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The Delta Point

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2nd Oct 2008




Tuesday, 24 July 2007

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The point of brilliance
The concept of the delta point is that at any given moment, someone in humanity stands at the forefront of human thought and activity, and that person may be there only for a moment before another person theoretically takes their place. This forward point changes constantly, at every moment, and can be considered the tip of the spear in terms of human progress, whether by ideas, activities, dreams or invention.

The odds of recognizing that you are the person at the delta point may not be very high, because we usually can't recognize a thought, idea or project as totally original at the time of its inception. Even more fascinating: in the unlikely event you are ever the actual person at the delta point, chances are it will be only for a fraction of a moment.

It is also incredibly likely that any person enjoying a position at the delta point will be unable to action the idea, bring it to reality, or otherwise execute on the project in any meaningful way. This is usually left to a band of people "behind the delta point", a small but perfectly formed triangle of people who tend to interact in the area near the front in a "delta band". These are the thinkers, academics, inventors and progressives of any given society.

In our day and age this could mean the group of people ranging from Oprah to Muhammad Yunis, inventors in universities around the world to sociologists, even the occasional big thinking blogger. Together they make up our society's modern delta band, and the Internet is both connecting and accelerating their interaction. As such, it could be argued the rapidity of change at the delta point and within the delta band is accelerating, a point otherwise manifested in the technology law known as the law of accelerating returns.

The bottom line is basically an encouraging thought for innovators: the next time you have a crazy idea, dream or realization, embark on a project or voyage to something new in a new way, remember the delta point - you might just be enjoying your moment in the sun.

Our thanks to Luke Nicholson for sharing the concept.