Inspiration for your ideas

During the last couple of weeks, Dr. Wu has been encouraging the class to come up with ideas for the project that the 'cmps598 ' company may pursue. A crucial ingredient for generating ideas- ideas that really matter- is inspiration. Clearly, one place to get inspirations from is through a study of quotations from great thinkers, writers and scholars of our past. So, I have compiled a list from http://www.wisdomquotes.com/:

Theodore Roosevelt:
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.

Michelangelo:
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

Jonathan Kozol:
Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.
On Being a Teacher, 1981

George Bernard Shaw:
Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?"
frequently attributed to Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy, who used it in a speech which his brother, Edward F. (Teddy) Kennedy quoted at RFK's funeral.

David Ogilvy:
Don't bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.

Even if the quotations don't give any direct benefit in generating innovative ideas, I expect they can be very useful when we try to select the best one among various ideas that are contributed by the company's stake-holders.

I also recommend that you read the following blogs by John Horgan:

http://www.stevens.edu/csw/cgi-bin/blogs/csw/?p=180

http://www.stevens.edu/csw/cgi-bin/blogs/csw/?p=181


I will write another blog tomorrow to talk about the contributions of the two-time nobel prize winner, Linus Pauling. His prizes were for his efforts towards eradicating cancer and war.

Also, some of you want to consider the issue of how can the U.S. electorate be made more informed so that they can make the right choice for next administration. In a recent column titled, "Let's Prime the Pump," Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP answers an election-related question as follows:

Question- The same issues (health and economic security) come up in every election, the candidates talk about them, and nothing gets done. Why will this time be any different?

Answer- Great question. This election will be different only if we (the electorate) make it so.
Every one of us has a role- voting is critical, but it's only the first step. Then we all have to pitch in, to demand that our elected officials act. We need action, answers, accountability. Things CAN be different.

What idea of yours is big enough to matter and small enough to win?