Reflection Attitude includes a collection of nearly 100 articles I have written over the past thirty years. The articles span a broad range of categories including Business, Climate Change, Communications, Crypto, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Music, Research, Robotics, Science, Space, and Technology. After each article, I discuss what I got right and where I was wrong and then a short reflection on what I see in the future. Following is what some thought leaders thought of Reflection Attitude.
“John Patrick has done it again. His latest book, Reflection Attitude: Past, Current, and Future, is an insightful discussion of the critical technologies and social issues which affect modern society, from bitcoin to healthcare. No dull recitation, Patrick liberally sprinkles his personal experiences, from the pleasures of motorcycling to pioneering the Internet, throughout the book. Easy and fun to read, curious readers will find Reflection Attitude hard to put down.”
Ronald H. Gruner, Founder, Alliant Computer and Shareholder.com
“Reflection Attitude is a fascinating journey into the mind of one of the world’s premier innovators. Reading this book will not only expand your thinking on numerous topics, but it will teach you to be a better thinker.”
Skip Prichard, CEO, OCLC, Inc. and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Book of Mistakes: 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future
“Fascinating knowledge sharing of more than two decades of world innovations, John Patrick is a master at spotting early on. Through its blog style, Reflection Attitude allows us to make the time to reflect on their past, present and future impact, offering his unique set of insights.”
Jean-Claude F. Monney, Digital Workplace and Knowledge Management Advisor, Former Chief Knowledge Officer, Microsoft.
“Imagine being able to go back in time and then look into the future having the benefit of having experienced the future? John does the next best thing by looking at what he wrote 20+ years ago when many things we take for granted today were very early ideas at the time. He does a remarkable job of retrospectively looking into his crystal ball.”
Dan Ignatuk, Private Financier
“Reflection is serious thought. Reflection is a mirror returning images and ideas. John Patrick in his new Attitude book provides both in a provocative and illuminating consideration of themes, trends, and important developments that he has shared over many years. The wide range of his insights is so impressive and energizing.”
James Neal, University Librarian Emeritus, Columbia University, Past President, American Library Association
“This book is a review of the prodigious body of published work that John Patrick has produced over a long and very successful career. The breadth of subject matter and the depth at which it is addressed is quite amazing and reflects John’s extensive knowledge and experience in many fields as well as his wide range of interests. Most of us would be unable (or unwilling) to lay out our recommendations and predictions on an array of complicated issues over the past 30+ years and then provide a candid critique of how correct we were about each. John has done that and produced an enviable track record. It makes for a fascinating read.”
E.K. Bolton, Global Investment Adviser
About Robot Attitude
Robot Attitude is a creative and useful mix about robots and AI and how they will affect every aspect of our daily lives and of organizations of every kind. Robots and Artificial Intelligence are coming. Should we be afraid of them or embrace them? Robot Attitude offers answers. It is an easy to understand view of the present and a vision of the future. This book covers the full spectrum of what is going on in a highly pragmatic and very readable way. This book is #6 of my “It’s All About Attitude” series which consistently articulates how attitude is the ultimate differentiator between success and failure of new technology. The following is what some thought leaders had to say about Robot Attitude.
“John Patrick adds to the Attitude series with an installment I’ve been anxiously awaiting! Robot Attitude is our guidebook to the future in numerous fields. John zeroes in on what we need to know today to understand technology’s promises for tomorrow.”
Skip Prichard, President & CEO, OCLC, Inc., WSJ bestselling author of The Book of Mistakes: 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future
“John Patrick’s book avoids the gloom and doom some pundits predict about the impact of robots. In Robot Attitude, he offers a practical and easy to understand view about how robots help businesses, large and small.”
Frank Pagano, General Manager at Practical Robotic Services LLC
“Robot Attitude, John Patrick’s latest book in his renowned Attitude Series clearly and concisely discusses the three areas where intelligent robots will have an impact: use of robot technology, their future impact on humankind, and how we humans can manage the transition. It’s required reading for anyone interested in what will likely be the greatest transition humankind has yet undergone.”
