while channeling its energies in ways that benefit society as a whole.

To do this, we need to institute and ratify a new social compact, entailing everything from investment in our human capital, the only real capital we have, to a new approach to education and learning. 

We need to recommit our economy to innovation and our society to openness and diversity, and we need to knit a new safety net for the truly disadvantaged. 

We have been through this before. The Industrial Revolution generated new technologies, new industries, and new productive potential alongside gross economic inequalities — which Marx wrongly believed would be capitalism’s undoing. Before the nascent industrial age could reach its full potential, the development of a much more broadly based urban-industrial society, in which great masses of people could participate, was required.

■ Our new Creative Compact must be built across six key principles.

1. Invest in Developing the Full Human Potential and Creative Capabilities of Every Single Human Being

We can’t simply write off the tens of millions of workers who toil in low-wage service jobs. The United States and other nations will have to find ways to bring the service and manufacturing sectors more fully into the Creative Age. Every job can and must be creatified; every worker must be empowered to harness his or her own inner entrepreneur. Governments build incubators for high tech startups—we need to start extending assistance to low-tech startups as well: nail salons, mom-and-pop stores, fitness trainers, and the like.

We did it before in manufacturing. We turned low-wage, low-skill work in horrific, exploitative factories into the good family-supporting jobs workers pine for today. We need to do the same for services—for the more than 60 million Americans and countless others around the globe, who toil for low wages in everything from food preparation and home health care to retail sales. Some will counter that this will only make services more expensive. My response is simple: we can’t afford not to do it. Decades ago, we collectively conceded that we would have to pay more for manufactured goods so that workers could have better wages and a broad middle class could be born.  Why shouldn’t we pay a little bit more to the people who prepare our food, look after our homes, and take care of our children and aging parents too? Doing so will build a stronger middle class, enhance social cohesion, and create the demand that can help drive the economy forward.

2. Make Openness and Diversity and Inclusion a Central Part of the Economic Agenda
Fact:  9/11 made America paranoid. We need to get over it. A growing body of economic research shows that diversity and openness power economic growth. Immigrants from foreign countries spearheaded innovations and enterprise in everything from steel to semiconductors  and all forms of high tech. Literally half of all Silicon Valley start-ups involve immigrants. 
Our policy makers need to do what the venture capitalist John Doerr said they should: staple a green card to the diplomas of every immigrant who graduates from one of our engineering schools. More than that, we need to make this country welcoming to all enterprising, energetic, and ambitious people. This is the biggest no-brainer in the world.

3. Build an Education System That Spurs, Not Squelches, Creativity
Everyone agrees that education is important, but our definition of education must be broadened. Just as the United  States once sank vast amounts of public and private funds into canals, railroads, highways, and other physical infrastructure to power industrial growth, the country today needs to massively increase its investments in its human creative capital. The scale of the effort required is enormous—it will need to dwarf the public education system, land grant colleges, and GI bills of previous generations.
Our current system of elementary and high-school education is a relic of the industrial age, developed to stamp out workers for the Fordist industrial machine. We need to pay much more attention than we have to early childhood learning and development; these are the most critical years, when creative abilities are shaped. And we need to stop blaming teachers for problems created by an outmoded system. Education has to be more about engaging students and supporting them with good teachers and mentors than standardized test scores. We need to put their creativity first, not rote learning and test preparation.

4. Build a Social Safety Net for the Creative Economy

The Creative Age is not an Ayn Rand fantasy of rugged individualists making their own way; no viable system or society can be. We need to build a new set of institutional supports that can create a more robust and sustainable social system around the new world of work.
It no longer makes sense to tie benefits to a single employer. A new social compact must start from the flexible, hyper-individualized, and contingent nature of work. That means health benefits that move with workers, and retirement accounts that do the same. This is good for workers, good for companies, and good for society as a whole.
Going beyond the Creative Class, this new safety net must ensure that the truly disadvantaged are provided with adequate living standards, and even more so, with real opportunities. But such a system cannot confine itself to material needs alone. A social safety net for the Creative Age would invest in people and give them the opportunity to develop and fully utilize their human talents and potential; it would recognize self-expression‎ as a fundamental human right and provide education and training to foster it.

