"I think the concept and the theory of doing that kind of work is still a good one, " says Hess.
FORBES: As a businessman, he's been mixing with a sketchier crowd.
Alpha has always been a slippery concept: in theory there should not be much of it about and academics have struggled to find evidence that the industry consistently realises it for clients.
The academic concept of efficient market theory that prices already reflect all available information has led to the creation of index-tracking funds that allow investors to own a diversified portfolio at very low cost.
In theory the UltraViolet concept has always been a solution to the problem for digital ownership of high value content however, when requiring so many different industries to support and agree on all aspects of the specifications of such a program, it can often feel like getting nations to agree on the Kyoto Protocol.
FORBES: UltraViolet: Boom Or Bust For Studios And Consumers?
In traditional Chinese medical theory, the core concept is the qi, the vital energy that is believed to circulate throughout the body.
Well, that's the theory behind a robotic wheelchair concept from the Chiba Institute of Technology, which uses leg-like motion to conquer obstacles a run-of-the-mill wheelchair can't.
ENGADGET: Robotic wheelchair concept adds leg-like movement, tackles stairs with ease (video)
It was maybe because of Berne - where clocks continue to tick over centuries - that the Theory of Relativity, a concept that time is not constant, could have been born.
This was a radical theory at the time, which predated the concept of the world as billions of years old.
Before we got into the actual exercises to learn this concept, the delegates spent some time fleshing out the context and importance of a systemic theory of change.
Although this must give some badge of quality to the concept of executive coaching it does also raise the worry that its real basis is academic theory rather than hard, practical ideas that can be used in the day-to-day workplace.
FORBES: Executive coaching - another set of clothes for the Emperor?
In theory, the idea of a single Facebook page with aggregated job postings struck me as a great concept: a one-stop shop where users can check on friends and job opportunities at the same time.
FORBES: Facebook's New Job Search App: Useful, but Too Much Work
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