2009 in Innovation as Seen by US BusinessWeek

The innovation industry took a hit this year, as executives dialed back on initiatives—and paid the price. But some encouraging trends also emerged In 2009 the world was no longer flat; much of it was flat broke. Deflated by slumping sales and income, companies roundly did what innovation consultants say they never should—they cut spending on research and development. The U.S. drug industry, historically one of the most lavish spenders on research and development, announced the elimination of a record 69,000 jobs this year, up 60% from 2008. At many companies, quick hits and line extensions replaced more costly, though potentially more rewarding, investments in game-changing inventions.

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What Do Creative People Look Like? - Mark Batey, Msc Phd.

The simple (and honest) answer is that... there is no stereotype. We are all innately creative, we all solve problems, produce ideas and think unusual thoughts. However, this is clearly not the whole story. Whilst we can all be creative, some people are more prone to create than others, some who think more with what the venerable creativity researcher Frank Barron would have referred to as "controlled weirdness". So... what do the people who have a greater control of weirdness look like? What are their hallmarks? To answer this I would like to explore a few key themes and finish off with a cap doffed in the direction of domain differences.

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A Changing Culture of Creativity - Howard Gardner

A new culture of risk-aversion and crowd-sourcing is changing the traditional paradigm of the creative individual according to Howard Gardner, Professor of Education Harvard. Gardner conceived the notion of multiple intelligences and opposed the singularity of the IQ test in assessing intelligence.

Umberto Eco: The lost art of handwriting

Umberto Eco the Godfather of Semiotics writes an eloquent column in the Guardian on whether it is important for children to continue to be taught handwriting and in his view, it is. Read why!!

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Umberto Eco: The lost art of handwriting |

What Does Your Soul Look LIke

What does your Soul look like? An interesting visual art project created by a group called Information is Beautiful. Full instructions on how to draw your Soul are included on the site