Captcha!

I attended a conference yesterday because that’s what high-powered executives like myself do. We sit in freezing cold rooms with strangers and listen to someone or another brag about how great they/their company are. Then we eat crappy food and listen some more.

Some speakers proved more valuable than others. The first admitted that he didn’t know what engagement he had this morning. It showed. In fact, he was thoroughly uninspiring and unprepared. Well done.

Other speakers however proved worth the wait. One in particular stood out as top notch. In appearance he was the exact opposite of everything my “industry” is. Thank god. (Everyone kept referring to the room as “the beautiful people.” I think everyone is blind.)

Anyway, the Professor, as we’ll refer to him, explained how he developed Captcha, which is that jumbled-up word combo you have to type in when you buy tickets and stuff online. Out of all the speakers, he was the only one who drew questions. And a lot of them. One woman asked how he comes up with his ideas. And instead of saying something smug like “you have to stop listening to the noise,” he answered honestly: “I don’t know.”

Did you just feel that breath of fresh air?

Yeah, bitches, so did I.

Unfortunately I don’t think the audience truly grasped or appreciated how valuable the Professor’s presentation was. At an idea conference, his was the only presentation that really demonstrated the ingenuity of a creative idea that could be spun out a million times over. He took a problem and solved it. Then someone figured out how to get around his solution so he created another solution. And so on and so forth.

That’s inspiring.

What’s funny about all this is that Captcha is a way to tell humans and computers apart. I often find myself encountering this very thing.

“Are you human or bot?” For serious.

I have blogged often enough on the massive population of bots and now there’s technology to identify you.

Be afraid, bots!

In conclusion, you should really open your minds to the possibility that someone other than creatives have creative ideas. Only I am permitted to judge you, whether it’s silently or in a public forum. Also, if you have an appointment somewhere, show up knowing where you’re going and have something to say especially if audience members each paid half a grand to see you. Dummy.