Coral Conservation

As one of the world’s leading jewelers, Tiffany & Co has been at the forefront supporting research focused on coral reef systems. I think consumers and retailers (still sadly unaware of the global destruction of coral) need further education on the ecological and economic impacts of wildlife trade.

Useful links:
www.tiffanyandcofoundation.org
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov
www.coralreef.noaa.gov
www.reefrelief.org

Hats off to Tiffany & Co Foundation!

Random Thoughts

When mathematicians and physicists are left alone in a room, one of the games they’ll play is called a Fermi problem, in which they try to figure out the approximate answer to an arbitrary problem. They’ll ask, how many piano tuners are there in Chicago, or what contribution to the ocean’s temperature do fish make, and they’ll try to come up with a plausible answer. What this suggests to me is that the people whom we think of as being the most involved in the symbolic part of math intuitively know that they have to practice those other, nonsymbolic, approximating skills.

- Rebecca Saxe
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Haunch Of Venison

Alexandra Peers's article on Haunch of Venison + other viewpoints @ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122161069185445765.html was insightful.

Useful link:
www.haunchofvenison.com

Project BudBurst

Project BudBurst is a national field campaign for citizen scientists designed to engage the public in the collection of important climate change data based on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers. Go www.budburst.org for further information.

Pew Internet Study Report

According to Pew Internet study report, US teenagers (a few play alone) mostly join up with friends when gaming + many play educational games to learn about world issues + gaming had become an almost universal pastime among young Americans. It's amazing to learn how playing games impact social lives.

Useful link:
www.pewinternet.org

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon was one of the most successful American portrait photographer + his work included many icons of art and American politics.

Useful links:
www.richardavedon.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7617871.stm

Martin Prosperity Institute

Peter Day's conversation with Richard Florida, a leading thinker on the nature of cities + what companies do not understand about them, and what business can learn from them + other viewpoints @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/global_business.shtml was educational and insightful.

Useful links:
www.martinprosperityinstitute.com
www.rotman.utoronto.ca
http://creativeclass.com

V. Kasturi Rangan

V. Kasturi Rangan is one of the pioneers of Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise Initiative. In Rangan's view, a new generation of business leaders and philanthropists want more transparency and accountability from the organizations they are funding. We are going to see new forms of social enterprises in the near future.

Go to http://hbswk.hbs.edu/faculty/vrangan.html for further information.