Sunday, December 27, 2009

The unintended end-result of new airline security

Each time there is a new attempt at terror on an airliner, security is tightened yet again. Yet each time there is eventually another attempt. Does this mean that security will get tighter and tighter until each of us is traveling naked, blindfolded and chained to the seat for the duration of the flight - with no luggage at all? It is difficult to see how this will ever really come to an end. I have no suggestions for ultimate security, but although I believe that security is critical, I suspect that we need to completely re-think our approach to it.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Build a better mousetrap and the world does not beat a path to your door

Inventors assume that all they have to do is invent. Yet most new products, however good, fail. In many cases it is because the creator has done an inadequate job of Marketing, Advertising and PR. Even though this is old history, we see that again and again, the would-be entrepreneur comes up short in these areas. It is perhaps the ultimate way in which we distinguish the successful ones from the failures.

Friday, December 11, 2009

It is all to easy to destroy faith in society

We establish an ideal, a set of rules by which to live a life. We tell young people about justice, fairness, and equity. They grow up to believe that your rewards are proportionate to your efforts. Then, as they grow older, we jerk the rug from under their feet. They see that the undeserving can be successful, and the good can fall by the wayside. They see the justice system, whether for a murderer or a traffic ticket, is unfair. Whether or not you get a traffic ticket is a matter of chance, it is often made difficult and expensive to fight one, and then if it is ever the police officer's word against even several civilians, the civilians lose - if the officer shows up in court! Given the number of death row exonerations, it is obvious that innocent people have been executed - and guilty ones gone free. If it is so difficult in murder cases, where more effort is expended, then the accuracy of less serious crime convictions is clearly even lower. So innocent people are in prison while guilty ones walk free. As this kind of awareness grows in young people, so does respect for the rules of society diminish - and far too little attention is paid to the consequences.