Latest Unthinking - August

Tell me something new

The Vestigial Pattern Bias.

4 examples that explain why we are trapped by conventional wisdom.

1. Nasa Space Shuttles

In Ancient Rome, war chariots were built to be the width of two large war horses. That is, 4' 8.5" wide.

Consequently, the Romans built roads across their empire to the same width to accommodate these chariots. Including in Britain.

Everyday carts and even railways were designed to follow the ruts and were therefore exactly 4' 8.5" wide. The English labourers followed suit when constructing railways in America.

Fast forward to the present day, when NASA had to design their two large solid fuel booster engines for a space shuttle that were arriving by train and had to pass through various tunnels, they were designed to be 4’ 8.5" wide.

2. Animal Biology: Wings, Eyeballs and Pelvis Bones

Animals go through the trouble to grow them but ultimately are futile.

The wings of flightless birds such as the ostrich and kiwi.

The eyeballs on certain cavefish and salamanders.

The pelvis bones in boas and pythons.

Redundant but still present. Requiring energy to maintain but contributing nothing.

3. The Qwerty Keyboard

Designed in the late 1800's for the convenience of telegraph operators transcribing Morse code on a typewriter.

That's why, for example, the Z is next to the S and the E, because Z and SE are indistinguishable in American Morse code.

No good for us today, yet QWERTY remains.

4. The Tiny Pocket in Your Jeans

In 1879 Levi’s made the first pair of jeans with the ‘5th pocket’ originally designed to hold your pocket watch.

Despite pocket watches disappearing at the start of the 20th century when WW1 soldiers moved to the wrist watch, they continue to exist today.

In recent years, you’ll have likely repurposed it to hold your spare change but with less and less need for that, it becomes even more vestigial.

So, what does this mean for us?

Humans often adhere to traditional ways of doing things. Sometimes without questioning their relevance or effectiveness in the present context.

This can lead to mindsets and methods that no longer serve our best interests.

This is true for us as leaders and our leadership qualities. What served us (and our team) in the past might not be what is needed going forward.

If you want to see this in action, have a watch of:

• Super Pumped, the story of Uber.

• WeCrashed, the tale of WeWork.

What do you think will be vestigial next?

Dirt track mindset

Highlights

⚡Janne has been super busy commentating on the Olympics of in Paris - here she is on route to the hockey pitches all stashed up, of course.

⚡ Liz Pemberton left a comment on one of our LinkedIn posts a few months ago, she probably never expected this to happen…

⚡Adrienne celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago! Here she is, posing casually with our slick new Kapten & Son rucksacks.

⚡ Meme of the month for August…

🔄 ICYMI: Our last four Unthinking Thursdays 💡:

💡The Cigar Butt Approach to L&D

💡 The Greatest Learning Experience of Them All - Part 2

💡 The Greatest Learning Experience of Them All - Part 1

💡 Vestigial Pattern Bias 🚀🐴