July 2011
44 posts
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Hello Future: Invisibility Cloaks For Visible... →
I’ve written about invisibility cloaks before, however those weren’t for visible light. In other words, while it may hide something from radar, it wouldn’t be hidden from a two dollar pair of fake glasses. This time, however, we’re talking about full-on visible spectra invisibility of the Harry Potter Now-You-See-Me-Now-You-Don’t freaky sci-fi magic variety.
Of...
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Minority Rules: Scientists Discover Tipping Point... →
Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society.
Have to say, I was very interested in the article (and I’m sure Gladwell is smiling too), but I was actually a bit let down. It seems to rely too much on abstractions and so may have moved...
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Solar Panels Keep Buildings Cool →
This’ll open up an entire new avenue of research for rooftop solar panels, and may help further tip the balance in favor of solar for helping the environment and your wallet.
RCS Highlights:
Those solar panels on top of your roof aren’t just providing clean power; they are cooling your house.. too, according to a team of researchers… Using thermal imaging, researchers determined that...
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Can Feeling Too Good Be Bad? →
Here’s an interesting psych article which may cause you to re-evaluate, not just bipolar disorder, but your concepts about happiness and feeling good. Rather thought provoking.
RCS Highlights:
Positive emotions like joy and compassion are good for your mental and physical health, and help foster creativity and friendship. But people with bipolar disorder seem to have too much of a good...
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Hello Future: 'Smart' (Sun)Glasses Block Blinding... →
I’ve been waiting years for someone to finally invent this!! God, this is so past due and so very welcome!
Just consider its benefits to reducing glare in your sunglasses or - more importantly - windshield or mirrors while driving.
Now consider how this tech will help open up research on “smart-glass”: since it’s LCDs embedded in the glass, perhaps it can help with...
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Breakthrough in Quantum Computing: Researchers... →
A bit choppy, but here are some highlights from a recent paper on improving quantum computers - i.e. the mindblowing computers of the future. Just thought I’d post to remind everyone that this hasn’t gone away just because it’s not been in the headlines lately. Research is ongoing and improving our understanding and technology.
We’re getting closer.
RCS Highlights:
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Post Scarcity
Hey Tumblrs,
My apologies for the lack of posts lately. Been feeling a bit out of it and kind of swamped with stuff to take care of for grad school. But I do hope to be posting somewhat regularly.
Also, this heat is killing me. And, honestly, it makes me wonder what we should expect from the planet as climate change worsens. Depressing stuff. :(
Also, while there are major energy concerns...
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XKCD: 3D Printer →
Really thrilled to see an xkcd about 3D Printers (and that he feels “we’re not far from widespread deployment”)… but as the punchline involves phalli, I’ll leave it to you guys to check it out.
My post about 3DP - here.
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Online Petitions
Lately I’ve been craving data. Today’s flavor is information about petitions - specifically, the (presumed) rise in their use due to the interweb, and data about which, when, where, who, etc. of those petitions. Oh, and it’d be nice to know if they’re working. (I’m not a petition junkie but I probably sign more than most people and would like to know if it’s...
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Hello Future: New App Reduces Motorway Pile-Ups by... →
More awesomeness.. er, I mean ‘news’, in the world of “smart-car” technology. (And did y’all know that Popular Science has a car section?)
RCS Highlights:
What do you do if you’re driving down the motorway and 500 meters ahead of you there is an accident? Now there is an app that tells your car to stop. It does it in half the time of any of the applications,...
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Yes We Can!
So, just a question, but do you think that humans (will) have the ability to destroy the Universe or reality etc? You know, like how they say, “Marty, that’ll mess up the space-time continuum!” - or something like that?
Do you think we may ever acquire that power (and any guesses as to how)?
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HBS Student Creates Smartphone App To Detect... →
weliveinthefuture:
Attach a lens to the back of a Windows 7 phone, take a drop of blood from the patient and you have instant results and huge improvement over the “current ‘state-of-the-art’ malaria detection method used in these areas [which] involves a cotton swap test that results in only 40% accuracy.”
So, yeah, did I mention how awesome smart-phones are becoming, particular for improving...
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Tumblr Video: Help please!
My dad sent me a short video he took of the launch this morning but when I upload it to tumblr it comes out upside down! (It’s an MOV file.)
Anyone have any tips? Or suggestions as to which program to use (ideally something very lightweight)?
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Hello Future: A Printer That Makes Chairs,...
I hope you’re sitting down for this. If not, I can print a chair for you.
Some of you may have heard of 3D Printers while others are wondering what the heck that can even mean. Basically, a 3D Printer prints out objects. Typically it works by melting plastic into the shape of the object one layer at a time and stacked on top of one another. So, if it were printing a cup, it might spill out...
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WatchMaking Stuff: Cleaner, with David Pogue (a tech columnist for the NYT well known for his engaging sense of humor), is part of a NOVA series about the growing world of materials science. This episode deals primarily with plastic, cars, and energy sources, and is a pretty good introduction to some of the popular issues and solutions.
Other episodes cover making stuff stronger, smaller, and smarter....