Ronald H. Gruner, Founder, Alliant Computer and Shareholder.com
“Dr. John Patrick has done it again! Robot Attitude, his fifth challenge to technology innovators, follows the successful formula set by Net Attitude, his original guide to transformative technologies. Patrick sees a brighter man-machine future, and documents it. Thus, Robot Attitude becomes a virtual piñata of bright, shiny robotic toys and tools that are not just changing the face of manufacturing, but of living itself. Ignore Patrick’s predictions at your peril, understand them better, with this highly readable book.”
James G. Kollegger, CEO, Genesys Partners, Inc.
“In Robot Attitude John reaches back to his recurrent theme of our attitude toward new technology but also reveals how the coming technology may have an attitude toward us. The future is not about humans vs. robots and AI. The future is about humans + robots and AI. John’s book tells you why.”
Konrad Gulla, Chief Visionary & Founder, Keeeb, Inc.
“Dr. Patrick’s Robot Attitude delivers a remarkable and concise analysis of a really fast moving target – Artificial Intelligence and its many applications. A must read and excellent source for future investment ideas.”
J. B. Hamilton, Investment Advisor, Greenwich, CT
About Home Attitude
Imagine you are driving home from a winter vacation. Your arrival time was on your smartphone calendar. At the appropriate time, your smart home turned up the thermostats to ensure it would be warm when you arrived. As you approached your smart home, the garage door opened, and the security system was disarmed. The lights turned on in the mudroom, hall, and kitchen. When you walked into the kitchen, the counter top speaker made an announcement. “Welcome home. Today is Sunday, January 14, and the time is 9:15 PM. The temperature outside is 28 degrees and the humidity is 34 percent. Someone came to the front door last night, but did not give a name. I saved a picture to your smartphone. Have a nice evening”. This book is #5 of my “It’s All About Attitude” series which consistently articulates how attitude is the ultimate differentiator between success and failure of new technology. The following is what some thought leaders had to say about Home Attitude.
“Home Attitude is your practical guide to take advantage of the many benefits of home automation. You will be amazed at what the future will bring, but even more about what’s possible today. Futurist John Patrick points the way for all of us.”
Skip Prichard, President & CEO, OCLC, Inc. and author of The Book of Mistakes
“John Patrick’s latest book in his growing Attitude Series provides an excellent overview of how a hands-on homeowner can build an automated home which is energy efficient, secure, and just plain fun. Patrick clearly explains the many benefits of an automated home, its key building blocks, and how to get started. Whether you’re interested in simply reducing your utility bills, or building the home of the future, Home Attitude will help make it possible today.”
Ronald H. Gruner, Founder, Alliant Computer and Shareholder.com
“John Patrick is a renowned visionary and evangelist for what is possible when the Internet, technology, and people intersect. Home Attitude brings John’s insightful principles and thought leadership intimately into our homes. This is a must read for anyone feeling their home is falling behind the technology trends of our time.”
Dan Ohlson, Founder, Realtek Holding Investments
“John is one of the very few people who have been a driving force behind the PC and Internet revolution. Remember Mark Zuckerberg’s smart home video with JARVIS? It is no longer rocket science to automate your home. Anyone with the right attitude and dedication can build a smart home for a very reasonable price. Read John’s book to gain this attitude and let your home make your life easier.”
Bilal Athar, CEO, Wifigen LLC
“Automating your home is much more than a hobby,” notes Dr. John. “It is an attitude.” “It is this state of mind, coupled with his ability to sense the future and demystify technology, which distinguishes his growing collection of works. Home Attitude continues the tradition. Like a digital Rumpelstiltskin, John turns straw into gold. He spots technology trends, catalogs hundreds of products from the Internet of Things, to home operating systems, security systems, climate control, entertainment, geofencing, and pizza tracking. It’s a piñata of shiny objects; a dizzying profusion of choices, for which you need this book, and a house doctor. Alexa, get me Dr. John!”
