how to do things better

I just listened to an amazing talk by Atul Gawande, professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. In it he discusses what makes a good doctor and how hospitals can be improved. What made his talk so fascinating for me was thatit really applied to everything. What he was revealing was how we can write better stories, draw better pictures, pass exams better, make better cars, be better parents, teach more effectively... anything at all. His conclusions were in one respect, not really world shattering, but in another they were. You'll have heard others cite every one of the things he mentions as being important. The difference is that he doesn't just ask you to blindly believe; he illustrates his points with real examples and logically shows how they naturally lead to improvement or failure by little steps.

If our species to make it through the next several decades in good shape this is the kind of thing we need to understand. It is very encouraging.

If you are in Australia, Background Briefing is broadcast on Radio National Australia:
Sunday 3rd June at 9:10 am
Tuesday 5th June at 7:10 pm
Wednesday 6th June at 4:00 am

If you are elsewhere then you can download the online mp3 or read the text transcript at
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/
usually after about the Tuesday after the initial broadcast I think.