SΩ25 - Mars & Venus

Why are we still so far from human equality in the 21st Century? Much of my recent support towards gaining success has been thanks to some incredible women. This has inspired me to take a closer look at the root of gender inequality that exists across the world. For sure this a multi layer issue that has been created and fueled by religion, education, media, etc. This post is my personal take on the issue and some solutions that I believe will lead us closer to gender equality. As there are many perspectives and solutions it be great to hear your own thoughts and ideas.

Romance and Dating
It was only when I returned to Europe my romantic experience with women blossomed. This has ranged from a two-year relationship to magical travel encounters and everything in between. Over the years I’ve begun to question our romantic rituals. There is one resounding pattern I’ve noticed from the first move, dancing, or the first kiss. In the majority of cases between a heterosexual pair it’s the man that leads and the woman who reacts. Furthermore these experiences have made me realize the extent to which our biological instinct to procreate drives romance. As a male it’s embarrassing to admit how often my libido overrides my logical side. From both the male and female side the traits that we are attracted to tend to be indicators of mate compatibility. Physique and attitude play a large role in this romantic matching. A prime example of this is the ever so popular dating app ‘Tinder’. In this app you choose the people you’re interested in solely based on pictures. If there is a match the male tends to take the first move and must prove his worth and uniqueness. Do we truly feel this is the definition of romance?

 

Parenting
Now let’s fast forward in a relationship to the point when a couple decides to become parents. In many ways biology has given women traits suitable for taking care of a baby. For example breasts to feed the child and the strong emotional bond needed to nurture the baby. Males on the other hand are pumped with testosterone ideal for being a formidable protector. Over the years these gender roles have been amplified through social structures, television shows, and marketing, What’s important to consider is that the division of responsibility between parents will be the first gender role models a child witnesses. Furthermore how the parents treat their child based on gender will form ‘gender norms’. For example what color clothing the child is dressed in, what toys he/she can play with and what activities he/she can participate in. This often has the consequence of pushing the types of jobs that are ‘best suitable’ for men and women. For example Lego toys are dominantly marketed towards boys that push engineering and construction type of work.

The Professional Life
This leads me to my point on how dating and parenting impacts gender roles in the work force. In many ways I believe that dating rituals has pushed our society to see males as the ‘natural leaders’. For example, at work it often seem men will be more outspoken then women when it comes to decisions, negotiating salary, etc. Furthermore the type of jobs women and men apply to will be biased by the gender roles our parents define. Also work environments, schedules, and work contracts are simply ill suited for people who have a child, especially for women. Yet the big question is can the dynamics of romance every truly be separated from the world of work?

Regardless of the answer I do believe we owe it to ourselves to encourage positive and healthy romantic bonds. This along with mindful parenting will set far more equal gender roles. Yet it’s important that both sides are willing to change! Here are my final suggestions:

• Men should respect women and learn to overcome libido driven lifestyles
• Women are encouraged to take the lead and take ownership of their skills and abilities
• Parents should be aware of how their actions and behaviors reflect on gender roles

Posts You Might Like
SΩ24 - Differences 
SΩ22 - The Breath of Giving
About Society Ω

 

SΩ20 - Our Bodies Talk

The evolution of Society Ω and slack group has far exceeded my expectations!

Since April we’ve had a live session nearly every month with a diverse mix of topics.

What’s exciting is that over half of the 20 members have participated. To join our next lives session, feel free to ask for an invite on Twitter or LinkedIN.

Here are the topics we’ve covered so far:

• Live #1 (April): Brainstorm Session
• Live #2 (May): Entrepreneur Q&A
• Live #3 (July): Languages
• Live #4 (July): Time Management Q&A

For the third live session we discussed Languages. It started off with the discussion of how communication can be improved between cultures. The idea of using 'text to vector' translation was brought up. We also discussed ways of learning a language. If you’re learning a language, here is a proven method of doing so: The Lingu Leap. This evolved into a lively discussion of how body language plays a large role in communication. One question left unanswered was:

Are there universal body language cues or are they culturally dependent?

Now I’d like to take a closer look at body language. Research by Albert Mehrabian claims that communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and 7% verbal.  Now if this is true, what about our tech driven shift to text based communication? Based on this study it would seem like we can barely communicate via text. Most would agree we tend to communicate better by speaking face-to-face rather than text.  Yet I believe that this also depends on the type of message(s). The four-sided communication model says there are four parts to a message: factual, appeal, relationship, & personality.

My strong belief is that non-verbal communication often is vital for expressing emotions. Thus non-verbal communication is likely reflected in the personality and relationship parts of a message. A prime example is that lovers will express their feelings more through intimacy than verbally. Now think about having a heated disagreement via text versus a verbal one. Typically speaking, which one is more effective in reaching a resolution?

