Paradox

I had one of those weird synchronicity experiences this week. I usually have about three books on the go at any one time: something work-related, a novel and then something which I reckon is going to be good for my intellectual development in some way. So at the moment, I'm reading the heavy but fascinating "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell.

I'm not far into the book but have just read a section talking about paradoxes and opposites. Campbell quotes Heraclitus: "The unlike is joined together, and from differences results the most beautiful harmony, and all things take place by strife."

Over to my work book. This is "Swarm Branding" by Stephan Sonnenburg - a collection of essays and papers on Brand Management in the time of Web 2.0. It's a bit heavy-going, too - probably because I'm struggling with the academic German. But this too is rattling on about how good brands solve paradoxes - synthesising two things that were in apparent conflict.

And of course, the big talk this week was about Apple's iPad. Whatever your view of what the paradox is - and I tend towards latest technology vs. human-friendly, Apple is up there for me as one of the top examples of a paradox-synthesising brand.