Why Information Doesn’t Change People with Dr Patterson Stark
Why is it that we often know exactly what to do… but still don’t do it? Dr Patterson Stark spent years believing that if his patients simply had enough information, they’d make better decisions. Experience taught him otherwise. In this short conversation, he reflects on the shift that changed not only the way he practises medicine, […]
What an Assassin taught me about Experience
In The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne has no idea who he is. He has amnesia, which means he doesn’t remember his past and can’t figure out why someone wants to kill him. Yet, when he sits down in a roadside cafe he casually says: “I can tell you the license plate numbers of all three cars […]
Why Good People Misunderstand Each Other with Taruni Falconer
When I sat down to speak with intercultural communication expert Taruni Falconer, I expected to learn about culture. Instead, I found myself rethinking communication itself. Why I invited Taruni Falconer When I created On Experience, the first person I wanted to invite was Taruni. She exudes the three qualities I want in my guests: she […]
What a Doctor taught me about Experience
Most people think experience gives us answers, but what happens when our experience fails to answer our questions? When it makes it impossible to continue believing what we know. That’s what happened to Dr Patterson Stark. Patterson was a successful physician in La Jolla, California. He had a waiting list, money in the bank and […]
The Surprising Reason an Anthropologist Excels at AI
Michael Henderson describes himself as atrocious with technology. So why has an anthropologist become surprisingly good at using AI? Michael traces the answer back to something his anthropology professor noticed about him decades ago. He was struggling in many of his university subjects, but consistently getting top marks in anthropology. The difference wasn’t how much he […]
What My Parents taught me about Experience
During the last few years of Dad’s dementia, when Mum and I would visit him in the Aged Care centre, there was a consistent pattern to the conversations we had. Dad would tell a story and Mum would say, ‘Don’t be silly’. At first, I assumed that Mum was simply correcting him. She knew the […]
Why Experts Notice Things You Don’t with Michael Henderson
Most people think experience is about knowing more. But what if its greatest gift is something else entirely? In this excerpt from On Experience, corporate anthropologist Michael Henderson explains why experts don’t necessarily see more than everyone else. If you’ve ever wondered why experienced people seem to spot opportunities, problems or patterns before everyone else, this […]
What Dementia Taught Me About Experience
My Dad died a couple of years ago after living with dementia. He went from someone who was sharp, practical and reliable to someone who seemed to be living in a different world. What happened to my Dad’s experience? From spending time with my Dad over those last few years, I noticed a couple of things. […]