China was the world’s largest economy until 1890 before America surpassed it. By the end of 2014 China is on track to reclaim its crown.
Continue reading… “China will become the world’s largest economy by the end of 2014”
Scientists develop an ‘off-switch’ for the brain
The “off-switch” could help scientists develop treatments for patients with some brain diseases.
Scientists have essentially developed an “off-switch” for the brain by using light pulses to effectively shut down neural activity.
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‘Post college towns’ teem with college-educated young adults, jobs
Young adults spend leisurely time at Marion Square in Charleston, SC.
Jessica Duggan grew up in this starchy historic city in the 1990’s. She remembers field trips with her mother to the historic Battery neighborhood, watching tourists “doing the horse thing and the market thing.” She dreamed of staying here as an adult. But she had to admit that her hometown was hopelessly uncool.
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Why corporate acquisitions of startups usually fail
The results of corporate acquisitions of startups are often disappointing.
Large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups for decades. The pressure of continuous disruption has forced them to step up the pace lately.
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Massive FBI facial recognition database raises concerns about privacy
The FBI plans to start using facial recognition software.
Most technology watchers believe we shouldn’t be overly concerned just yet about the privacy implications of facial recognition technology because it isn’t yet sophisticated enough to identify people accurately,
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Betting on Your Future Self
Futurist Thomas Frey: Every day we wake up different.
Moment by moment, our lives are changing. Much like a strobe light with flashes of memories jumping through our minds we randomly recall where we’ve been.
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Mobile apps could reach $70B in annual revenue by 2017
“Everyone knows that mobile apps are hot.”
Mobile apps are on a path to reach $70 billion in annual revenue by 2017. And while games drive the majority of app revenue now, they won’t stay on top of the heap much longer.
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Conversnitch: Listening device planted in public locations post straight to Twitter
Conversnitch
Everyone eavesdrops but few people will admit to it. However, two artists decided to bring the popular pastime into the digital age, with a lamp that can listen in on conversations and post the juiciest details straight to Twitter. Kyle McDonald and Brian House created Conversnitch to raise the issue of privacy in a world where internet-connected mobile devices make it so easy to share other people’s secrets.
What you need to earn in every county in the U.S. to afford a decent one-bedroom apartment
San Francisco is in the top 10 of most expensive counties.
A report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows how much a worker would have to earn to afford what the Department of Housing and Urban Development considers “fair market rent” in local communities across the country. The government sets these housing rates, which include rent plus utilities, based on the local market for decent-quality apartments of different sizes — neither dumps nor luxury flats. These are also the rates that HUD uses to establish local housing subsidies.
Why there’s a big opportunity to revolutionize the financial system
There’s a huge fortune to be made if you can solve the problem of cheap payments. Payments are one of 10 big problems that are crying out for a solution (others include cheap battery storage, water desalination, and a pill that makes you lose weight).
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Fewer high school graduates enroll in college after graduation
Just 65.9 percent of students who graduated from high school in spring 2013 had enrolled in college by last October.
The proportion of high school students in the U.S. who go on to college rose regularly for decades but now appears to be declining.
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Who is at fault in a driverless car crash?
How do you apportion blame between a human driver and a car’s automated systems?
Driverless car research is booming. Millions of dollars are being spent by Google, the major automakers, and government agencies both in the U.S. and abroad to support the development of vehicle-automation technology with the potential to make road travel far safer than it is today. But what will happen when automation is suspected of causing, as opposed to avoiding, an accident?
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