To put it simply, body language communicates who we are and what we are feeling. As we are emotional beings the importance of body language is evident. So next time you’re flirting or in an interview, just be aware of what your body is saying! With that I leave it with the following question;

How can text based communication be improved?

Relevant Posts

The Lingu Leap

Cultural Tales

Slack Peek: Entrepreneur Q&A

Exploring the Job Jungle

SΩ19 - Life Path

The people in our lives both shape it and inspire us. In fact this post was inspired thanks to a few people. In particular thanks to members of the Society Ω Slack community. During a recent chat with a member it brought about the following question in my mind:

How is our life path determined?

Before you respond, just think about all the factors that influence us. Even before being born: genetics, your parent’s location, and more decide what you’re able or allowed to do with your life. Just imagine if you’re handicapped or poor, this already puts a great restriction on the activities you can enjoy and the life options that you can choose. Never the less, these restrictions actually just make it harder to follow certain paths, not impossible!

During your childhood your options are rapidly shaped by your parents, friends, your education, and even your country’s government. For example in certain cultures like China, parents often push their children towards an education or career that guarantees financial stability. Another example is how education worldwide tends to promote the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering, and math. And at some point one has to think, who decides the value and importance of all the fields and careers? For example who decided that a scientist or banker has a more worthy job and thus earn more than a teacher (in most countries)?

This brings about the question:

How can I be in control of my life path?

I realize that to regain control of one’s life path can be difficult. In fact I struggled with this for the last 5 years. A good way to start is decide how you wish to divide your daily and weekly time. You can do this, by writing down your top 3-5 priorities in life. In most cases your life path will be steered by your 1st priority.

Figuring out all your priorities can be a daunting task. Yet you’ll likely figure those out as you start spending more time on what brings you happiness and fulfillment. At this point you may wonder well how can I build a career from my priorities? Yet, even a priority like friendship can help develop your career! At this point it’s time to explore and try out options. In the last 5 years, here are some of the options I’ve tried. They are roughly ordered by how effective they have been for me and how much of a change is required:

• Explore
• Even just finding a new restaurant or park in your city can bring a spark of inspiration.
• Travel
• This can help you see new perspectives on life and meet new people to inspire you.
• Relocate
• Whether it’s to a new city or country, relocating gives you a clean slate and gets you to adapt to a new place. Relocating to a new country will definitely push you to question your mindset.
• Try new activities and hobbies
• This can help free your mind and perhaps even shift into a career. Perhaps learn a new language.
• Writing and/or blogging
• The beauty of writing is how it can help focus ones thoughts. Especially with blogging it has given the freedom to explore, yet also help me realize what my interests and priorities are.
• Start a personal project(s)
• You can view this like a testing ground for a career you wish to pursue. Personally, I’ve started countless projects and my most recent one has turned into a career opportunity.
• Find new friends and/or social circles
• We’re all face uncertainties in life, yet the right friends can truly push us towards greatness!

Although change can be scary, if you’re on a frustrating or unfulfilling life path, why keep doing the same things? Perhaps, for many relocating may seem to go against their priorities like being with family, yet just realize it doesn’t have to be permanent! For me all these changes have helped shift me towards my life path. Most likely moving to Barcelona, blogging, and my personal projects helped the most. What works for you is likely different, the key is to try a few and see what works best! Let's continue this discussion in the SΩ Slack group. If you want to join us, you can ask for an invite here.

Related Posts & Links:
Learning a Language - The Lingu Leap
SΩ Slack & Blogging - 2015 and Slack to the Future
Travel Stories - Global Kindness: Cultural Tales II
BCN Youth Tech Challenge

SΩ17 - The Lingu Leap

Why should you learn a second language? We are in an era of globalization. Whether you like it or not, chances are you will meet people from other countries during your daily life, your studies, or work. With English you can communicate with ~14% of the global population or about 1 billion people (see below). However, if you learn one or more languages you’ll be able to communicate with 1 out of every 3rd people you meet! Furthermore, you’re perspective and knowledge of the world will expand greatly.

Source: ethnologue.com

Why My Experience Is Relevant?

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you to start learning another language! If you are indeed interested, you’ll find a guide below of how I suggest you learn any language. Before I do that, I’d like to briefly share my experience with languages. So far I’ve learned 4 languages, yet am only able to use 3 of them. Currently, I’m learning my 4th language (Chinese). Now the reason I mention this, is because my success has varied significantly!  Below you can see a chart with details.