5. Strengthen Cities; Promote Density, Clustering, and Concentration

Cities are the key economic and social organizing units of the Creative Age. They speed the metabolism of daily life, accelerating the com- binations and recombinations of people that spur innovation, business formation, job creation, and economic growth.
We need to invest in more green space, energy efficiency, and sustainability. We need to better connect our cities and suburbs with transit, and connect our metro areas (especially those that are parts of larger mega-regions) to each other with high-speed rail.
Everyone recognizes that America’s national government is dysfunctional. But cities and community governments actually work.  The most important policy innovations no longer come from national legislatures or federal bureaucracies, but from cities and mayors crafting pragmatic, non-ideological solutions to pressing social and economic problems. Just as the best companies decentralize decision making to work  groups on the factory floor, we need to give cities and neighborhoods the tools and resources they need to build their economies. Doing so will help rebuild the broader economy from the bottom up.
 
6. From Growth for Growth’s Sake to True Prosperity: Measure What Really Matters

We need to get beyond the idea that growth is good in and of itself. Our obsession with housing and the whole housing-automobile-energy complex of Fordism is but a symptom of a deeper problem: the way we think of, measure, and account for economic growth. More output is not a good in and of itself; that idea is a holdover from the industrial age and no longer holds true in an era where knowledge, innovation, creativity, and human potential drive the economy.
We cannot stop the clock of history from ticking; we cannot impede the logic of capitalism, but we can and must move from dumb (Industrial Age) growth to smarter (Creative Age) growth—growth that fully utilizes human capabilities, that makes us happier, that provides more and better experiences, and more purpose and meaning in our lives, not just more stuff.

Richard Florida is a professor at the University of Toronto and NYU and senior editor of The Atlantic.

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-florida/the-creative-compact_b_1614218.html

--------------------------------------------------

These 5 Women Are Using Blockchain

To Empower Communities
By RYOT Studio, HuffPost US / 09/10/2018 12:39 EDT

All around the world, people are discovering new ways to use the power of blockchain technology. When the decentralized database was first introduced in 2008, it was used to trade Bitcoin. But over the past few years, many have developed ways to use blockchain to empower communities — through everything from worldwide fundraising to the creation of secure digital identities. To celebrate Acer’s Make Your Mark campaign, we are showcasing five inspiring women who are leading organizations that use blockchain technology to give back.

Thea Sommerseth Myhren
Thea Sommerseth Myhren is the founder and CEO of Diwala, a blockchain-based skill platform that gives displaced people the ability to verify their educational and personal growth. For the last nine years, Myhren traveled around the world exploring her passion for human rights and ethics. During her travels, she became frustrated with the bureaucracy that kept people from moving forward in their lives. She turned to tech in hopes of disrupting the existing structure, and started Diwala in 2017.
“Our first and foremost metric is how we can provide positive impact toward refugees, migrants and displaced people with our platform,” explained Myhren. “We believe Diwala must be built from the ground up, in constant collaboration and iteration with the people we design for. This metric is quite embedded into our design decisions, that we listen to people and embrace empathy and diversity. We hope to build a tool that changes people’s opportunities.”
Myhren is using blockchain to create a transparent and streamlined system that can increase opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship for displaced people. Through Diwala, they can provide verified proof of personal education and skill level. She hopes this tech can offer freedom and dignity to those in need by enabling democracy, challenging corruption and changing the power dynamics of data.
“I feel decentralized technology should be offered where it solves real problems. In markets it has been trapped by long-term challenges for too long, which always affect people that deserve it least,” said Myhren. “It’s not easy, and it takes time. It drives me through hard days, because I know so many people that deserve better. They should not be judged by realities they can’t control, which is why my team and I want to build something that showcases their strength, creativity and skill.” 
 
Chris Zhong
Chris Zhong is the founder and president of Blockchain Philanthropy Foundation, a nonprofit organization that enables and accelerates humanitarian projects and initiatives worldwide through blockchain technology. Zhong launched her organization in 2017, and recruited volunteers from a variety of different backgrounds to help her mission of bridging the gap between technology and philanthropy.
“We are committed to changing the world by providing thought leadership in the social good space,” said Zhong. “We want to connect NFPS [non-financial public sector] corporations, governments, philanthropists and the blockchain community together to build a better future. Our team speaks at conferences to voice the challenges that vulnerable communities face, and how blockchain can help. We also have various research projects in collaboration with academics and NFPS in areas like cryptoeconomics, infrastructure for charities, health care and cryptocurrency donation.”
Zhong sees the potential for blockchain to help humanitarian projects in a whole new way through aspects like its cryptographically secure ledger, which can prevent fraud, and the transparency that will bring visibility to the whole supply chain.
“At the moment, there [is] a lot of hype around blockchain, especially cryptocurrencies,” said Zhong. “I think it is important for us in the technology space to be role models and do something practical to bring the real value of blockchain to the vulnerable communities.” 
 