James G. Kollegger, CEO, Genesys Partners, Inc.
“For most of us, home automation is still a very new field. In Home Attitude, John Patrick shares his knowledge and experience from over 25 years in home automation. This book gives a comprehensive overview and many real-life examples. It will bring anyone’s home attitude to the next level. It certainly did so for me.”
Konrad Gulla, CEO/Founder, Keeeb, Inc.
About Election Attitude
Election Attitude – How Internet Voting Leads to a Stronger Democracy, is an eye-opening and thought-provoking book which explores how we register and vote in America. Voting is mostly done with out of date machines running out of date software. After the voting debacle of 2000, thousands of voting jurisdictions across America replaced their voting machines with the latest technology available. Now that equipment is nearly 15 years old. Many Americans are asking why we can’t vote on the Internet. To his surprise, Dr. John R. Patrick discovered anti-Internet voting activists have convinced political leaders and election officials the Internet is not good enough for voting. Election Attitude debunks this concern with an in depth but easy to read discussion about Internet security, authentication, privacy, verifiability, and other challenges to online voting. Election Attitude paints a positive vision for how solutions can be developed to bring voting into the modern era. This book is #4 in my “It’s All About Attitude” series which consistently articulates how attitude is the ultimate differentiator between success and failure of new technology. The following is what some thought leaders had to say about Election Attitude.
John Patrick makes a very strong case for serious development of an online voting system for the US. He makes it clear that naysayers are comparing the risks of online voting to perfection rather than the existing unreliable systems. We can do this.
Vint Cerf, Internet Pioneer
At IBM we believe blockchain technology has potential well beyond digital currency. John Patrick’s vision in Election Attitude highlights a very interesting possibility – using a blockchain to store votes securely.
Jerry Cuomo, IBM Fellow and Vice President, Blockchain Technologies
A report on an Internet voting pilot for the military compared the Internet voting system to a perfect system, not to the current broken system. The latter comparison would have been favorable toward Internet voting. There is nothing we can do to fix the current system. As Election Attitude describes, with Internet voting, we can do a lot better.
Dave Farber, formerly Chief Technologist at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Trustee of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and member of the Verified Voting Board of Advisors.
Election Attitude is a call for a model of pioneering courage which built our great nation – the USA. We can shop and bank online, why can’t we vote online? John shows the fear mongers and Luddites are wrong when they say Internet voting can’t be done. The best minds in computer science have invented top quality security systems for Internet voting. They are being used around the world without hackers tampering with the vote totals. Other countries are already voting securely online. Now it’s up to us to demand Internet voting, starting with our state and local leaders.
William J. Kelleher, Ph.D., Political Science Professor and Author of Internet Voting Now: Here’s How, Here’s Why, So You Can Kiss Citizens United Goodbye
John Patrick convincingly argues for disrupting our most basic of rights, the citizen vote, with Internet voting. He questions, through a historical discussion, policy issues, debates, and future modeling, the fairness and integrity of not taking action to revise and use current technology in the voting process. A must read.
James Neal, Former Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University and President-Elect, American Library Association
Internet voting is inevitable. It will broaden voter participation, help educate the electorate and reduce the influence of Big Money in our political process. As the founder of Shareholder.com, I saw how quickly and effectively public corporations embraced electronic proxy voting by shareholders. John Patrick’s book provides a thoughtful framework for how Internet voting can improve the election of our public officials.
Ronald H. Gruner, Founder Alliant Computer and Shareholder.com
The US should establish a national task force to encourage and support Internet Voting pilot projects. This would accelerate the option for voters to cast their ballots online within the next decade. The technical obstacles facing this challenge are minuscule compared with seeking breakthroughs in the fight against cancer. We need to breach the chasm between the ubiquitous use of technology in people’s lives and the need to align and integrate the voting experience with the modern world. John Patrick’s book dispels the myth that Internet Voting is an unreachable goal.
