Nothing more uncommon than common Sense. Here’s a story from the past that could save you a lot of time and maybe a few million dollars.

During the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a race to be the most technologically advanced nation.

The Soviets won the first round, and Sputnik became the first satellite to orbit the Earth.

In response, President John F. Kennedy challenged:

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

Legend has it, during the space race, NASA scientists discovered pens didn’t work in zero gravity.

On Earth, gravity helps ink flow to the paper. In space, no such luck.

NASA spent years and millions of dollars developing one that did.

The Soviets?

They just used pencils.

True or not, it makes a point.

Fast forward to today.

Gen AI is the new shiny toy.

Everyone’s racing to use it, boards, teams, consultants, GPUs humming in the background.

But in our excitement, we might be doing the same thing again, building a “space pen” when a simple pencil will do.

Before asking Gen AI, please

Ask your 10-year-old.
Ask your Intern.
Ask your grandmother.

You might get a simpler, smarter answer for free.

“Common sense is seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be.” - someone a lot wiser than me.

Blogging is something I enjoy, and I share my thoughts on my blog most weekends. Explore all my blogs at https://lnkd.in/ejq7CWaQ

I am also experimenting with cross-posting my blogs on Substack (@iamnoguru) and on my personal website (iamnoguru).

Take it easy until next time.

Blogging is something I enjoy, and I share my thoughts on my blog most weekends.

Read all my “Notes to Self” at view all blogs.