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NYT: It’s Science, but Not Necessarily Right →
Interesting article from the New York Times about how the science “industry’s” interest in positive and novel findings has led to a less rigorous science community and thus less confidant scientific findings. It’s rather similar to newspapers running sensational stories without checking them out first, and perhaps only publishing a small “correction” later. Not...
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Tumblr, Tumblr, Tumblr!
Last night I met up with some Tumblrs at the BetterWorlds “Immodest Proposals” discussion group. The conversation centered around why Americans work more - and for less - than other countries, and what will become of “work” in an automated future that has machines doing just about everything. Good fun, and the bar sported a Tardis.
A few minutes ago I noticed that some of...
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Anonymous asked: Just a thought... as mankind advances, are we getting closer to or further from nature?
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vetstail asked: You should always be skeptical, especially with the things that you don't instinctively question!
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Synthenticity: A Modern Societal Realization
This is about Dr. Pepper - the drink - but also about you, me, sexual freedom, evolution, drugs, and more.
Do any of you remember a few years ago when all the soda companies were advertising how natural they are? “We’re only water, sugar, and natural flavor! How natural!” That was, more or less, what they were all saying. Not Dr. Pepper. They went the other way and came out...
Anonymous asked: do you know if energy has some type of molecule? im trying to come up with an idea for a future tattoo.
Anonymous asked: “It’s ridiculous to live 100 years and only be able to remember 30 million bytes. You know, less than a compact disc. The human condition is really becoming more obsolete every minute.”
That.... is only 30MB.
"Robert Birge (Syracuse University) who studies the storage of data in
proteins, estimated in 1996 that the...
That.... is only 30MB.
"Robert Birge (Syracuse University) who studies the storage of data in
proteins, estimated in 1996 that the...
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“It’s ridiculous to live 100 years and only be able to remember 30 million bytes....”
– Marvin Minsky
(via scienceisbeauty)
This is one of the most transhumanist statements I’ve ever heard. It’s starkly real, a bit frightening, but can also inspire us to see how far we’ve come - and how far we can push ourselves still. No wonder it’s from Minksy.
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Hello Future: "Eureqa!", Cried the Computer
Have you guys heard of Eureqa? I just learned of it from a Radiolab. And, frankly, it sounds unutterably amazing.
Basically, it’s the kind of narrow AI scientists have dreamed of: It will analyze experiments and derive patterns and laws from the data. (And with some extra gear, will perform much of the tedious experimental work too!)
Case in point: Using a double-pendulum it independently...
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Perils of Artificial Sweeteners, Two Studies →
As someone who regularly chooses a diet drink over a regular one, these studies (which are far from the first on this topic) gave me reason to pause.
Click the link to check them out.
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Better: Engineers Crack Full-Spectrum Solar... →
*humming* “you got to admit it’s getting better… getting better aaaaalllllll the timeeeee!”
Seriously though, this is a pretty awesome step forward. Still more to go, but this is a good milestone.
RCS Highlights:
The U of T researchers, led by Professor Ted Sargent, report the first efficient tandem solar cell based on colloidal quantum dots (CQD). “The U of T...
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High Technology, Not Low Taxes, May Drive US... →
Interesting… and I wouldn’t mind seeing the government invest a bit more in technology and education.
RCS Highlights:
High-tech training may trump tax breaks for creating more jobs and improving a state’s economy, according to a team of economists. “We found that lower state taxes were not statistically associated with a state’s economic performance,” said...
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Evolution to the Rescue: Species May Adapt Quickly... →
I wanted to post this bc it’s a study I don’t like. My issue is that yeast, unlike a great many multicellular species - like, hmm, humans and most of what we eat! - can adapt a lot faster. This is primarily because they reproduce quickly and exist in huge populations. Also, being an old species, they likely have old genes to help deal with various “stress” situations, genes...
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Innovative Duct Tape Strategy Saves Hospitals... →
I repeat, ALL problems can be fixed with a roll of duct tape or a can of WD40… Now on to gene therapy!
p.s. I can only picture the guy who thought of this sitting back, nodding, and saying, “yep. gettin er done.” Well done, sir. Well done.
RCS Highlights:
A 504-bed Midwestern health system saved up to 2,700 hours and $110,000 a year by creating a “Red Box” safe...
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Caution: Your Car May Now Sport A Warning! →
And now for something completely different…
—-
Washington, DC: The DMV may soon be adding another little sticker to your car, but unlike the others, this one’s for you.
Lawmakers are considering adding an “advisory label” - a small, cautionary sticker - to the driver side window of passenger cars. Measuring approximately 8.5 by 5 cm, the labels are meant to...
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“Given how many skeletons there are in here, I am assuming the point of the Hall...”
– Text message I got the other day from my friend David while he was visiting the AMNH. I got to say, it made me smirk.
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Plant a New Language in Your Mind - Technology... →
smarterplanet:
A Web app tailors language learning to your ability, and turns the experience into a game.
A world memory champion and a neuroscientist have joined forces to create a language-learning website called Memrise, which combines mnemonic tricks with a game to help users learn quickly and efficiently. Its carefully paced learning structure and competitive points system, the app’s...