Conny B. McCormack, former Chief Election Official for Los Angeles County, CA and author of “Democracy Re-booted: The Future of Technology in Elections.”
Election Attitude documents many of the most important discussions surrounding Internet technology quite evenly. Still the book is an unapologetic advocacy platform for an election attitude for voting. John shows the Internet has been successful for more than a decade at collecting millions of votes without any frightful disasters. I am convinced John’s position of increased access and human hands-free delivery of ballots will improve voting. The security problems are real, but there are many new solutions. John brings together ideas and experiences which can improve the way we develop and deploy voting technology.
Ted Selker, Visiting Scientist at the Center for Information Technology in Interest of Society at UC Berkeley and Past Co-chair of the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
Net Attitude (Version 2) is #3 in my “It’s All About Attitude” series which consistently articulates how attitude is the ultimate differentiator between success and failure of new technology. It is mostly the same as Version 1. The two versions are 15 years apart. In Version 2, I added a preface to each chapter highlighting the things I got right and what turned out differently. Version 1 was originally published by Perseus Publishing in Cambridge, MA. There are still some copies of the hardcover book being sold by various book resellers and fulfilled by Amazon. Unless you are a collector of hardcover books, I recommend reading Version 2. Here is what thought leaders had to say about Net Attitude.
“John Patrick is one of my favorite thinkers. John is one of the Web’s original wise men, a bright spirit and intellect who shares his rare understanding of technology and the web, its many dimensions and limitless potential. In Net Attitude he lays out a clear path for anyone who is determined to succeed on the Internet and, as he demonstrates, it all begins with attitude.”
Lou Dobbs, Host, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox Business Network
“John Patrick remained optimistic about the Internet during and after bursting of the Internet Bubble in 2001. Now you get to read how John was right then, how he will be right again, and how you can prosper with the right ‘net attitude’.”
Bob Metcalfe, Professor of Innovation, The University of Texas at Austin
“Net Attitude is a creative and useful mix about Internet technology, every day living, and a vision of the future. It was true in 2001, and it is true today. John Patrick covers the full spectrum of communications and information in a highly pragmatic and very readable way. Patrick’s recurring theme that attitude is the ultimate differentiator between success and failure gives life to the technologies, ties them together, and makes the book a must read.”
James D. Robinson III, General Partner and co-Founder, RRE Ventures, Former Chairman and CEO, American Express Company
“John is a renowned Internet seer and advisor. His first book was required reading at my first web-tech company. Much of what he predicted has come to pass and his insights and outlook for the web are valid more than 10 years later. His new Net Attitude is a must read for anyone seeking to understand where the web is going.”
Chris Forbes, CEO of HireArt, former CEO or Knovel Corporation
2001
“Intelligence is mostly point of view and the rest is attitude. John provides a charming and easy-to-read cultural primer and travel guide for citizens of the world of atoms who plan to visit or emigrate to the land of bits.”
Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman and Co-founder of MIT Media Laboratory
About Health Attitude
“A fresh and insightful perspective on American healthcare. Health Attitude presents an optimistic future where innovation, technology, empathy and sound business principles collide into a “big-bang” of better healthcare!”
In the enlightening and timely new book, #2 in the It’s All About Attitude series, Health Attitude: Unraveling and Solving the Complexities of Healthcare, Dr. John R. Patrick unravels the American healthcare system in terms even newcomers to the healthcare policy debate will understand. He arrives at the fascinating conclusion improving healthcare delivery and outcomes is not solely a matter of technology or cost. It’s a matter of attitude.
“It’s not disease, dollars or doctors standing in the way of safe, affordable healthcare,” says Dr. Patrick. “The solution includes a new health attitude for patients, providers, payers, and policymakers. Only when we confront the challenges of the healthcare system can we create meaningful change.”
In Health Attitude, Dr. Patrick unveils his strategy for true healthcare reform which includes a system focused on patients and explores the fascinating potential of new technology which can transform the industry. He paints a positive vision to make these solutions a reality, leading to more affordable and effective healthcare for all.
