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Big Ideas for a Better Future

Letter from the Editor: Incremental thinking seldom brings new solutions. We have a natural bias towards Big Ideas that have impact. And that has meant creating a fertile ground where magazine journalism can thrive

Published: May 20, 2010 04:04:02 PM IST
Updated: Jun 3, 2010 07:39:32 PM IST

The edition that you hold in your hands is special for a variety of reasons. About four months ago, when we began planning this edition to mark our First Anniversary, our aim quite simply was to attempt something grand that hadn’t been done before. The Ideas to Change the World project more than meets this brief.

For starters, never before has such a constellation of the finest minds around the world graced the pages of an Indian magazine. The 25 stalwarts who’ve written for this special edition are drawn from a wide array of disciplines: From neurosciences to design, from philosophy to environment, from the information economy to social business. We invited them to answer one central question: What is that one idea that could change the world? The result: An amazing array of essays that provide an exciting peek into the future.

Big Ideas for a Better Future
In many ways, this special edition reflects and reiterates our magazine’s editorial priorities. For long, business magazine journalism has remained narrowly focussed on the business of business. On the other hand, at Forbes India, we’ve consciously pushed the boundaries of business journalism. For us, a big picture view of the inexorable rise of China and India — some call them the biggest economic experiments in modern history — is just as interesting as an extraordinary government servant’s bold attempt to find a solution to the menace of Naxalism in a faraway district in Chhattisgarh. Our journalists have travelled far and wide to consistently bring you these untold stories from the ground. And thanks to our global network, we’ve carefully hand-picked some of the biggest stories from around the globe as well. Take a look at the world map on page 12 and 13. It provides a glimpse — by no means exhaustive — of the sheer width of our coverage.

Incremental thinking seldom brings new solutions in a world fraught with complex problems. We have a natural bias towards Big Ideas that have impact and influence. And that has meant creating a fertile ground where magazine journalism can thrive. We’ve allowed our minds to roam freely, explore, question, and look for patterns. And that’s true for even our youngest writers, who’ve picked up the gauntlet and taken on major assignments that they wouldn’t dream of doing anywhere else.

There are some inviolable truths about Big Ideas. You can hire the best people — just as we did — but there are invariably complex stories where you need outside help. And so, we’ve learnt to actively
collaborate with the best minds wherever they may be. You’ll see us pushing the envelope on open-source journalism in the next year. And our latest attempt to reach out to the 25 finest minds around the world is an extension of the same philosophy.

There’s one more issue: The most powerful ideas seldom confine themselves to national boundaries. As the Indian edition of one of the world’s most powerful business media brands, we have gradually developed the ability to look in the right places. Not too many of our readers would have heard of a neuroscientist named Mriganka Sur. Yet his peers recognise him as someone who is relentlessly pushing the boundaries of his discipline. His fundamental work inside a lab in MIT has provided answers to the problems of the human brain. In this special edition, Sur’s essay provides the framework to understand disruptive thinking.

Now, consider these perceptive words from Thomas Davenport, well-known author and professor at Massachusetts-based Babson College: “We receive information faster than we can absorb and react to it. We multitask, employ multiple media, and surf rather than dive into content. We skate on the surface of a vast information ocean, and seldom have the time or interest to penetrate its depths.” I’d urge you to read Davenport’s essay. As a magazine, we have ample interest in his solution
because it holds the key to our survival and growth.

Great magazines draw sustenance from their ability to cut through noise and adopt the intellectual higher ground. That’s been our core purpose too. The ability to build well-honed arguments backed by data and evidence is a rare skill. And while we’ve had our fair share of success, for most part, I’d reckon it remains work-in-progress. In this edition, there’s no better example than the essay by Bjorn Lomborg, well-known Danish environmental writer. For the most part, the public debate around the environment has been shrill and alarmist. Lomborg steers clear of the hyperbole and far-fetched scenarios and urges a more realistic solution. To my mind, it is an absolute must read.

As you turn the pages of this edition, you’ll notice that we’ve also decided to eat our own dog food. Our Project Editor Charles Assisi, my very able deputy, would have it no other way. Our talented design team led by Arindam Duttgupta picked up the gauntlet. And so, disruption starts from the cover itself — and extends through all the pages of this edition. We’ve adopted a stunning, new design template for this edition. It’s simple, elegant — and yet very, very distinctive.

And if you want to truly experience the Power of Ideas, start by switching off all the lights in your room. I can guarantee that the effect of our breakthrough cover design will be stunning. Go ahead, try it out!
Happy reading!

 

(This story appears in the 04 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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