Author Samuel Arbesman joins Aidan McCullen to unpack why today’s technologies are often beyond human understanding. From systemic failures to the burden of knowledge, this episode explores the complexity of modern systems—and how to navigate them with intellectual humility.
What if everything you know is slowly becoming outdated? In this eye-opening episode, Samuel Arbesman, author of The Half-Life of Facts, explores how knowledge decays over time, why scientific truths shift, and how we can stay ahead by understanding the patterns of information change.
Why did Adobe fail to outpace Figma despite cloud dominance? Howard Yu and Sangeet Paul Choudary join Aidan McCullen to explore disruption in the AI age and how your business can leap forward before it’s too late.
Prof. Manu Kapur joins Aidan McCullen for part 3 of our Innovation Show series on “productive failure.” Discover why initial struggle fosters deeper learning, how to design for failure in education and beyond, and how to unlock insights through cognitive dissonance.
Simon Hill, author of Expected Value (xV), reveals a powerful framework to measure the true impact of innovation. Learn how to avoid innovation theatre, kill zombie projects, and align creativity with real business value through xV’s blend of confidence, predicted value, time sensitivity, and strategic fit.
Michael Raynor explains why most strategies fail and how CEOs can fix them, exploring the RAP model, BCE’s diversification, and lessons in strategy.
In Part 2 of my conversation with Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, we explore the science behind learning from failure, including the Four A’s framework, variability in learning, and why struggle fuels adaptability in today’s fast-changing world.
In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen welcomes back Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, to explore the science of learning through failure.
We uncover the Basic Knowledge Fallacy, debate Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning, and introduce the Four A’s of Learning (Activation, Awareness, Affect, Assembly). Manu also explains why variability, struggle, and pretesting drive deeper learning, adaptability, and long-term success.
Whether you’re an educator, business leader, coach, or lifelong learner, this conversation will transform the way you think about learning and growth.
⏱️ Episode Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction and Sponsor Message
00:33 – Welcoming the Guest: Manu Kapur
01:01 – Understanding the Basic Knowledge Fallacy
05:07 – Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning
08:08 – The Science Behind Productive Failure
14:01 – The Importance of Variability in Learning
21:14 – Pretesting and the Role of Struggle in Learning
26:43 – Final Thoughts and Cognitive Reflection Test
🔑 Key Takeaways:
-
Why the path to learning is as important as the knowledge itself
-
The strengths and limits of direct instruction and discovery learning
-
How the Four A’s of Productive Failure create lasting understanding
-
Why variability and desirable difficulties improve adaptability
-
How struggle, pretesting, and impasses unlock deeper insights
📘 Resources:
📺 Watch more episodes of The Innovation Show: The Innovation Show on YouTube
🌐 Learn more about Manu Kapur: www.manukapur.com
📘 Get Manu’s book Productive Failure: https://amzn.to/3KrdV1Q
In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen welcomes back Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, to explore the science of learning through failure.
We uncover the Basic Knowledge Fallacy, debate Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning, and introduce the Four A’s of Learning (Activation, Awareness, Affect, Assembly). Manu also explains why variability, struggle, and pretesting drive deeper learning, adaptability, and long-term success.
Whether you’re an educator, business leader, coach, or lifelong learner, this conversation will transform the way you think about learning and growth.
⏱️ Episode Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction and Sponsor Message
00:33 – Welcoming the Guest: Manu Kapur
01:01 – Understanding the Basic Knowledge Fallacy
05:07 – Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning
08:08 – The Science Behind Productive Failure
14:01 – The Importance of Variability in Learning
21:14 – Pretesting and the Role of Struggle in Learning
26:43 – Final Thoughts and Cognitive Reflection Test
🔑 Key Takeaways:
-
Why the path to learning is as important as the knowledge itself
-
The strengths and limits of direct instruction and discovery learning
-
How the Four A’s of Productive Failure create lasting understanding
-
Why variability and desirable difficulties improve adaptability
-
How struggle, pretesting, and impasses unlock deeper insights
📘 Resources:
📺 Watch more episodes of The Innovation Show: The Innovation Show on YouTube
🌐 Learn more about Manu Kapur: www.manukapur.com
📘 Get Manu’s book Productive Failure: https://amzn.to/3KrdV1Q
Manu Kapur joins The Innovation Show to discuss his book Productive Failure, showing how failure fuels deeper learning, creativity, and adaptability in education, business, and life.