by Dr. RUWANTISSA ABEYRATNE
Freaks are more fun…We need freaks. Especially in freaky times ~ Tom Peters
Freaks are considered to be non-traditional thinkers. The author of the aforementioned quote says that when interesting things happen, one can be certain that they were done by a freak. When it comes to challenging times, one cannot think of a more appropriate example than the present, where conventional thinkers have been swept off their feet by an unseen enemy, the likes of which and the ferocity of which has not been seen in a hundred years.
As the saying goes, freaks are fun. Some of the innovations devised by freaks are virtual reality, where you could realistically visualize being in Hawaii while jogging on a stationary machine in your basement, and food delivering robots in a vast university campus, as happened in the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Freaks just think laterally, like the case of RVs for doctors, where recreational vehicles are used by doctors who would effectively preclude the risk of bringing home a virus to their home from the hospital. They drive home after work, park in their compound and engage with the family whilst being in the vehicle. The World Economic Forum in its publication acknowledges the urgent innovations of a Covid -19 ravaged era “from hands-free door openers that can be 3D-printed, to basic ventilators. It’s reminiscent of the inventions of the Second World War – when the first digital computer and rocket technology came to the fore”. Be that as it may, the prize might go to the remote controlled mask invented in Israel where one can open an aperture in the mask (to put food in the mouth), which is controlled by a hand held device which can also close the aperture after every bite.
Freaks are antifragile, non-traditional, lateral thinkers who take existing usage and change the way things are. The mind of the freak is not a one-time solution provider. It is constantly active and therefore introduces a dimension that goes beyond adaptability.
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