Original concept by Gaping Void
It's just dots scattered across space.
Until you see the connections.
And then, it's impossible to go back to where you were.
Information is about making sense from data around us.
Knowing what a dish contains is different from being able to make it.
Or a scientist explaining what gravity means in relation to our understanding
Knowledge is about connecting points logically and making sense.
But it takes the convergence of data points to help people understand concepts and apply them.
Several knowledge gaps have to be filled.
Insight is when two completely disconnected points of information are linked even before the rest of the world realises a connection exists
Wisdom is a slower journey towards insight. Almost as if you have to get through the maze of dots to build an overall understanding
That's the problem entrepreneurs face when they have an insight
To them, the connections are obvious but so far apart from the public's general understanding, only a few manage to make the projection into the future.
They have to spend years converting that insight into a product the world buys into.
Conspiracy theorists weave fantasies from the same information. And they have believers as well.
What's your insight?
Would you use a transparent restroom?
It's being touted as a design breakthrough.
And a winner of a Tokyo design competition for public restrooms.
With transparent glass walls - so you see the inside as you walk past.
The benefit, apparently, is that visibly clean exteriors will get more people to walk in.
The solution creates a new cultural problem.
Would anyone who doesn't understand how this operates have the guts to walk in?
How does it work? New smartglass technology turns the glass opaque as soon as a person locks the door from the inside.
Somehow, that is lost in translation.
In India, where people are still being weaned off relieving themselves in public, this creates a fresh problem.
How do you convince them they won't be visible to people outside?
That is mortifying and no one will tell you it's the real reason they would not use the restroom.
It's a design solution that fails on the cultural front.
You can communicate the concept in glorious detail.
People will sagely nod their head and tell you it is a great idea but in their minds, they will think it's stupid. And stay away.
Not exactly the way the designer thought the solution would be perceived.
Snoo soothes parents more than babies
Babies are the cutest.
Except when they're bawling away at 1 am in the morning.
Nothing works. And this is the time parents are stressed the most.
Unlike living in a joint family decades ago
The baby passed through different and willing hands and everyone took turns
But with nuclear households, parents have to learn to navigate the unpredictable months.
Not everyone can afford a 24 hour nanny.
The solution? An automated baby rocker.
Naturally, data is a big part of it.
It's a smart sleeper for babies. And its named Snoo.
Ticks all the right boxes - all baby-like and soothing
The cradle rocks gently all night replicating the feel of the mother's womb. And apparently keeps night times tranquil.
At least, that's what the product description says.
It records how many hours the baby slept at night and whether sleep patterns have settled into a normal rhythm.
Parents can't stop raving about it.
Wondering what took so long for a product that soothes them almost as much as the babies.
The price? A little over $1300. In Indian currency, that's about Rs. 1 lakh.
This is possibly the Ferrari of cradles.
Think it will be a hit in India?
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