Research: People aren’t smart enough for democracy to flourish

people aren't smart enough

Incompetent people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people.

The democratic process relies on the assumption that citizens (the majority of them, at least) can recognize the best political candidate, or best policy idea, when they see it. But a growing body of research has revealed an unfortunate aspect of the human psyche that would seem to disprove this notion, and imply instead that democratic elections produce mediocre leadership and policies.

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Blood Lamp

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/6792724[/vimeo]

What if power came at a cost to the individual?

The average American consumes 3383kwh of energy per year. That’s equivalent to leaving the light on in 4 rooms for a whole year. The simple flick of a switch allows us to power appliances and gadgets 24/7 without a thought to where it comes from and the cost to the environment.

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Wi-fi sensor gives your dying plants a voice to plead for help

wifi plant sensor 2353

Is you plant smiling or dying?

If you’ve been using Koubachi’s iOS app to remember when it’s time to water your plants, the company’s new wireless sensor will give your greenery an even better fighting chance of survival if you’re lacking a green thumb.

Whereas the app used your location, the local soil conditions, and the type of plant to make an educated guess as to when it needed watering, misting, or fertilization. Koubachi’s new Wi-fi plant sensor takes the guesswork out of the equation, automatically measuring moisture, temperature, and light…

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How to extract your own DNA using household items

You can extract your own DNA with drinking water, salt, dish soap, alcohol, food coloring, and your own spit! This NOVA/PBS-made video shows you how.

I’ve been writing about DNA for more than a decade, and I just realized that until this video, I’ve never actually seen DNA. And there it is, in the form of a white string in a plastic cup. Pretty freaking neato…

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How airports are embracing solar power

gatwick-solar

Solar power is part of the airline process now.

From Denver Colorado Airport’s 2MW solar array to Palau’s installation of PV awnings at its airport carpark, it seems that solar arrays are appearing at airports around the world. And not without good reason.

Given that airports need large amounts of land, both for car parking and surrounding runways, they are in many ways an ideal fit for large-scale ground-mounted solar arrays that might otherwise cause land-use and/or aesthetic concerns for the surrounding community…

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How to defeat patent trolls

patent troll

Patent trolls rack up legal and licensing bills.

The scourge of inventors everywhere are firms that collect and enforce patents of dubious value—with no intention of creating the invention described in those patents. They force large companies to rack up legal and licensing bills, and scare away startups from putting out novel products.  These firms raise prices for all of us, and they generally slow down the future. Everyone hates them.

Bacteria communicate by touch, new research suggests

bacteria communicate

Associate professor Christopher Hayes and graduate student Christina Beck researching.

What if bacteria could talk to each other? What if they had a sense of touch? A new study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara suggests both, and theorizes that such cells may, in fact, need to communicate in order to perform certain functions…

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.