How to innovate from Logical Stupidity

08 Sep 2008 Categories: Favourites, Friends, Resources by Marcel View Comments

I met Peter Greenwall for breakfast the first time, which was less than a week ago, after we connected on Facebook.

It was an EOX! We chatted about ARTS & things that made ANSWER.

EOX = Eye Opening eXperience
ARTS = Any Rubbish That Sells
ANSWER = Absolutely No Sense Whatso Ev R.

Peter subscribes to Comedianism – a religion designed to convert knowledge into guessedge i.e. to subvert everything sacred & proven in order to see the funny side of everything & discover new places, products & movies. I, of course, believe in “Magic Moments” – those times when we sit back & experience something so remarkable & new that we need to say “Wow!”. Breakfast with Peter was definitely one of those moments.

Peter Greenwall - Logical Stupidity Peter Greenwall, author of the soon-to-be-Best-Selling-book, ‘Logical Stupidity‘, has over 20 years of local & international experience writing original music & creating seminars for both the entertainment & corporate market. And not just any old events either: he was both the composer & musical director for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003, he has an extensive list of previous clients, & a wealth of experience. But Peter has no formal qualification in ‘making stuff up’ – which is why he actually qualifies to write a book about ‘making stuff up’.

If you’re looking for new ideas & solutions, the ‘Logical Stupidity’ method is a great way to ‘make stuff up’ & find your natural innovation & creativity skills. But you will also find that Peter has a incredible talent to spark new ideas that clearly demonstrates his ability to use his formula to its maximum potential. It was this ability, together with his ANOID (new disorder: Absolutely Nowhere as a result of an Overactive Imagination Disorder), that turned a ‘musical seminar’ entitled “FLOPSTAR” into a over 700-page book that includes lyrics, music, sketches, scenes, product ideas & who knows what else. Even after reading the ‘20% Free eBook‘ version of ‘Logical Stupidity’, I am in awe of his skills as a keen observer of the world, talented humorist & maverick-thinker.

Now I literally have a pile of 8 books on my bedside table that I want to read within the next month; I hate reading eBooks on a computer monitor. However, the format of ‘Logical Stupidity’ is surprisingly reader friendly & I found myself captivated, laughing, thinking & sharing within minutes of starting to read it. It offers an extremely high VIRFTI (Value In Return For Time Invested), since it not only offers you an inspiring & funny perspective on the creation process, but Peter even shares some fantastic nuggets!

Included in the commercial e-book are:

For Business: 269 innovative products
For Showbiz: 61 songs, 80 short songs for you to finish, 451 comedy sketches, 300 stand-up shticks, 43 TV show pitches, 31 movie pitches, 602 cartoons, photo’s & illustrations
25 legislations to combat the latest offensive trends
18 new disorders to tap into and use as inspiration
217 inspiration devices that were directly responsible for all of the above

Peter has decided to release all of the above value-adding items with a Creative Commons-type licence: in essence, you may use any of his concepts, as long as you give him full credit (& part of the profit, if you plan to sell it). So whether you want to sell one of his brilliant concepts (‘The Batterari™ – a battery powered, ego friendly, hybrid sports car’), or wish to act out one of his sketch scripts on video (which can be uploaded & considered an audition to his soon-to-be-made movie), or just use his profound new Acrobuzzanyms in your everyday language – you can do so with Peter’s blessing.

Here’s just 1 example of Peter’s advice:

Observational Innovation: the practice of turning punch lines into taglines
i.e. observations into innovative products.

With observational humour, the comedy comes from reflecting reality –

e.g. have you tried dating online? Ever notice how all 3 pictures of your fantasy partner look nothing like the one you meet?

That’s your OOPS: Observation Of Pure Stupidity – i.e. you are reflecting reality.

With observation innovation you go one step further and actually change reality by doing something about your observation – you invent a product that solves the problem:

Introducing FutureFoto™ – what your Internet date will actually look like.

Turns out that the difference between humour and innovation is simply a matter of functionality: does the joke product work?

If it does, your punch line becomes a product that will make you laugh all the way to the bank.