Category: Breakthrough Thinking

Impact Lab > Breakthrough Thinking
Analysis, Brain, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, DIY, Education, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, New Viewpoints

How to electrify your brain to be smarter with a 9-volt battery

brain current q23423Boost your brain power with some cranial current.

Transcranial direct current stimulation can make your brain work better. DARPA proved it can make you better at video games, the U.S. Air Force has shown it cuts drone remote-pilot training in half, and Harvard researchers have used it to treat depression. So what is this magical device that powerfully manipulates your brain function and where can you get one?

It’s not much more than a battery and a bunch of wires. In fact, you could actually make it yourself…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Music, New Discoveries

Scientific formula for hit pop songs

Rock-guitar-player

Can science detect hit songs?

Obviously, there’s a lot of money to be made from hit pop songs. But can you predict or even make which songs will make it ot the top of the charts?

Bring in the scientists! Artificial Intelligence researcher Tijl De Bie and colleagues analyzed 50 years’ worth of hit songs on Britain’s top 40 charts and came up with a formula.

From an interview over at The Los Angeles Times…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Food, Health & Fitness, Human Behavior, New Discoveries

Preference for fatty foods may have genetic roots

fatty food 23423412

People with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.

A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.

The results help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are easier for them to follow. The results also may help food developers create new low-fat foods that taste better…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

UK Company ReVend Revamps Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling

revender 12341

Lighting up new options for fluorescent recycling.

Lots of people know that they shouldn’t be throwing away batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, and other pieces of household hazardous waste (HHW). But what should you be doing instead? Today, many large businesses collect such waste for recycling; our pals over at Earth911 have a searchable list of American HHW recyclers. The UK company reVend has recently teamed up with IKEA to make it even easier—at two flagship stores in the UK, they’ve rolled out “reverse vending machines” for spent bulbs and batteries.

It’s stupid simple: you put your light bulb in a hole in the machine, a video camera identifies the bulb so the machine can sort it, and you receive a reward voucher for a free cup of coffee…

Continue reading… “UK Company ReVend Revamps Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling”

Animals, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Education, Entertainment, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Ferrofluid Sculpture

I just learned about Ferrofluid today. It can do some amazing things, like this video shows. After the jump is a second video explaining HOW ferrofluid works.

From the YouTube descriptioin:

A steel sculpture with changing magnetisation is coated with ferrofluid.
The fluid is pulled in the direction of increasing flux density and forms peaks, which become smaller in higher flux density. At an accumulation of fluid at ridges, the flux density at the surface decreases. The flow and the distribution of the fluid can be observed at several characteristic locations…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, New Viewpoints

Numbers as letters

leet t shirt

Leet in action.

You are most likely familiar with numbers being used to implicate letters, phrases or even symbols. In SMS (txting) shortcuts, for instance, 2 can also be used for “to”, 4 can mean “for” and the 8 spells “eat” in gr8, meaning great. This is called SMSish or textese or simply SMS language.

When numbers instead of letters are used to spell a whole word it is called leet – which, in leet, is written as 1337. Another example is n00b, a term for newbie. Andsoforth.

Leet originated in the 1980s in relay chat services and on bulletin boards. If you look at it for the first time it might seem difficult to understand but you’ll be surprised how quickly you will catch it. Train your brain with this example of leet…

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, New Inventions

iVictrola gramophone printed on a 3D printer magnifies your music

ivictrola-gramophone

Big sound using age old principles.

I know I’ve been all about the old-fashioned-looking iPhone speakers lately, most of which are electricity-free. And 3D printing. So I’m jazzed the two have come together with this 3D printed iVictrola Gramophone dreamed up by Schreer Design and manufactured by Shapeways.

Check. It. Out. (video after jump…)

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Breakthrough Thinking, Current Events, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries

Fifth Grader concocts a new explosive molecule accidentally

Chemistry Professor Robert Zoellner

Chemistry Professor Robert Zoellner

Admittedly, I did spend my childhood playing with explosives. But I certainly never had as much success as 10-year-old Clara Lazen (not pictured), who accidentally created a new energy storing molecule, tetranitratoxycarbon, that could be used as an explosive…

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Architecture, Art, Award Winner, Breakthrough Thinking, New Viewpoints

Wild parking garage design from Interface Studio Architects

isa1above

Standing tall in with award winning architectural innovation.

Interface Studio Architects won TreeHugger’s Best of Green prize in 2010 for their gritty urban work. They demonstrated a paradigm-busting playfulness with their frenetic Granary project. They write: “We believe that creativity and innovation are triggered by limitations.”

But clearly, when there are no limitations, they go a bit wild and crazy, as they appear to have while competing to design a parking garage in Hong Kong. They describe the project…

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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.