AMANDA.nanotech.JEALEMY

A few weeks ago (although it might have been a little longer) I had an interesting conversation with my Innovation professor. Ever since, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of writing about Amanda Palmer and Nanotechnology.

Why is that?

Well, I have thousands of “not so rational reasons” for that, but let me give you one that I believe is worth considering.

  

I will confess it…I felt challenged. Every now and then my ego does the same old trick. I couldn’t help it; this seemed like mission impossible and I DESPERATELY HAD to find a link between these two.

Amanda is a badass, self-made artist that has built a career based on trust. Throughout the years, she’s managed to develop a very tight community of people she can completely rely on for everything: from instruments to food, shelter and hugs…she can get anything she needs, anywhere in the world, within a matter of hours. It’s like having a super fast 3D printer at your service, 24/7. In her own way, she has created a very convenient virtual reality.

Yet, by now you might wonder…what does Mrs. Palmer have in common with Nanotechnology?

The answer is simple…EVERYTHING AND NOTHING!

In the era of “think different”, “outside-of-the-box”, “diverse” and any other adjectives you can think of, she decided to do something very simple, yet powerful…

She asked for help!

No shame or nasty obligation, but rather a practical matter. If I need something, I ask around. As simple as that!

A couple of months before coming to business school I got a copy of her book. I read most of it within a couple and days and, suddenly, it hit me…

During my PhD I spent 5 years working in a chemistry lab, thinking that I was going to save the world with nanomaterials, and I never asked anybody for help! Even worse, the fear that somebody will “steal my ideas” kept me up at night.

Dude….seriously? How stupid was that?

What if? What if I had asked for help any time I could not figure out what was wrong with my experiments? What If I wouldn’t have been so afraid of sharing my ideas? What If I hadn’t listened to the jealous professor?

What if I…simply…had asked for help?

Ever since I left my academic days behind I have noticed how little people know about Nanotechnology and how foolish we (scientists) were, inside of our science bubble, by thinking that we were about to change the world with tools most people don't even know about.

So let me tell you about my first business school lesson:

The spell is broken my friends, the end of the jealous scientist is near…

Fellow “nanotechies”, start working together. The world needs more Nanotech, more Amanda-like actions and, more importantly, less well-kept secrets.

For real…

Photos from PhotoPin and the author's private collection