Daisy Ozim
Daisy Ozim has a background in community organizing and public policy. After she was introduced to blockchain in 2016, she decided to bring the worlds of social justice and tech together. Ozim went on to found Blockchain for Social Justice, a collective of individuals who support the development of blockchain projects that serve the most vulnerable, as well as Resilient Wellness, a nonprofit that uses a public health blockchain to promote system and policy change and health-care improvement.
“Blockchain for Social Justice is an education and advocacy platform where marginalized communities have access to developer training,” said Ozim. “They can learn how to be an investor, like how to read white papers and get a [crypto] wallet, and how to be an entrepreneur, like how to develop their own blockchain. A lot of my work is actually in developing blockchain infrastructure and systems that can help address issues.”
Ozim was disappointed by the fact that many who were using blockchain for social impact weren’t familiar with the challenges these communities were actually dealing with, like wealth inequality or intergenerational trauma. Her unique background in community organizing has helped bridge that gap.
“Right now, we are working with the Blockchain Cities Alliance to promote the use of blockchain to develop and address gaps in infrastructure for the public sector,” said Ozim. “We are working on blockchain for some agricultural projects that address how to decentralize the environmental incentive market so folks who put work into farming and production get the most benefit when it goes to retail.”
 
Connie Gallippi
Connie Gallippi is the founder and executive director of BitGive, a nonprofit that uses Bitcoin and blockchain technology to improve public health and the environment worldwide. Before starting her organization in 2013, Gallippi didn’t have a tech background. She had worked in the environmental field before becoming a consultant for nonprofits. When she saw the promise of blockchain, she decided to use the technology to give back.
“Over the years, it has been a slow process of introducing the technology to NGOs in the simplest ways we can. It can be very intimidating and overwhelming. When we first started, it was very early on in the industry, so a lot of what we did was talking to mainstream charities about the technology and why they should be interested in it and the benefits,” explained Gallippi. “An easy way to do that was to open the doors to fundraising for them in Bitcoin. When you don’t have to go through the traditional system of banks and governments, the money gets there a lot faster, it is much less expensive and with Bitcoin, it is also cryptographically secure, so you know it is getting to who it was intended to get to.”
Through her nonprofit, Gallippi has helped raise funds for organizations like Save The Children, The Water Project and Medic Mobile. Through blockchain, she has also developed GiveTrack, which helps create transparency for nonprofit donors by tracking the funds they donate and showing how they are spent.
“With blockchain technology you can actually watch what is happening in real time, and you can see money moving across borders and being used for different things. In the philanthropic world, that is a huge thing, to be able to see the money get there and what it was used for.”
 
Elle Toussi
Elle Toussi is the founder of In One Minute, a group that is helping women regain their identities through the use of blockchain. As a journalist, Toussi traveled the world and saw firsthand how this tech could positively impact communities. Toussi was introduced to blockchain in 2014, and started to explore ways it could provide social good solutions like the creation of digital IDs.
“Last year, I found out that more than one billion people don’t have access to proper identification,” explained Toussi. “I realized that the majority of that population were located in vulnerable communities and involved a big number of women. Blockchain can help these communities. By giving someone access to their identification, we can give them access to health care, financial freedom and even work.”
Toussi’s organization is dedicated to helping those who need it most by creating these digital identities, which reinstate dignity and independence for these individuals by giving them access to basic needs.
“Newer technologies, like blockchain, can make processes much more efficient. It is such an amazing time to incorporate this technology in demographics and populations that would never have the opportunity otherwise,” said Toussi. “I’m a big believer in what I like to call the power of one. One person can make a difference — they can empower a community.”
 
Acer is celebrating the women who are breaking barriers in tech. Acer wants to inspire future generations of women to embrace their passions and make their marks on the world, like those revolutionizing blockchain for good. Acer has spent the last 42 years making well-designed, cutting-edge and reliable computers, laptops and digital accessories to help break barriers between people and technology.

Article source : https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/these-5-women-are-using-blockchain-to-empower-communities_us_5b526bfee4b0b15aba8eea5b

--------------------------------------------------

<Questions> 

Q1. Do you think you can make your world better? 

Q2. If you pick one thing that you do not like about your city, what is it? 

Q3. When you develop new creative ideas, do you apply it into real world promptly?

Q4. What is creative compact? 

Q5. What is the fixed mindset? What is the growth mindset? 

Q6. Which stance do you have in you between fixed mindset and growth mindset?

Q7. Where is your creative ideas coming from?

Q8. When you find adversity in your life, do you usually accept it or resist it to fix?

