In times of sensory deprivation, the imagination runs wild. What will you do with yours? Aside from those directly seriously affected — which still, in my circle, is few — I find it interesting to see what the response has been from people I know. This could be a time for clearing house in more ways than one. I generally see people either entering extreme panic, or seeing that they could take this time to catch up on many creative pursuits and ideas, chiefly: how can we help people, and come up with ideas that might ensure this kind of thing does not happen again any time soon? I know which of these two groups I want to be spending my time with. A few things come to mind, both of them I’m paraphrasing: Einstein: There are people for who you give them a problem and they’ll find a hundred solutions, and people for whom you’ll give them a solution and they’ll find a hundred problems. And Deepak Chopra: There are two uses for the imagination, creativity is the best use and worry is the worst. Already I think I have some workable solutions to healthcare capacity problems, some technology to better sanitize mass transit and a few new business models I’m excited to see about in the near future. I must say that in a way I am looking forward to a few months of sensory deprivation and therefore creative rebirth.