Strands of Genius: Our Faulty Thinking, We've Misunderstood 'Survival of the Fittest', The Hidden Formula Behind Almost Every Joke on Late Night
Guest curated by Lucy Cochran
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Lucy Cochran, Brand Strategist | Provisional Clinical Psychologist.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, LUCY COCHRAN ::
LOCATION: Melbourne, Australia
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Brand Strategist | Provisional Clinical Psychologist
Hey! My name is Lucy Cochran. I've been a brand strategist (sometimes running the department) FOR AGES in agencies in Australia, Amsterdam and NYC. Right now, I have one foot in Clinical Psychology, one in freelance brand strategy and one in a start up. I also love being in nature, have a co-dependent relationship with my Australian Shepherd, train a horse and have two children.
Editor’s Note (Faris): I know Lucy from Twitter (of course) and through the global planning community. She’s done and run strategy at some groovy agencies internationally (Saatchi&Saatchi, Cummins&Partners in Aus, Mother in NYC, We Are Pi in Amsterdam) and, now equipped with graduate degrees in psychology, is developing her skills broadly as she mentions above. It’s always good to remember that the core skills of planning and strategy apply across industries. Plus she’s on TV!
As far as I’m aware, Australia is the only country that has a TV panel show about advertising - The Gruen Transfer. (I wonder why, Australians?)
“In shopping mall design, the Gruen transfer is the moment when consumers enter a shopping mall or store and, surrounded by an intentionally confusing layout, lose track of their original intentions, making them more susceptible to making impulse buys.” - Wikipedia
Check out her clip below where she discussed the complexity of conscious consumerism and whether it’s a '“guilt tax” for those that can afford it. Thanks, Lucy!
:: THE LINKS ::
OUR FAULTY THINKING
People believe they know way more than they do and why facts don't change people's mind. This is an oldie but a goodie in talking through various examples of our faulty thinking. (The New Yorker)
WE’VE MISUNDERSTOOD ‘SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST’
Many have misinterpreted the idea of 'survival of the fittest'. Fittest doesn't mean strongest or more dominant - in some cases it might mean being slow or most the collaborative. (The Swaddle)
THE HIDDEN FORMULA BEHIND ALMOST EVERY JOKE ON LATE NIGHT
Looking for more from Lucy Cochran? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from her in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: Cranium
:: City :: Amsterdam
:: Book :: The Goldfinch - by Donna Tart
:: Podcast :: The Happiness Lab
:: Album :: Blondie - a best of
:: GRUEN ::
This is a little video on me on the TV show about advertising called Gruen.
Hope you enjoyed this but also hope you can get off your screen for a bit.
Lucy Cochran
lucy.m.cochran@gmail.com
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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