the closing of the year

I know, it's early for that, but the final state association meetings are this week up in San Jose and local associations are wrapping up the charity events, seminars and forming next year's committees.

In the past I've often held a year end presentation to highlight what I learned over the course of the year. I don't go to many seminars anymore, preferring to pursue independent study. I focus on non-real estate sources and extrapolate the information to fit the rather odd real estate environment. It's a jungle out there.

Late last year I did a talk on photos, statistics and the Right House/Right Buyer concept. Those topics are perhaps more relevant today. Our MLS now allows 25 photos, there are more readily available analytical tools and the metrics of success still have nothing to do with Buyers or Sellers maximizing their benefits.

New wrinkles for 2011 include hedonic adaptation, further insights into decision making and the widening gap between the amount and speed of delivery of information and the almost mythical realm of wisdom.

It is easy to obtain more information and push it out faster to more different platforms. Wisdom remains illusive, largely because it's defined, not by the pusher, but by the recipient. Wisdom is a tool set and blue prints, not a bigger pile of lumber. It is so easy to deliver a bigger pile of lumber. The right pieces could be in there somewhere, so bigger is better, right?

By the time I return from San Jose, I'll decide if I'm game to throw another year end presentation together. The Mac presentation application looks pretty cool, so that may weigh in the decision. Much of the motivation arises from forcing myself to attain coherence in explaining the fruits of my random studies. It's good to create a benchmark--my intellectual progress was HERE on these topics near the end of 2011.

Seth has recently blogged about WONDER--and how rare it is these days. When's the last time you experienced wonder while in a seminar? Seminars are entertainment, but like most entertainment these days, there is little effort to surprise, amaze and astound. Why? Are things so bad that people desire reassuring predictability rather than a portal to a never before experienced landscape of discovery?
What if that landscape held the secret to a brighter future? Are we better off finding comfort in our discomfort?

Looking at the political scene is not reassuring!