Additionally, I’ve been giving private English lessons for over a year now! From my experience it got me thinking, how do we as children learn a language? Below you’ll see the rough process I’ve thought up.

Think about a child, they often say words, which they rarely know the meaning of (mimicking)! Furthermore, they make mistakes left & right, yet still continue speaking. So why do many language courses put such an emphasis on grammar & using the language ‘correctly’? This often discourages students and they stop learning the language. Let’s flip that around & encourage language learners to speak confidently first & then focus on the ‘visual’ side of the language.

How to Learn any Language?

From my experience with languages thus far, I developed this method (below) to learning any language. Try it and adjust it to your liking. Of course everyone learns a bit differently!

Finally, I’ll offer 3 tips to learning any language:

1) Practice makes perfect

To excel at a skill requires practice. How you do that is your choice, yet socializing tends to offer a nice motivation boost. Ideally try living abroad! Otherwise, find a language partner in person or online.

2) Jump right in, make mistakes, and keep learning

As mentioned before, children make mistakes, so you can too! Also it takes years for you to learn your first language, so why should the second language be any different?

3) Have fun!

Most likely if you have fun while learning you’ll progress quicker!  Listen to music or watch videos in the language that you’re learning. Get excited even if you understand a few words!

SΩ15 - How to Choose the One...MOOC

The mention of EdTech (Educational Technology) often results in a mixed reaction of intrigue and bewilderment. Here is my interpretation of EdTech; it is any technology that assists in the learning process. In the 21st century this is mostly comprised of online tools and mobile apps. In this post I’ll focus on the popular trend of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

During my bachelors (2007-2010), this trend started with universities across the US offering open courses. Usually, this is a video series of a course from a prominent professor. My go to source was MIT OpenCourseWare. This sparked a parade of MOOC providers into existence, to name a few: Coursera, Udemy, and EdX. These providers soon introduced a broader range of courses, including topics like languages, programming, etc. Now in 2016, with all these possibilities, how to choose one?

Having tried a few courses from the mentioned providers, I’ll help guide you to your next MOOC!

1. Choose a topic you wish to learn. In my experience, having the motivation to learn a topic prior to the MOOC pushes you to complete it. To stay self-motivated throughout the course can be a challenge.
2. Now it’s time to find a MOOC. I suggest testing out 2-3 MOOCs from different providers for a few weeks. Here are some search tools: coursetalk, class-central, and mooc-list. The reason for testing a few is because the quality and style of courses can vary greatly from one provider. After 2-3 weeks, choose the one that works best.
3. When testing, here are a few aspects to compare:
   • Enthusiasm of Instructor(s) – Just like in school/university the teacher/professor often creates the mood of the class and stimulates student engagement. Chances are if the instructor is excited about the topic you’ll be too!
   • Live versus Achieved – Live MOOCs happen over a set period of time and new material is typically presented on a weekly basis. Achieved courses provide all the material at once. The live MOOC tend to provide more engagement and provides a frequent reminder to continue the course.
   • Quiz versus Tasks – Usually a MOOC will have several quizzes or tasks to test your knowledge. Usually the tasks require the user to apply their learning. The quizzes tend to be multiple choice & provide limited learning opportunities. A good MOOC will likely have short, but engaging tasks that take about an hour to complete. If the quizzes/tasks are too difficult from the start, I’d suggest trying another MOOC!
   • Platform for Peer Engagement – While learning many of us will have questions and opinions. It’s great to be able to discuss topics with peers. Those MOOCs that provide a space to discuss with instructors and peers help further learning and boost motivation. Peer assessment and discussions also help to complete tasks.
   • Free versus Paid – Start off with free MOOCs! I’d only pay if there is a trial version & you feel it’s worth it. However, if you pay, do it for the material rather than certificates. My guess is only a few MOOC certificates are valued similar to a qualification indicator.
4. You get out of it what you put in! Just like an education, job, etc. this especially applies with MOOCs! If you want to try a MOOC, try to put aside 2 or more hours per week. Use the MOOC as a starting point to learn more about a topic. 

As my experience with MOOCs is still developing, please share your thoughts in our slack group.
Join us here: goo.gl/forms/bnm9RIFsyr

Recommended MOOCs:
Chinese Made Easy: An Exciting Start To Chinese
Implementation and Evaluation of Educational Technology

MOOC Search Tools:
coursetalk
class-central
mooc-list

SΩ12 - Our Global Impact

Beauty and chaos exist side by side in this world. Having children is a perfect example of this. It’s a complex balance of showing one’s child the best of the world and at the same time preparing them for all the uncertainty and hurdles to come. When parents are unable to remain together it opens an entirely different beast. Looking back on my childhood, I do feel my parents prepared me for this world.  Yet I believe they could have handled their separation differently. Reflecting back, I believe that had they dealt with it as a team and supported one another, it would have been far better for all. However, the past is the past and so I’ll focus on what came from it: my desire to help others.

