Embrace the power of interdisciplinary intersections. As a consequence of having three degrees in as many disciplines (long story), I’ve discovered that true magic frequently occurs at the intersections, where various disciplines overlap and intersect. Don’t remain confined to your own field; venture beyond and explore the peripheral areas. Extract the best elements from one domain and examine how they can transform another.
“Closing the loop” is valued both in the engineering and educational assessment worlds. As is “systems thinking,” long a cornerstone in engineering. It was interesting to see it pop up as a management fad a little while back.
The world is a complex tapestry requiring specialized knowledge, but the true gold lies in the crossroads between disciplines. So, look beyond what’s given and check out the edges. Unearth the hidden gems that lie at the intersections. Your next groundbreaking idea could be just a crossover away!
Here’s a hands-on illustration of the power of interdisciplinary thinking. At home and at work, I don’t like to be confined to a single tool or method. Recently, I was captivated by those mesmerizing AI-generated spiral illusions. Inspired by a tweet from Dr. Alvaro Cintas, I decided to craft my own version. I started with a simple selfie, then used Profile Pic Maker to remove the background and convert the image to black and white. Next, I utilized Illusion Diffusion on Hugging Face to generate a low-resolution version of the illusion. Not stopping there, I employed Gigapixel AI to enhance the image’s resolution (There’s probably a free option, but was already part of my photography workflow). Finally, I turned to Photoshop, where I leveraged Generative AI to expand the image further. The result? A personalized, high-quality selfie illusion that showcases the magic that happens when you’re willing to cross boundaries and integrate diverse tools and techniques. Give it a try. This whole thing only took about 15 minutes. It took longer to write and edit this post. Don’t limit yourself—explore, experiment, and create!
Step 1: Original Pic
Step 2: Pic without background and converted to black and white
Step 3: Pic uploaded to Illusion Diffusion with AI-generated Christmas village
Step 4: Pic sharpened and upscaled from 1024×1024 to 2048×2048 using Gigapixel AI
Step 5: Pic expanded to 3990 x 2048 using Photoshop’s generative expand
