mind//shift

A brave new business journal by Ince (Pty) Ltd, corporate communication specialists, in association with the top business school in Africa, UCT's Graduate School of Business.

Cutting-edge ideas, innovation and new ways to see the world.

We aim to change the face of business in Africa - providing the forum to debate and a chance to change your mind.

mind//shift: an alternate monthly publication. R35 in SA.

shift the way you think

Knowing the difference between news and information that changes the way we think takes more than reading the business section of the local paper.

Our world is so fragile, so intricately connected that a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan could cause chaos on the other side of the world.

So too, world business - so successful in its quest for globalisation and economic growth - has created a complex chain of reactions in nature, business and society that defy sustainability.

New challenges call for relevant new solutions -

and Business must lead the way.


The World turned Upside Down

The World turned Upside Down © www.odt.org Cartography by Oxford Cartographers

Who says this map is upside down?

Surprising as this Hobo-Dyer projection of the world might seem for some, it is an entirely valid representation. It all just depends on your perspective.

In this version, the Oxford cartographers have chose to place Africa in the center, and the south at the top. In addition, they have chosen to represent the landmass of each continent in true proportion to each other. It is entirely accurate in this regard.

By contrast, the Mercator projection that we are most accustomed to – devised by Geradus Mercator in 1569 for accurate distances between the world’s ports for seafaring purposes – squashes the landmasses around the tropics.

The problem with rendering a sphere on a two-dimensional flat sheet is that if you choose to be accurate in one respect, other aspects have to be inaccurate. For example, if you peeled two oranges in two different ways – one spirally and one, say, in eight navel-to-bottom segments – and laid both peels out flat on a table, you would have to stretch out different bits of the peel to make a completely orange rectangle.

There are an infinite number of ways in which we can see the world. The point is, you are unable to begin to understand the complexity of the world if you are unable to recognize this.

Mind Shift has secured the South African distribution rights for the Hobo-Dyer map from its world-wide distributors, ODT. The poster size map we have on our office wall is a constant topic of conversation and debate. Some people love it because it shows Africa in a more empowering light. Others hate it because it makes them feel dizzy and disorientated.

We love it because it creates a mind shift – an opportunity to look at things another way.