One skill I hope to convey to my boys is in trying to forge new connections. I am beginning to realize that it isn't enough to be able to remember facts. Computers are quite skilled at recall of even the most obscure trivia--witness the ability of Watson to crush the best human competitors on Jeopardy! What computers have a more difficult time doing is putting together random pieces of data in new and interesting ways.
Some of the most innovative successes only seem intuitive in retrospect. We look back at ideas like the iPad and think that it was obvious. In actual point of fact, tablet computers have been around for quite some time. It took the combination of the touch screen interface with the widely available digital content in iTunes to really transform it into a "must have" item.
Throughout our work day, we are bombarded with facts. Most of them will be long forgotten within a week or a month. Poring through meeting minutes and document records will only get you so far. Putting them together into unexpected combinations is one of the key ways we can differentiate ourselves from the competition moving forward.
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