Uncommon Sense: Out of the Box Thinking for An In the Box World - Softcover

Cochrane, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184112477X ISBN 13: 9781841124773

Publisher: Capstone, 2004

Synopsis

"Peter Cochrane is one of our most far-sighted visionaries, and brings brilliant clarity and focus to our understanding of ourselves and our technologies, and of how profoundly each is transforming the other." -Douglas Adams, Author, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In Uncommon Sense, Peter Cochrane's follow up to the radical 108 Tips for Time Traveller, Peter explains how very simple analysis allows the prediction of such debacles as the 3G auction and the subsequent collapse of an industry, whilst simple-minded thinking is dangerous in the context of a world that is predominantly chaotic and out of control.

People balked when Peter suggested a wholesale move to eWorking, the rise of email and text messaging, and the dotcom regime mirroring the boom and bust cycle of the industrial revolution. His predictions of the use and growth of mobile devices and communication, or use of chip implants for humans to replace ID cards, passports, and medical records, or iris scanners and fingerprint readers - were all seen as unlikely. Today they are a reality.

How then will the world react to his predictions as set out in Uncommon Sense of a networked world of distributed ignorance and sharing overcoming an old world of concentrated skill and control? To everything becoming 'Napsterised' in every dimension, where storage and processing power cost nothing, and become connected without the help of the old network companies? A world where individuals create their own networks, where laws of copyright and resale, and old business models have to be changed as giant industries are dragged kicking and screaming out of the 19th Century and into the 21st?

Peter Cochrane poses and answers questions, suggests solutions, and raises red flags on issues that need to be addressed. Tables, diagrams, pictures and illustrations generously support all of the text, with the most difficult aspects illustrated by simulations and other material on a CD and links to a web site with an ongoing expansion of the themes addressed.

About this title

About the Author

PETER COCHRANE is one of the sharpest commentators around on the convergence of society and business issues. He is a co-founder of ConceptLabs, where he acts as a mentor, advisor, consultant and business angel to a wide range of companies around the globe. He is the former CTO and Head of Research at BT, as part of a career at the telecoms giant spanning 38 years. He holds a number of prominent posts as a technologist, entrepreneur, writer and humanist, and was the UK’s first Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. He is the author of 108 Tips for Time Travellers.

From the Back Cover

Uncommon Sense is a series of remarkable insights into work, communication, the family, communities and just about everything else touched, or yet to be touched, by the world of technology.

It will help you:

• Live in an increasingly digital world which continues to move at an accelerating pace
• Make sense of the 'what' and the 'why' of events created by the chaos of rapid and universal communication
• Use inverted, out of the box thinking to see solutions and find value in life and business that previously seemed impossible.

Uncommon Sense explains how very simple analysis allows the prediction of such debacles as the 3G auction and the subsequent collapse of an industry, whilst showing how simple-minded thinking is dangerous in the context of a world that is predominantly chaotic and out of control. Peter Cochrane eats, sleeps, thinks and uses technology to create new and competitive business and wealth generation. But he always has a weather eye on the consequences of human action and reaction, and ultimately the impact on society.

Umcommon Sense is about the symbiosis of mankind and machine. it poses and answers questions, suggests solutions and raises red flags on issues that need to be addressed. It is a must read for professionals, technologists, managers and anyone with an interest in the change and progress of companies, countries and our species!

From the Inside Flap

Peter Cochrane has always been at the very frontier of technological revolution. People balked when Peter suggested a wholesale move to eWorking, the rise of email and text messaging, and the dotcom regime mirroring the boom and bust cycle of the industrial revolution. His predictions of the use and growth of mobile devices and communication, or use of chip implants for humans to replace ID cards, passports, and medical records, or iris scanners and fingerprint readers - were all seen as unlikely infringements of human liberty. Today they are a reality.

How then will the world react to his predictions of a networked world of distributed ignorance and sharing overcoming an old world of concentrated skill and control? What will they say to everything becoming Napsterised in every dimension, where storage and processing power cost nothing, and people become connected without the help of the old network companies? Or of a world where individuals create their own networks, where laws of copyright and resale, and old business models have to be changed as giant industries are dragged kicking and screaming out of the 19th Century and into the 21st? What will they make of the changes in business, education and life itself that dictate that we all take a more responsible role for ourselves, our technology and the consequences for society?

Uncommon Sense provides a startling glimpse of our future. it is a future that is already happening, and one you cannot afford to ignore.

Edition details

• Publisher: Capstone
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184112477X
• ISBN 13: 9781841124773
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256