--------------------------------------------------

Here's the real impact of the food we eat on the environment

12 Dec 2016/ Stephen Clune/ Senior Lecturer Sustainable Design, Lancaster University
Karli Verghese/ Principal Research Fellow, RMIT University

The food we eat is responsible for almost a third of our global carbon footprint. In research recently published in the Journal of Cleaner Production we ranked fresh foods based on how much greenhouse gas is produced from farm to fork.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that red meat is the most emissions-intensive food we consume. But we also found that field-grown vegetables produce the least greenhouse gas. For instance, it takes about 50 onions to produce a kilogram of greenhouse gas, but only 44 grams of beef to produce the same amount.
We hope that chefs, caterers and everyday foodies will use this information to cook meals without cooking the planet.

From farm to fork

To produce our ranking, we compiled 369 published life-cycle assessment studies of 168 varieties of fresh produce, including fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, grains and nuts, dairy and livestock.
To find out how much greenhouse gas is produced in food production, we need to look at all the activities that produce emissions on the way from paddock to the regional distribution centre.
This includes: farm inputs from chemicals and fertilisers; fuel and energy inputs from irrigation and machinery for cultivation, harvesting and processing; and transport and refrigeration to the regional distribution centre.
It also includes emissions released from fertilised soils, plants and animals in fields, but doesn’t include activities such as retail, cooking in the home and human consumption.

In the case of non-ruminant (chicken and pork) and ruminant (lamb and beef) livestock, processes covered include breeding, feed production, fertiliser use, farm/broiler energy use including heating, as well as transport, processing at the slaughterhouse and refrigeration to the regional distribution centre.
For lamb and beef the main source of emissions is methane. This is due to the fermentation process in which bacteria convert feed into energy in the animals’ stomachs. Methane can contribute anything above 50% of the total for ruminant livestock.
In the case of fish, species caught offshore by longline fishing fleets and trawlers have higher values because of the significantly higher fuel consumption than coastal fishing fleets.
It is difficult to compare different life-cycle analyses as these are unique to a particular growing region, farming practice, or methodological calculation. We agree there is danger in comparing one analysis with another to make direct comparisons and concrete conclusions.
However, after comparing 1,800 life-cycle analysis results, we feel far more comfortable in generalising the findings.
There is a large variation (median values) in results between food categories and also within categories, as illustrated below:

Cooking with less gas

Due to different culinary and dietary requirements, it is hard to argue that you can replace beef with onions. However, it is possible to substitute red meat with other meats, or plant-based protein sources, such as lentils and nuts, that have a lower impact.
Our study can help everyday citizens gain a better appreciation of the life-cycle impacts associated with the growing, harvesting and processing of food. With this knowledge, they can better plan, shop, prepare and cook food while reducing their carbon footprint.

As the world grapples with the estimated US$940 billion per year in economic losses globally as a result of food loss and waste, these data illustrate the embedded carbon impacts when food is wasted in the supply chain.
Our results could be used to plan menus for individuals and catering companies who want to reduce their carbon footprint, by selecting foods from different categories.
Limited studies are available, however, for many popular foods. This includes tree nuts such as almonds and cashews, and quinoa, duck, rabbit, turkey and kangaroo.
We need to know more about the emissions intensity of these foods as they are often presented as alternative protein sources with low emissions. The lack of published data makes emissions intensity of these foods harder to validate, and such information is critical if attempts are made to inform dietary choice for environmental purposes.

Written by
Stephen Clune, Senior Lecturer Sustainable Design, Lancaster University
Karli Verghese, Principal Research Fellow, RMIT University
This article is published in collaboration with The Conversation.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Article source : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/your-kitchen-and-the-planet-the-impact-of-our-food-on-the-environment

--------------------------------------------------

<Questions> 

Q1. What is the definition of carbon footprint? 

Q2. Have you ever thought about the benefits of an environmentally-aware diet?

Q3. What is your favourite food? Can you cook it? How is it prepared?

Q4. What is the strangest food you have ever eaten and did you enjoy it?

Q5. How often do you eat food with MSG?

Q6.  If you were to move abroad what would you miss most foodwise?

Q7. How many meals do you have each day? When do you have them? Which is the most important?

Q8. How often do you eat alone and how often with friends or family?

Q9. How much difference is there between things grown at home and those bought at the supermarket?

Q10. If you have a garden do you grow your own fruit or vegetables? Which ones?

What action, if any, do you take to control your weight?

Q11. Do you think that a vegetarian diet could be healthy? In what ways do you think it might be good and in what ways bad?

Q12. Do you, or anyone you know, suffer from food allergies? What problems do they cause?