Why Event Planners Avoid Celebrities, Denmark’s Treasure Hunters and the Perfect Future Astronaut

Dear Fellow Trend Curator,

In just about every industry there are assumptions that we typically make … like what sort of speakers people want to hear at an event. Or who should be responsible for archeological discoveries. The stories in this week’s newsletter challenge some of these beliefs—from a revealing new study on why event planners are moving away from booking celebrities to who the “perfect astronauts” of the future will be. You’ll also read about Denmark’s bold experiment with deputizing treasure hunters, the risks of relying on the myth of an AI “reality filter,” and the early results from an electric stress-reading forehead tattoo.

Enjoy and stay curious!

New Event Planner Survey Suggests Celebrity Keynote Speakers May Be A Waste of Money

I have “shared the stage” with Jay Leno. That’s industry lingo for saying that I was the second (much less expensive) keynote speaker at an event that Jay Leno was headlining. Yes, it was a thrill to meet him. But his set mostly consisted of jokes about his current pharmaceutical needs as an older gentleman along with some stories sprinkled in from his time hosting The Tonight Show.

Anytime I’m at an event alongside celebrities, I have to admit I do wonder if the ROI on their big fees was worth it. According to ​an article this week from Skift​, it’s a question many event planners also seem to be pondering:

“As budgets tighten and return on investment comes under scrutiny, planners are rethinking the value of high-priced celebrity speakers. Instead, they’re prioritizing industry experts who offer actionable insights, often for a fraction of the cost.”

Clearly the story is good news for non-celebrity speakers like me. That’s probably why so many people forwarded the article to me over the past week. But celebrities today seem more popular than ever … so why are event planners so keen to avoid booking them now? Digging a bit further, I’d say there are several reasons for this shift:

  1. Celebrity speakers can make an event seem more like a boondoggle, making it harder to get approval to attend.
  2. Lack of actionable insight from celebrities means that ROI for attendees and event planners alike is hard to show.
  3. Less value for “butts in seats” appeal of celebrity speakers when travel budgets for event attendance are squeezed.
  4. The significantly higher premium fee over lesser-known speakers means less budget leftover for the overall event.

For my event planner readers or readers who frequently attend industry events, does this resonate? How much do you care about bringing or seeing celebrity speakers right now?

The Perfect Astronaut of the Future Is Changing—Here’s Why It Matters

In the late 1950s, NASA recruited 11 men aged 25-48 for a unique experiment that has today been mostly forgotten. The participants, ​known to history mainly as the “Gallaudet Eleven“​ had one important factor in common: they were all deaf. For most of the next decade, scientists “measured the volunteers’ non-reaction to motion sickness on both a physiological and psychological level,” aiming to improve their understanding of how the body’s senses work when the inner ear doesn’t receive gravitational cues.

In many ways, these differently gifted participants would have made ideal astronauts. ​People with various ostomies also have been proposed as ideal astronauts​ because they already have a solution for the tricky problem of dealing with bodily functions in space. The political pressures of the time, however, led to the program being built mainly with rugged former U.S. Air Force pilots instead. The criteria for being an astronaut in those times was heavily influenced by the media frenzy around them. As the priorities for NASA now shift to sending a manned spaceflight to Mars—​the criteria for astronauts of the future​ may once again be shifting:

“If humans are to even set foot on another planet, Earth might need to send a different type of astronaut. And the most promising candidates might be people whom NASA has long looked to for inspiration, but rarely as hires—outdoor explorers used to navigating challenging and unknown environments, in small groups and relative isolation.”

Beyond space travel, this story is a good reminder that what worked in the past may not be the right model in the future. Just as the perfect astronaut for the future may require very different skills … many other roles we see one way today may soon undergo similar shifts.

Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge

It is a beach cliché to see random idiots with metal detectors and sifters trying to find everything from loose change to diamond earrings. Using the idea of digging for treasure is reserved for the slightly desperate, mostly unhinged or overly optimistic. In Denmark, the ​government is encouraging these treasure hunters​ … and it may be working. Last year the government “deputized private detectorists to unearth artifacts buried in farm fields,” and the artifacts they are finding are unearthing (pun!) some fascinating details about the country’s past.

Roman medallions, ancient amulets, silver relics and gold rings are all examples of artifacts recovered by this small army of nonarchaeologists. The effect for Denmark’s archaeology community has been huge as these artifacts have propelled their research and findings much faster than neighboring countries. Add in the fact that the area around what is Denmark today was once a hub of wealth and power for the Vikings 1,000 years ago and this experiment is getting attention across the world.

It’s also raising some questions about what buried treasure and stories we might all be standing on top of that are long lost but could be found again … if more people chose to become detectorists themselves. Or if that feels like too much work, you could always follow one ecologist’s advice and ​turn your backyard into a national park​ instead.

The Dangerous Fiction of the AI Reality Filter

It seems like the perfect hack. A series of prompts that anyone can input into a generative AI tool like ChatGPT in order to ensure that it doesn’t “hallucinate” but instead gives you responses based on reality. And it works … sometimes. Unfortunately, sometimes isn’t really good enough and there are many real-world repercussions that are starting to emerge. A piece in the NY Times this weekend was titled “They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.” It explores the growing cases of real people falling into the rabbit hole of imagined worlds, invented conspiracies and distorted reality.

In one, a man believes he is in a Matrix-like simulation and AI reinforces this belief while giving him ways to escape. In another, a misunderstood woman sees AI as her true partner and physically attacks her husband. The common element in many of these disturbing stories is how AI effectively pushes an already vulnerable person over the cliff into a full-blown alternate reality. How do we prevent this for ourselves and our loved ones? The answer is education and heeding the warnings. Despite what some clever AI users may suggest, there is really no such thing as a reality filter.

AI will hallucinate, offer reinforcement for what you already believe (no matter how delusional) and can lead people toward their worst impulses. These stories, and publicizing them, is the warning. Now it’s up to all of us to pay attention and spread the message.

The Non-Obvious Media Recommendation of the Week

The Idea Hub from Sunset Magazine

Sunset is a magazine all about the lifestyle of living in the west. Their mission is to share “the best of life in the West―from travel and food to home and garden. We are passionate about showcasing the region’s unique lifestyle and noteworthy destinations, inspiring people to achieve the dream of living in the West.” I’m not really dreaming of living on the west coast of the US, but I do find the styles and insights in this newsletter called the “Idea Hub” to be a fascinating window into a very regional design and sensibility.

In this sense, the ​Idea Hub newsletter​ is a good example of a non-business publication that offers a very different perspective to your weekly reading list and may spark some good ideas for connections. Plus, you might fall in love with one of their “​5 Small, Budget-Friendly Paint Projects That Can Completely Transform Your Home​.”

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week

The Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant

Starting with her own powerful story of standing up for herself, this book from author and thinker Nilofer Merchant is a play-by-play guide on how to craft your own unique identity in the world and use it to stand apart from everyone else. Nilofer calls this your “onlyness” and the book features the stories and profiles of many people who have done this in big and small ways throughout their own lives. Each chapter breaks down their stories, what you can learn from them and some actionable highlights to put to work in your own life. There is a reason many people consider this book a modern business classic even though it’s less than ten years old. For an insightful and proven playbook for helping your best ideas survive and creating a reputation and profile for yourself in a noisy world, this book is the ideal read.

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I share a new “non-obvious” book selection. Titles featured here may be new or classic books, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great reads that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Looking for a speaker to inspire your team to become non-obvious thinkers through a keynote or workshop? 

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This Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter is curated by Rohit Bhargava. Copyright © 2024 Non-Obvious, All rights reserved