Kamen in MAKE

[Mike]

I just saw this link, the article seems pretty good. They talk about FIRST for a bit, as well as his other ventures.
MAKE interviews Dean Kamen

[nehalita]

I just finished reading the article. Anyone who has two eyes, a few minutes to space and some brainspace should go and read it. Dean Kamen has some excellent advice. I especially liked his comments on efficiency and his appreciation for thinking.

[Ian Curtis]

Dean has once again proved just how smart he is. His views on time and thinking are incredible and what he said about the three stages of truth I loved so much I put it in my signature.

[Joe Johnson]

I finally got down to the spot on my To Do List where it said "Read Make Article on Dean."

For those who have listened to Dean over the past decade or so, it is pretty much standard Dean-speak, but even so, it is a well composed article and there are several interesting new stories and I can even detect what I think are some evolution of his thoughts.

Bottom line: A good read, worth the investment in time.

Warning to FIOTWOD* readers: FIRST is only a small part of the article.

Editorial comment: Take Dean's "only work on important problems" advice with a grain of salt. He can wax poetic about getting safe water and electricity to the undeveloped world and how silly most consumer product are and how embarrassing it would be to have engineered most products in our malls all he wants, but it is my understanding that Dean made A LOT of his early money by making amps for 60's musicians and automatic equipment to turn lights on and off, not exactly curing cancer. I say this not to denigrate Dean but to point out that these early successes, in what are arguably trivial products, gave him the luxury of being able to choose to work on important problems now.

Joe J.

* FIOTWOD
-pronounced "FI ot wood", the first two syllables rhyme with "riot"
-stands for: FIRST-is-the-only-topic-worthy-of-discussion