I found out about this from a city magazine in Baltimore called The Urbanite. The magazine is doing something called The Urbanite Project, which is based on the book "The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures," by Frans Johansson.
An excerpt from the project reads:
Let me ask you a question. What is the connection between termites and architecture? Shoe designers and car engineers? Lollipops and sea urchins? Or butterflies and mobile phones?
The connections may not be too obvious at first, but each of those combinations represents a remarkable innovation, and an incredible idea. Those who find such unique connections (almost all of us) and dare to pursue them (a lot fewer of us than should be) are the ones who are breaking new ground. Those people who can step into an intersection of different fields or cultures are those who will change the world.
It may seem quite counterintuitive at first—but the fact is that you have the best chance of breaking new ground if you combine what you know today with ideas or concepts from other fields or cultures.
If you guys find this interesting, there's more about the Urbanite Project (involving the writer of HBO's The Wire) at: http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?sectionID=4&articleID=625&IssueID=46, and Frans Johansson's blog is: http://themedicieffect.typepad.com/.
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