Aug
20
2008
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is author of
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, is a leading thinker in the field of Positive Psychology. This interview was recorded at the
Purpose Prize Summit at Stanford University Sept 8, 2006 by Tom Munnecke.
One of the world’s leading authorities on the psychology of creativity, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi is the C.S. and D.J. Davidson Professor of Psychology at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and Director of the Quality of Life Research Center. He is also emeritus professor of human development at the University of Chicago.
Csikszentmihalyi holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where he later returned as a professor. He has been a visiting professor at several universities both in the US and abroad. His research has been supported by the US Public Health Service, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Sloan Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.
A former resident scholar at the Rockefeller Center at Bellagio, resident fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, and senior Fullbright Fellow in Brazil and New Zealand, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi holds honorary doctor of science degrees from Colorado College and from Lake Forest College and a doctor of fine arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design.
In addition to the hugely influential Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990), he is the author of thirteen other books and some 225 research articles. His most recent book is Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning (2003).
This interview was recorded at the Purpose Prize Summit at Stanford University Sept 8, 2006 by Tom Munnecke.
Aug
14
2008
I had a great meeting this week with Jim Fruchterman, founder and CEO of Benetech in Palo Alto, CA. Jim is a MacArthur Fellow, and a leading thinker in ways that technology can be used to address the needs of the most disadvantaged. His most recent project, Bookshare, is undergoing explosive growth:
Bookshare.org dramatically increases access to books for the community of visually impaired and otherwise print disabled individuals. This online community enables book scans to be shared, thereby leveraging the collections of thousands of individuals who regularly scan books, eliminating significant duplication of effort. Bookshare.org takes advantage of a special exemption in the U.S. copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications into specialized formats for the disabled.
Benetech is also active applying technology to literacy, human rights, and the environment.
In my first career, I’ve seen what kind of intellectual horsepower the government or industry can throw at their projects. Getting this kind of energy applied to those least able to afford it, however, is a challenge that Jim has tackled well. It’s wonderful to see someone thriving and doing Good at the same time.
Here’s where folks can contribute to Benetech.
Aug
04
2008
It’s always fun to see ideas evolve over time. Heather Wood Ion and I wrote a paper Towards a model of Micro Philanthropy as part of a workshop on Complexity and Philanthropy I held at the Santa Fe Institute with Murray Gell-Mann in May, 2002 (pictured at left). Six years later, the Telegraph in UK recently quoted me on the subject in an article, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s charity donation: Broke? You can still be a philanthropist
Micro Philanthropy has hit Wikipedia, so I guess that makes it real. Peter Dietz and others have picked up on the idea through Social Action Network, too.