I think as a child this ambition developed unconsciously, sparked by my parents’ separation. Digging through some of my previous texts, I came across a snippet I wrote at 19: “I will try my best to better society & make it livable for my children and the generations to come”. Although I have no recollection of what this piece was about, this message still rings true.

For me it seems clear that if humanity wishes to progress it must develop a collaborative environment. Although that has been clear to me for many years the way to reach this has developed over the years. During my university years, I was certain that bringing technology, like solar energy, to underprivileged countries was my calling. After university I realized that although this will help, it’d only make a tiny dent in improving societies ways.

Another realization was that the world’s inequalities, in many ways, have been created by society, especially due to trade & capitalism. Remember that we are globally connected and many of our actions have a direct/indirect impact on other people in the world. Shortly after moving to Barcelona I had a eureka moment: education was the answer! Children are key to building a truly collaborative society. What we teach our children shapes the global boundaries they perceive and follow.

 

Yet the reality is that although I believe in helping others and a collaborative society, my knowledge is limited on how to do this successfully. To educate myself, I’ve been finding ways to help others. To further this this knowledge, I created ‘The Project’. In a nutshell, I ask people to anonymously submit a problem and I try my best to provide advice/suggestions to solve it. Last month I asked 7 people to test it. Here are the 5 abridged queries I received:
  - How can I help the Syrian refugees?
  - What is the most efficient way of finding one’s calling in life?
  - What is the best way to help others?
  - How to budget if wages are fixed & living costs keep increasing?
  - Should I date, if I’m still uncertain of where I want to live?
You’ll find the detailed problems and suggestions here: The Project

My findings thus far are quite revealing. Here are my observations & follow-up questions:
  - People seem reluctant to ask for & accept help from others
     - Why do people feel they need to solve their problems alone?
     - What’s the best way to offer someone help, if you don’t know his/her problem(s)?
  - How we help people can differ from what someone needs
     - How can we improve the way we help others?
  - Helping others can feel amazing, especially if we know we’ve helped
     - How can we encourage people to provide honest feedback?
     - Why is appreciation difficult to come by?

Now I’m opening ‘The Project’ to the public! If you believe in a collaborative society, voice your ideas, feedback below in the comments. Also, if you need help with a problem, post your burning problems & queries here: The Project Form. For now, I'm accept 10 queries per month.

SΩ9 - The Education Evolution

What is the objective of pre-university education? This question has been buzzing around my head for the last few weeks. I believe two main objectives are; provide a general understanding of the world and prepare youth for the ‘job world’. This begs the question: Do current systems achieve this?

Education systems across the world and even within a single country vary greatly. As this comparison is a massive undertaking, I will focus on three areas I believe should be improved. They are as follows:

• Deeper exposure to career choices
• Promoting appreciation/understanding of other cultures
• Merging of technology and education

The ‘Job World’

In the past children often got a taste of the ‘job world’ by helping to support their family’s business/trade. Many of my friends and I feel the shift from education to the ‘job world’ is like jumping into a foggy void. In pre-university education, most systems focus on a few core subjects. Many will then choose a university major based on the core subject(s) they excelled at and/or enjoyed. Yet these core subjects give a limited insight to the career options available. Also, choosing a career path without any exposure is similar to choosing to do the Tour de France, without ever riding a bike!

I suggest a pre-university system that enlightens and encourages students towards a specific career path. In my opinion the final 1-2 years leading up to university should be devoted to self-discovery. An idea could be having 2-3 projects where students choose a specific career or topic to explore. Students can either choose from a list of choices or a program can give suggestions based on interests/personality. Additionally, for a final project the students could do an internship or shadow someone in the specific field of choosing (perhaps even virtually).

The Global Melting Pot

Being immersed in different cultures is a truly eye opening experience.  In my opinion this expands ones perspective on the world and allows for creativity beyond the cultural norms of a given culture. However, most people only learn about the history of other cultures, rather than the current cultural customs, norms, and beliefs. Sticking to one’s own culture is rather futile, since globalization is rapidly pushing different cultural groups to mingle. Also, the desire for companies to succeed internationally requires employees to interact with people outside their culture on a daily basis.