Throughout the pages of Health Attitude, timely topics explored include:
•The cultural, attitudinal, and technological barriers holding back the United States from achieving a more affordable, accessible, and effective healthcare system.
•The positives and negatives of Obamacare, and whether it should be repealed.
•The reasons behind the high costs of healthcare, including fraud, waste, unnecessary tests, and expensive drugs.
•How the combination of cloud computing, big data, analytics, mobile devices, 3-D printing and robots will revolutionize medical care.
•The consumer-based movement taking shape right now in healthcare, as patient attitudes and expectations are changing.
Here is what thought leaders have said about Health Attitude.
“When we look back ten years from now on the revolution that occurred in healthcare, John Patrick’s book Health Attitude will be viewed as one of the prologues of that revolution. We tend to overestimate technology in the short term and underestimate its role in the long term. Simply put, this book presents an optimistic future where innovation, technology, empathy and sound business principles collide into a “big-bang” of better healthcare!”
Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO, Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health System
“It is quite encouraging to read John Patrick’s crisp and accurate analysis of the most complex and pressing issues in the United States, it’s healthcare system. While his focus is primarily on the U.S., most of his conclusions and proposed approaches to potential solutions are just as applicable for many European countries. This book is a must read for all who are concerned about healthcare cost and effectiveness in Europe.”
Hans Ulrich Maerki, former Chairman and CEO of IBM Europe Middle East Africa, Senior Fellow Advanced Leadership Initiative Harvard University, Board member of leading Orthopedic Clinic in Zürich, Switzerland
“John Patrick brings a fresh and insightful perspective to the healthcare debates in the U.S. His experience as technologist, entrepreneur and patient enables new thinking and innovative strategies that should drive policy, planning and delivery.”
James G. Neal, Columbia University Librarian Emeritus
“Reading Health Attitude helps all of us ask whether we as a nation are meeting our responsibilities to provide our citizens with healthcare in the 21st century.”
Dr. Eric Lutker, Psychologist
“If this was 1850 I would have died at age 40, and now I can expect to live to 79. The increase in health was due to prevention. Health Attitude can be the next paradigm to improve health with exciting prevention approaches including mHealth apps and devices. Health Attitude will revolutionize prevention and global health with cost effective solutions. It is the next wave forward for health — I am not ready to die.”
Ronald LaPorte, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, former Director WHO Collaborating Centre, University of Pittsburgh
“Health Attitude offers a valuable perspective for a layperson who makes healthcare decisions for his or her family and parents. It provides great hope for improved and more affordable healthcare ahead.”
Peg Grimm, Pennsylvania Healthcare Consumer
“In Health Attitude, Dr. John Patrick opens our eyes wide to see the waste, excessive costs, absence of or poor medical care for those who cannot afford it, occurrence of iatrogenic injuries to patients, and diagnostic or therapeutic health care failures — all of which need not occur. His background in engineering, computer technology, and health administration has prepared him well to describe how we as physicians may solve or diminish the above problems to create a better existence for mankind. His book provides much information, which if our attitudes change, will enable us to better fulfill the Hippocratic oath.”
Richard J. Duma, M.D., Ph.D., Former Professor of Medicine, Pathology & Microbiology and Chairman of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University
“Many of the high costs and inefficiencies in our healthcare system can be addressed through automation and process streamlining with the aid of technology. John Patrick’s Health Attitude clearly lays out a roadmap toward this end, which will result in an affordable and effective wellness based system in the future.”
Robin Felder, Ph.D., Chair Medical Automation.org and Professor of Pathology, University of Virginia
“As one of the world’s technology pioneers, John Patrick is a sought after innovator and strategic thinker. In Health Attitude, Patrick paints a grim portrait of America’s healthcare system today, then unveils a canvas upon which we can create a better future using technology.”
Skip Prichard, President & CEO, OCLC
