Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies — Week 1

Posted on May 22, 2013 | 4 Comments

I just started my free online course on Coursera. So I have planned to spend two-to-three hours each Wednesday listening to the lectures, completing the assignments and writing a blog post on what I learned. Here goes… :)

Dr. James V. Green said that people want to be an entrepreneurs for the money, the independence, the ability to create (products/businesses), and even for the greater good (solving a problem). I gotta tell you, he nailed it! I agree with all those reasons — the ability to create resounds the most with me personally, with independence as a close second.

A definition I learned today: OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS CANVAS. Basically, I took this to mean “A process by which to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur”.

Right away, Dr. Green made a clear-cut distinction b/t an entrepreneur and a regular manager. Both  make crucial decisions for business, but there is subtle difference. As an entrepreneur:

1. I will evaluate risks as best as I can, but never sacrifice TIME
2. I will work with limited information, but still be confident in my decisions
3. My decisions will be action-oriented
4. I will accept the risks and consequences of my decisions

 

Being an entrepreneur is awesome! I will be doing something that no one has ever done (or at least no one has done my way). So, obviously, I will not have all the data in the world and I am bound to make mistakes. Whatever. Move on…

Next, we talked about an idea. What makes a successful idea? In my simple way, I defined it as “A plan that takes all the details into consideration. Along with all else, it’s something that is accomplishable and creates a quantifiable and timely criteria for evaluating progress.”

Of course, Dr. Green was more fluent than that. He used the SMART mnemonic. What is that? — Take the class to find out!! (lol sorry, but I don’t want to take unfair credit. Plus, his class is free and online; so no excuse.)

Lastly, he described what an Entrepreneurial Mindset is. In essence, it’s how an entrepreneur thinks, what he thinks about and what actions he takes. He used five words to describe it; I will use my own definitions for them:

1. Achievement – I must have a strong passion
2. Individualism – I must be confident in my decisions, even if they are against the norm
3. Control – I am responsible for what happens in my life
4. Focus – I must not only be attentive, but also committed to my idea
5. Optimism – I must be optimistic, but not blindly faithful

 

Overall, I think I’m off to a good start :) . Got a 16/16 on the assignment! YAAY!

 

All credit goes to Dr. James V. Green. You can access his class for free here.
THANK YOU, DR. GREEN! :)

 

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Personal Statement

Posted on May 18, 2013 | 5 Comments

So I am writing a very short personal statement to add to my theatrical resume. Here’s my first draft:

I am inspired by an opportunity to learn, live and share my character’s life. His values and motivations ignite the utmost dedication in my work. I believe in him, without judgment, and fight for our rights. In short: every character has a story. Being able to share it with the world is my honor and passion.

 

Please let me know what you think. Your comments will help me fine-tune it, hopefully maximizing my appeal to casting directors. Thanks!

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Think your way out of aging

Posted on May 16, 2013 | 2 Comments

Why do we age? There are traditionally 2 reasons why we age: 1. disease and 2. cell division. Our bodies are subject to constant attack by biological organisms, like viruses, and radiation. Both of these cause or accelerate age-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, etc.

Alternatively, repetitive cell division from the same DNA that we had from when we were born also takes its toll. Enzymes called telomerases responsible for maintaining the ends of our chromosomes loose their functioning as we age.

And scientists are actively pursing both these areas to halt aging. HOWEVER, there is another aspect of aging that is even more significant!

And that is HOW OUR BRAINS DEAL WITH THE INVASIONS.

Think of why your kidney ages at the same rate as your liver or your heart or your skin. Viruses and radiation are unpredictable and always occur differentially in different organs — if it were just up to them, I could have a 60 yr old heart with a 18 year old kidney.

hypothalamic aging

Figure 1: Hypothalamic Inflammation and Control of Systemic Aging
Physiology: Inflammation links ageing to the brain
Dana Gabuzda & Bruce A. Yankner
Nature 497, 197–198 (09 May 2013) doi:10.1038/nature12100

Because of this logical fallacy, scientists have long hypothesized that there must be something that correlates this elaborate process. Zhang et al 2013, in this weeks Nature, suggest that this controlling factor may be the HYPOTHALAMUS.

The hypothalamus exhibits control over all of our hormonal behaviors, including growth, reproduction and metabolism. But there isn’t a hormone for aging. (Incidentally, if there was, we could easily switch it off and live forever).

Instead, everything is controlled via INFLAMMATION. You are probably familiar with inflammation — it’s what happens when you get a bright red mark after a mosquito bite. The same process is occurring within our bodies – constantly monitoring our homeostasis and protecting us from damage.

Though it’s 99% a good thing, inflammation exponentially exacerbates almost every single disease when it goes wrong. But, till today, scientists could not understand how! Zhang et al document inflammation in sequence with aging to provide a clue into how the hypothalamus might be controlling it.

Thanks to their work, we may be able to better improve our anti-aging therapies and extend human life well beyond its limitations today.

Oh, btw, it’s going to take a while for all those smart people to get there. Until then, I will just leave you with this — the leading cause of increased and unregulated inflammation is STRESS.

So, if you want to live longer and healthier, you already know what to do. Here’s a pic from a fellow blogger :)

 

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Posted in Nature & Science Research

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Dear car, wake me up when we get there…

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 2 Comments

Reading this article just filled me with smiles and hope! Let me explain…

I drive a lot. But it’s not often that I say ‘I want to drive’. Instead, I drive to get to some point. It is a means I use to transport my body.

Everyone says distracted driving kills. If you carefully look at it, you can see that DRIVING IS THE DISTRACTION! I want to talk on my phone, text my friend, eat breakfast, read an article, watch tv – I don’t want to sit behind a steering wheel in dead-slow morning traffic.

driverless car 1

Image from sciencegravity.blogspot.com

Lawrence D. Burns, former vice president of research and development at GM, writes in Nature this week to show how much the automobile industry can progress in just the next decade! He mentions a lot of things, like cars connected to each other and shared vehicles, but his enthusiasm in driverless cars is really heartening.

This is NOT a concept of the future. It’s here. And Burns says that most major companies working on these designs will have models out for consumer use by 2020!! In fact, the safety profiles for these cars will possibly be 1000 times better than those observed with human driving. I, for one, can’t wait!

The day Google announced it’s Google Car, I was floored. No joke, I started saving whatever I could to have an opportunity to own one in the future. (The way things are going, I won’t get to that limit before 15 years lol)

It’s the next idea. It’s a revolution. Enough with using the same 1900s technology that demands such an enormous labor resource from all humans. Just think about how many hours collectively we have spent in our cars — that’s how much human effort has been wasted paying attention and coordinating movements required for safe driving today.

On top of that, motor vehicle accidents still remain the leading cause of death! ISN’T IT TIME TO STOP THIS NONSENSE!!

Here’s to the day when driverless cars won’t be an exotic idea, but a commonplace, affordable option for all consumers.

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Posted in Nature & Science Research, Personal Stuff, Policies and Perceptions

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