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Betting on the bell curve

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Betting on the bell curve

There's been plenty of talk about the GFC and what caused everything to go so terribly wrong. But odds are, if words like derivative and hedge fund mean nothing to you, neither do most of the explanations out there. In that case, pick up The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb; it's a must-read for anyone who wants to dig deeper without getting entrenched in the messy details. Basically, as Mike Cranna writes, banks have been betting billions on mistaken assumptions, and being thrown off by the influence of low probability, high impact events. If there's one thing you can count on, it's to count on the unexpected—nobody escapes the clutches of Murphy's Law.

A high honour

Street-kid-turned-scientist Ray Avery was named New Zealander of the Year this week for his innovative low-cost medical devices, which are making a difference to some of the world’s neediest citizens.

From intraocular lenses which fight cataracts to high-protein food made from local by-products, there’s a high demand for his inventions in developing countries—and the returns are reinvested through his charity, Medicine Mondiale.According to Prime Minister John Key, what set Avery apart was his decision to “share his success with those less fortunate”. We interviewed him back in 2007, and you can read the full story here.

A very handy device

Imagine this: the battery signal on your cell phone is flashing the death flash and you’re about to run out of juice. You take out the battery, twirl it around your finger a few times, and buy yourself a few more minutes. Now wouldn’t that be handy? 130 rotations for two minutes of talk time is a bit much, though—halve that and I’d be sold.

Money: that's what I want

It spawned classic lines like "Greed is good" and "There's no nobility in poverty". Now, a sequel to Wall Street is in the works. Check out the trailer for Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, starring Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin, and the kid from Transformers.

How many is too many?

Hasselblad is set to release a 40-megapixel "entry-level" camera and it could be yours for the price of a car. $19,995 will get you the all-new H4D40 with an 80mm lens and a True Focus AF system. Still, a medium-format DSLR was never exactly going to come cheap.

Job of the Week

Design Director/Creative Director P0551

Our client is an established and prominent design company who specialise in branding and more specifically FMCG packaging design.

They have developed a fantastic team environment unlike any other and have some great 'personalities' amongst it. Their premises are fabulous and are centrally located on the city fringe.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a current Creative Director looking for a change of scene, or a very senior designer (8-10 years minimum) at the top of your game, who is looking to develop their skills in overseeing a team and the creative product coming out of a hot studio. They are looking for an inspirational, energetic and edgy person who has the passion and personality to drive and mentor a team of like-minded individuals.

You will need to be effective and comfortable in a client facing role and have a portfolio showing some strong work. It is essential this identifies your strengths in branding and profiles some of your exceptional FMCG packaging work. Your strategic skills will need to be well developed, you must be an amazing 'ideas' person, and you will be an effective communicator who is confident and shows the ability to inspire others to produce their best possible work.

Most importantly you'll have a wicked sense of humour and an outgoing personality.

If you think you have what it takes send in your application ensuring it includes your CV and portfolio as a pdf (no larger than 5mb please), or as a weblink, to debbie@portfoliorecruit.co.nz without delay, or apply online.

When art and maths collide

Whoever said art and mathematics don’t mix has officially been proved wrong. American photographer Nikki Graziano—who studies photography and maths—has combined the two by ‘graphing’ her photos, complete with equations. Hard to explain: see it for yourself here.

Leaving on a poetic note

Hey, if I was going to quit my job, that's how I'd want to do it. Short, sweet and to the point. Sun filed for withdrawal from the stockmarket last month; proof that no business is too big to fail.

Only in Japan...

Cryptically named the White Goat, this little machine recycles shredded office paper and turns it into toilet paper. It all sounds very green, but the gadget itself costs a cool $100,000. Still, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Quote of the week

"Bankers are calculating the risk as, “What are the chances of someone being 20,000 feet tall?” when in fact the risk they are exposing their clients’ money to is more in the region of, “How often do the super-wealthy attend football matches”?"

— Mike Cranna breaks down the financial meltdown in everyday terms.

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  Fantastic! Finally some vision in establishing a key infrastructure to support New Zealand's future prosperity and commercial competitiveness. Good work Rod, Sam and Steve - your country thanks you for your patriotism!  …
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  Unfortunately it is not just red tape - it is also the laid back kiwi attitude, compounded by educators who think achieving national standards is a bad thing.
• Tim Marshall on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  The target of higher GDP per capita is all wrong. Aiming for it encourages more production and consumption, often at the expense of quality of life. We need to construct a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) to guide policy. Fr  …
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• Phil Wollerman on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  Brilliant, insightful article, VH.
  
  This situation has principally arisen because - simplistically - the world no longer wants what we are intrinsically advantaged in supplying.
  
  And yeah, it doesn't look like our co  …
• Anon on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  The answer lies in a) increasing the returns to capital and b) decreasing the cost of capital. To do a) we need to reduce corporate and income taxes and replace them with land, resource, pollution and infrastructure char  …

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