Every now and then, it’s interesting to check out how the rest of the world views the people we consider to be the most innovative thinkers in the USA. For example, do Russians living in Moscow really read the latest works from Chris Anderson, Malcolm Gladwell and Jared Diamond? It turns out, yes, they do. Check out this recent issue of Afisha, a glossy biweekly magazine from Moscow, which has a cover story on 50 People Who Explained the World. (Don’t let the disturbing cover photo of Subcomandante Marcos put you off. Just like some American hipsters think it’s cool to wear a t-shirt with a photo of Che Guevera on it, the Moscow hipsters also dig the Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries.)

Anyway, I couldn’t find the full text to the Afisha cover story, so I scanned the page of the Afisha article featuring Chis Anderson and the Long Tail Theory (see top right corner of the scan for a picture of Chris and a Long Tail graphic). There’s a brief bio description for Chris, a quote from his groundbreaking 2004 article in Wired magazine, and a brief summary of the Long Tail theory. The other two Big Thinkers profiled on the page are David Icke (author of Children of the Matrix) and John Perry Barlow (former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a prominent thinker about the future of cyberspace).

UPDATE: Some people have asked: Who else made the list besides Anderson, Icke and Barlow? Well, how about Kurt Vonnegut, Malcolm Gladwell, Jared Diamond, Richard Dawkins, Rem Koolhaas, Steven D. Levitt, Ted Turner, Camille Paglia, Alvin Toffler, James Watson, Thomas Friedman, Stephen Hawking and Umberto Eco?

On the C3 blog, Henry Jenkins of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program provides an update on an exciting new project that he is helping to launch that is intended to spur innovation, diversity, and creativity in games design. The Singapore-MIT International Game Lab is a “pioneering collaboration” that will advance digital game research on a global basis, help to develop world-class academic programs in game technology, and “establish Singapore as a vital node in the international game industry.”

According to Jenkins, the new Game Lab will have a powerful impact on innovation: “The Singapore-MIT International Game Lab collaboration will provide a strong catalyst for innovation by bringing together students, industry leaders and faculty from very different cultures and backgrounds to work together and to conduct research that could have a great impact on the international game industry.” In addition, the high-profile collaboration with MIT could help provide a boost to innovation initiatives throughout Singapore. Already, Singapore is projecting that as many as 300 of its best and brightest minds could be involved on this innovation project.

[image: Henry Jenkins of MIT]

The current issue of FORTUNE is chock full of a number of interesting articles based around the theme of What It Takes to Be Great. In addition to the Secrets of Greatness cover article by Geoffrey Colvin, there’s a profile of Boeing CEO James McNerney, a piece by Michael Lewis on why iconoclasts in business find new ways to succeed, and a fun piece on What makes 12 Peak Performers Tick.

Jia Lynn Yang and Jerry Useem also weigh in on why it’s so important to cross-train your brain. The basic idea is that outside interests and hobbies - no matter how unrelated to your job - can become a powerful stimulus to creativity. One example is Condoleeza Rice, who’s actually a concert-level pianist in addition to being one of the brightest foreign policy advisors around. Apparently, Ms. Rice performs Brahms sonatas with Yo-Yo Ma when she’s not busy with her “side gig at the State Department.” This is more than just anecdotal evidence - scientific researchers in fields like neuroscience are starting to generate some amazing conclusions on brain behavior. By training your brain in different ways, you are opening up new neural pathways and establishing connections with parts of the brain related to visualization and conceptualization.

Anyway, the Condoleeza Rice “Cross-Train Your Brain” article is not yet up on the FORTUNE site. In the meantime, could I possibly interest you in the new Secrets of Greatness book from FORTUNE, now available at the low, low price of $13.57 from Amazon.com?