For people who graduate with a bachelor’s degree, higher education is overwhelmingly a smart investment. But what about students who drop out? As it turns out, less than 60 percent of Americans actually complete a B.A. within six years of starting. Do they reap a benefit?
Continue reading… “Going to college is worth it even if you drop out”
Baxter is a robot meant to work with people in small manufacturing facilities.
Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his collaborator and coauthor Andrew McAfee have been arguing for the last year and a half that impressive advances in computer technology—from improved industrial robotics to automated translation services—are largely behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. Even more ominous for workers, the MIT academics foresee dismal prospects for many types of jobs as these powerful new technologies are increasingly adopted not only in manufacturing, clerical, and retail work but in professions such as law, financial services, education, and medicine.
Continue reading… “How new technology is destroying jobs”
If a blood screen detects five or more nanograms of THC er milliliter of blood in a person’s bloodstream, that individual is considered legally under the influence of drugs.
Late last year Colorado and Washington state each passed ballot measures legalizing marijuana for recreational use. While one legal challenge was resolved another was just beginning. Before, marijuana was simply prohibited. Now it has to be regulated. With their new legal standards for possession and use, Colorado and Washington now have to draw hard lines on a rather hazy landscape, creating legal standards not just for for taxation and licensing, but also some far more nebulous questions, like how much marijuana is reasonable for a single person to possess, and even what constitutes legal intoxication. Meanwhile, forty-eight other states are watching closely to see exactly how they do it.
Continue reading… “How will stoned drivers be regulated by police?”
Recent lawsuits and Justice Department investigations have uncovered grotesque abuses of mentally ill inmates at state and local prisons.
It has been an extraordinary three weeks , and maybe the darkest period in the history of the American penal system. In four states the systemic abuse and neglect of inmates, and especially mentally ill inmates, has been investigated, chronicled and disclosed in grim detail to the world by lawyers, government investigators and one federal judge. The conclusions are inescapable: In our zeal to dehumanize criminals we have allowed our prisons to become medieval places of unspeakable cruelty so far beyond constitutional norms that they are barely recognizable.
Continue reading… “The American prison system’s darkest period in history”
America could do with some Californication when it comes to clean tech. California is beating everywhere else hands down, from public policy and capital invested to adoption of electric vehicles and smart meters.
Continue reading… “Clean Edge ranks the states and cities in the clean-tech economy”
There is no road map to success after graduation.
For many, college is a step toward adulthood, but going from bachelor’s degree to entrepreneur can be quite jarring. Everyone can tell you to keep your chin up, keep a stiff upper-lip and offer a bunch of other empty clichés but that really can’t prepare you for one really important truth: There isn’t a curriculum for adulthood. Knowing this, here are a few changes to expect when you take your first steps away from college and into starting you own business.
Continue reading… “Top 10 lessons entrepreneurship will teach you, but college won’t”
Steve Mann, “the father of wearable computing.”
“People always ask me if this is the dawn of the augmented reality industry,”says Bruce Sterling, celebrated sci-fi author. “No, this is not the dawn,” he says with relish, “this is 10:45AM on what’s turning out to be a hot and turbulent summer day.” Augmented reality is here to stay.
Continue reading… “Augmented reality will reach 1 billion people by 2020”
Colors affect our moods, feelings, even our behaviors.
Different colors evoke different emotions in all of us, and marketers have been taking advantage of this for years. But which colors spur which emotions? (Infographic)
Continue reading… “The psychology of color and branding”
An elderly Chinese woman participates in a survey on dementia.
China had more people living with Alzheimer’s disease than any other country in the world in 2010. They had twice as many cases of Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia as the World Health Organization thought.
Continue reading… “More than 9 million people in China have dementia”
Putting new information directly in front of users as they go about their daily tasks is sure to disrupt a wide variety of industries.
Technology that was once only science fiction is now becoming a reality. Robots, touch screens and iPads could become passé as Google’s latest invention, Google Glass, begins to change the world forever.
Continue reading… “Five industries Google Glass will change forever”
Insects may be the food of the future.
In Western societies, eating insects is considered disgusting or even primitive. But 2 billion people elsewhere consume insects on a regular basis. According to a report released last month by the UN, the benefits of using insects as food is so great that it is high time we convert the other 5 billion people into insect-eaters.
Continue reading… “Insect-eating is the future of food”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Over the past few days I’ve been wrestling with a very troubling thought.
It started with the simple question, “Ten years from now, anyone who is frustrated with those in power, whether it’s a local, national, or international issue, what options will they have for protesting what they see as an injustice, inequities, or outright corruption?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.