Episode 26: Alfred Nash - Insatiable curiosity, NASA and Team X, and the return of the Renaissance Man

Show Notes: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (05:15) Mentors (07:20) Building and leading teams (13:15) Comfort with uncertainty (15:30) Waleed Abdalati Origins episode (18:30) What drew Nash to JPL (19:00) Trajectories to JPL (20:00) Why you need to read sociology books (22:00) Being a Renaissance Person - curiosity across human endeavors (22:40) T-shaped people (23:00) Challenging yourself (29:45) The change in mentality that comes with public service (32:50) NASA JPL Team X (35:15) What is Team X?van Allen, von Braun, and Pickering famous picture (38:00) What networked computers did for JPL (40:30) Alfred’s contribution to Team X efficiency - paper (42:15) Three types of fun (44:10) Thinking about how you provide information (46:15) Related: see discussion of human-centered design in Rachel Young Origins episode  "Murphy was an optimist” (48:00) Melanie Mitchell Origins episode (56:10) Writing (56:45) Helping Writers Become Authors podcastChildren of Tendu podcast and parallels to proposal writing Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way  Why you need to learn about design “All endeavors of humanity are communicative endeavors" “Vision without action is a daydream, action without vision is a nightmare" “You can never be too clear” (01:05:30) Thinking in questions (01:06:00) “The people who really make it in life are not those who get the right answer, but the ones that ask the right question”  Right question is the quantum leap to the right answer Lightning round (01:08:00): Book: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Passion: Gift of gab  Heart sing: Broadest possible definition of product development (The Invincible Company book)  Screwed up: Leading people during Planck Mission project Find guest online: Twitter @aeniiiNASA JPL  'Five-Cut Fridays’ five-song music playlist series   Alfred’s playlist