Although, cultural differences are intriguing they can also cause misunderstandings and serious problems. This is why I believe school systems need to actively promote understanding and appreciation for all cultures. If schools are culturally diverse to begin with, the schools should find fun ways to highlight all the cultures present at the school. For younger children, schools can celebrate and/or teach the holidays and festivals of other cultures. For teenagers schools can arrange cultural excursions to museums, restaurants of foreign cuisine, other countries, etc. Another idea is a Skype pen pal program, where students are paired with another student of another country. Of course students also benefit greatly from learning one or more foreign languages. Especially important is to view other cultures objectively, instead of adding negative labels, like strange or bad.

The Tech & Edu Bond

To be continued…

SΩ2 - The Pursuit of Curiosity

Born to be Curious

My childhood was driven by curiosity. I was especially intrigued by mechanical and electronic gadgets, of all shapes and sizes. Besides that, I had a deep fondness towards nature and understanding how ‘the world’ worked. As a child I had two dream jobs: detective and inventor.

At some point I discovered to become a detective, it was required to be a police officer for many years. For some unknown reason, this was a deal breaker… I didn’t want to be a cop! Nevertheless I was content exploring the world around me. Being a decent student it became clear that university was on my horizon. Yet I was a dismayed when I couldn’t find a university that offered an “inventor degree”. Thus, I decided to embark on a journey into the world of electrical engineering.

During my university studies, every minute felt like a dream! The knowledge gained, the experiences made, and people I befriended were exceptional. Yet, we all have to wake up eventually. After a year in the industry and another pursuing a Masters program I came to the realization – my curious nature needed more.

For me an inventor has the freedom to let his/her mind wander. An engineer on the other hand focuses on a specific problem or field of expertise.  Thus, I continue to search for the inventor’s path.

The Age of Inventors

Upon further reflection, I ask myself, how have inventors changed over time? Originally, inventors helped to ensure human survival. Once humans could survive the elements, inventors focused on improving all other facets of life. Around the 19^th century many inventors focused on bringing humans closer together via new forms of transportation and communication.

This was the time of my idol, Nikola Tesla. In 1887 he designed the induction motor that gave birth to alternating current (AC). AC power allowed electricity to become a global commodity. Then in 1889 he invented the first remote-controlled boat, which led to the invention of radio.  Fourteen years after, in 1903, the Wright brothers had their first test flight. In less than 20 years, at least 3 inventions came to be, 2 of which were from Tesla!

Reading Tesla’s autobiography it was clear that for the most part his curiosity was free. He spent most of his time in his lab and resulting in hundreds of patents. However, he had trouble working for corporations and supposedly died penniless. A man truly devoted to his inventions!

Humanity had taken off to the skies and was looking for new limits to surpass. At the turn of the century American commercialism spread globally like wild fire. I believe due to this, companies started tightening the filter on new products they introduced to the market. They wanted to ensure the products were profitable. Most likely this caused companies to use teams of engineers, instead of searching for the right inventor, to create products. How could the inventor’s curious minded nature survive in this profit thirsty world?

Progress with Curiosity

I believe the curiosity to invent must be reborn. Currently, the progress of technology is primarily dictated by the readiness of the market. The personal computer (PC) and mobile industry are prime examples of this. Each year PCs and mobile phones become faster, thinner, and shinier. Besides these improvements, how significant are the changes? Nevertheless, the updates are just enough that consumers flock to buy the newest PC or mobile device. Does this consumer driven system truly promote technological progress?

Yet there are some sparks of curiosity remaining… There has been a steady increase in open-source software development. Another fascinating development is the use of 3D printers, which allow individuals to easily make prototypes and other creations. Finally, the introduction of crowd funding websites has opened the doors to inventors globally. These are definitely steps in the right direction and hopefully ones that will lead to future inventions.

What would be truly inspirational is the development of a system to create an inventors co-working space. People with the curiosity to invent should be allowed to do so. Yet if employed by a company, these people are restricted by the constraints of products the company deems profitable. Perhaps a co-working space could exist that provides housing, common amenities and a base salary. The base salary would remain constant, with a bonus split among the inventors for successful inventions. The inventors would be free to invent solo or together. The inventions created, would be offered externally to interested buyers. One concern with this system, would it be enough to keep inventors motivated? Perhaps external projects could also be commissioned in house. Also, would the system still require restrictions to ensure suitable inventions? A suitable invention would be one that creates a positive progress to society.

I’m certain we all want our society to progress forward. To achieve that, there are many ways and ideas of how to do so. My opinion is to reshape the monetary system to sponsor technological progress and keep it from being the primary motivator. Let Society Ω be fueled by our natural curiosity and allow this to motivate our inventions! 

Further Reading:
10 Inventions from Nikola Tesla
3D Printing Used to Aid Surgery
Top 10 Crowd-funding Campaigns
Related Blog Post