Dear Bill,
My name is Peter Gluck, I am living in Cluj ,
Romania
working for 51 years in the chemical industry, then for new
sources of energy, web-search, Internet
journalism and consultancy- I am now an independent blogger interested in real
life problem solving.
See please http://egooutpeters.blogspot.com
I have experience in
R & D in the three realms of Matter, Energy and
Information- and I want to use it till I am here upstairs.
I have studied your recent Annual Letter 2014 and I am very
positively impressed- it is more than an thorough analysis- it is a real
holistic synthesis. I like it and I take it as an opportunity to congratulate
you for everything you have done for Mankind during your Microsoft era and
after it. You are very rich however NOT your richness defines the best your
personality and activity but your creativity and desire to help those in need. Your
richness belongs to the area of meritocracy.
I am writing you because I have an ideology & strategy
to donate to you and I dare to think it is something that can improve a lot the
effectiveness and efficiency of your Foundation.
I know that the Internet is wonderful, however I am
unable to predict if:
a) my Open Letter
will indeed ever ‘arrive’ to Bill Gates;
b) if he will read it, and
c) if he will take my suggestions in consideration. Anyway,
I have not much to lose. I have had discussions with really great people as the
writer Arthur C. Clarke and even with a Greek Goddess- see please [1]- who has
explained me the root causes of the recent global Crisis already in 2007.Maybe
I will have luck in the present case too Perhaps the rule of six- or less
degrees of separation will help. My dear reader, perhaps you know a way to
Bill Gates?!
The 2014 Annual Letter has already generated aome 4000
Open Letter to Bill Gates.
The Gates Annual Letter
I agree that the world is a better place now than it was
before, despite the general validity of the Twin Peaks Principle: “Evil is
indestructible and always wins.” Actually Evil changes its form and its
intensity decreases sometimes. ‘Geography is destiny’ and ‘History is a trap’
are evanescent truths in many places. Not in North
Korea as an extreme negative example.
I am very pleased to see that you are using the same
strategy- complete definition- first negative as in my problem solving rules.
(the 20 rules are attached to this letter).
Yes, the removal of the imaginary obstacles – in this case
Myths is the first, decisive step.
To stop all these myths we have to fight the inherently
natural trend of poor (and in a smaller extent- rich) countries to become
kleptocracies where corruption is endemic and systemic being modus cogitandi,
operandi and vivendi for the politicsl leaders and citizens.. If human rights are not
cannibalized by super-human privileges- the 3 myths can be defeated. Problem
solving is ineffective when the privileged people in a country take more profit
from the problems than from the
solutions.
The global problem is aggravated by what we know as Crisis-
due to complex causes, the Whole (contrary to its natural state) is becoming
smaller than the sum of its parts. I know the explanation of this
national/global tragedy from the best Person possible, [1] but due to the
Cassandra Syndrome insignificantly few people believe “us” Nor Athena, neither
I want money, we just want to solve the heinous, persistent and recurrent problem.
I have studied your Foundation’s strategy with admiration; I
think it can be characterized by aiming to do the maximum good directly at the problems/humans interface where the need and the
pain are the greatest.
What I think it could be the best for your long
range-greatest scale effectiveness is to act complementary at the deepest core
of the problems/solutions interface where
the positive effect is the greatest.
Very specifically it is about solving the essential problems
of technology in the optimal mode; this will have the greatest possible
positive impact on the future of the Mankind.
The
core problems of Technology. [2]
The best and smartest definition of Technology due to Pierre
Le Goff is:
CONTROLLED PHENOMENA OF
TRANSPORT, TRANSFER AND TRANSFORMATION OF
MATTER, ENERGY AND INFORMATION
THAT CREATE SOMETHING USEFUL FOR PEOPLE.
Simple and comprehensive. The global situation is as
follows:
a) we, humans have solved quite well the transport and
transfer of information (with a decisive
contribution of Microsoft). Transformation on the DIKWP- data- information- knowledge-
wisdom – prediction scale is an endless problem that has to be solved for each
case again and again.
for energy is
situation is much worse, the domination of fossil fuels used via destructive burning
is the shame of human technology and the weakness of the natural regenerable
sources. WE NEED NEW SOURCES OF ENERGY! My blog Ego Out (ego “out” i.e. lost
ego that is the information, knowledge and wisdom lost by the death of n
individual) – is dedicated to the best new energy sources of the near future and
to real life problem solving. A decisive step will be made in New Energy this
year! Please believe me
For matter- chemistry,
physics, materials science are fighting on many technological fronts; it would
be unfair to tell which is more important- however nanotechnologies and
nanoplasmonics appear to be a cornucopia of great possibilities.
The starting idea- what can the Gates Foundation do
now?
There is no real equivalent of the Nobel Prize for
technology. The Foundation could create it in the most adequate form- three
prizes:
Gates Prize for Core Technology
of Matter;
Gates Prize for Core Technology
of Energy;
Gates Prize for Core Technology
of Information.
I bet this will be the catalyst for great achievements.
Matter and energy technologies will follow information technology in solving
their fundamental problems.
Peter Gluck
References
[1] STOP KOALEMOS!
[2] TECHNOLOGY- MON AMOUR!
Attachment
PROBLEM SOLVING RULES
–INTERNATIONAL
by Peter Gluck
ENGLISH.
It is available in 21
languages
Motto:
“ I think, I exist.
I decide I live.
I solve problems, I live with a purpose.”
1. There are NO isolated problems, they always come in
dynamic bunches
2. There are NO final solutions for the really great
problems, these have to be solved again and again.
3. NOT solving the problem, but defining
it is the critical step.
4. NOT the unknown data, but those known and
untrue are the greatest obstacle to the solution.
5. .NOT what we know, but what we don’t know
is more important for solving the problem.
6. NOT the main desired positive effect, but
those secondary negative and/or undesired effects decide in most cases if a
solution is implemented.
7. NOT all problems have a complete, genuine
solution.
8. NOT the solutions that seem perfect from
the start, but those which are very perfectible are the best in many cases.
9. NOT the bright, shiny, spectacular
solutions but those elaborated, worked out with difficulty and effort and
patience are more valuable and have a larger area of applicability.
10. NOT the solutions that are logical and
perfectly rational, but those that are adequate for the feelings of the
potential users, even if they are ilogical, have the greatest chances of fast
implementation.
11. NOT the quality of the solution but the speed of its implementaion is the
decisive factor in many cases. It can be better to have a partial solution
applied fast than a slower almost perfect solution.
12. NOT always
long hours of hard work and great efforts, but (sometimes) relaxation and fun
is the best way to obtain solutions for (awfully) difficult problems.
13. NOT our own
problems, but the problems of other people are usually more boldly and
creatively solved by us
14. NOT the solutions worked out by us, but those borrowed. bought or
stolen from others are more easily accepted and implemented.
15. NOT the enhancement of
human strengths but the limitation
of human weaknesses is
more useful for efficient problem solving
16. NOT the very careful perfect planning, but
the smart assuming of risks and firm decision taking are the practical keys to
successful problem solving.
17. NOT always the existent, real
problems, but many times the fictive, imaginary ones are the most difficult to
be solved.
18. Do NOT accept the premises of the problem,
change them as necessary and possible.
19. Do NOT stop at the first solution, seek for
alternatives.
However, for the really
advanced problem solvers, there is a SUPER –RULE- the most important of
all;
20. NOT the wise application of these
rules but the finding of the specific exceptions to these, is the real high art
of problem solving.
