New York Ideas Forum

Will NYC’s top cop weigh in on the Cronut?

New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton and Cronut creator Dominique Ansel are among the dozens of thought leaders, innovators, disruptors, influencers, and change agents gathering next week for New York Ideas. The day-long “laboratory for innovation,” presented by The Atlantic and The Aspen Institute, takes place Tuesday, May 6, at the New York Historical Society.

Twenty minutes have been allotted for Brian Greene to explain the cosmos (1:30-1:50 PM).

For the full list of participants and details …

Inspiration From Above

I know there has to be a light bulb joke in here somewhere, but in the meantime, I will say in all seriousness how much I dig 'The 9th Annual Year in Ideas' cover of the New York Times Magazine. I think I have never seen light bulbs shot from above like this and how often do you get to say the words “I have never seen…?” The bulbs form a thought cloud. What a great uh—idea!

In the name of thoroughness, I checked to see if, in fact, there are any appropriate light bulb jokes. I just visited--you guessed it--lightbulbjokes.com and sure enough there is one for art directors.

Q: How many art directors does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Does it have to be a lightbulb?

Well, no it doesn’t have to be a light bulb. Last year they put Einstein on the cover of the 'Ideas' issue, and a few years ago they used a blackboard covered in equations à la A Beautiful Mind. But the truth is, if you want to communicate ‘idea’, the clearest, handiest, image really is a light bulb. So the answer to the art director’s question (which was an answer to a question) is ...

A: No, but I’ll be darned impressed if you can pull off using one in a non-cliché image.

I am darned impressed.



Photo illustration by Reinhard Hunger. Set design by Sarah Illenberger.