Category: Historical Perspectives

Impact Lab > Historical Perspectives
Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, DIY, Historical Perspectives, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

Vote for Google Science Fair Semi-Finalists

The Google Science Fair has reached the semi-finals stage. Now is your chance to vote!

I’m really excited about the way this particular science fair is set up. It’s open to teenagers all over the world, and happens online so that “open to teenagers all over the world” really does mean just that. And entries could come from a wide range of scientific disciplines—everything from math to food science. Most of the finalists are still kids from the USA, but there’s also some representation from the UK, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and South Africa…

Continue reading… “Vote for Google Science Fair Semi-Finalists”

Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, Great New Product, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, Science & Technology News

App for Detecting Land Mines

land-mine-hunt-500x333

What a great app!

Engineering students at Harvard University have developed a cell phone app that, when paired with an ordinary metal detector, can be used effectively to detect land mines. Instead of just beeping when it passes over a metal object, these enhanced metal detectors present the shape of the object found below ground…

Continue reading… “App for Detecting Land Mines”

Analysis, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Global Warming, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, New Discoveries

New Study Traces Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking

gasland223456

Fracking linked to flaming.

Who likes their tap water nice and fiery? I know I do — I simply won’t drink any water that doesn’t catch fire when held over an open flame. That’s why I drink all my water from underground aquifers that have been contaminated by hydro-fracking operations. Yes, a scientific study, the first of its kind, has discovered a link between flammable drinking water documented in communities around the nation, and everyone’s favorite method of extracting natural gas from the ground…

Continue reading… “New Study Traces Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking”

Breakthrough Thinking, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

New Mineral Discovered: One of Earliest Minerals Formed in Solar System

Krotite 1234567

Got Krotite?

In the May-June issue of the journal American Mineralogist, a team of scientists announced the discovery of the new mineral krotite, one of the earliest minerals formed in our solar system. It is the main component of an unusual inclusion embedded in a meteorite (NWA 1934), found in northwest Africa. These objects, known as refractory inclusions, are thought to be the first planetary materials formed in our solar system, dating back to before the formation of Earth and the other planets…

Continue reading… “New Mineral Discovered: One of Earliest Minerals Formed in Solar System”

Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Current Events, Entertainment, Green Friendly, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Viewpoints

For The High-Tech Naturalist: LeafSnap Identifies Leaves Using Your iPhone’s Camera

leafsnap 3456789

Leaf identification in a snap!

This is just plain fantastic. The LeafSnapapp for iPhone identifies any leaf you take a picture of, as long as it’s in their library. Right now it’s limited to trees native to the Northeastern US, but they’re working on expanding that. The best part is it’s free! Hopefully this will get me to finally learn the names of the trees around here. All I know is “pine” if it has pine cones and “not pine” if it doesn’t.

Continue reading… “For The High-Tech Naturalist: LeafSnap Identifies Leaves Using Your iPhone’s Camera”

Food, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

Sugar Sues High Fructose Corn Syrup

high_fructose_corn_syrup_husk_ad

Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup The Same Thing? No? It’s about the lesser of two evils, isn’t it?
But when push comes to shove, how different is sugar from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)?

The Western Sugar Cooperative is claiming that the two are in fact very different. It recently filed suit against sugar refiners for misleading consumers in calling HFCS corn sugar, according to the Des Moines Register and as discussed on Food Politics. “The lawsuit names as defendants Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cargill Inc., and other major corn syrup processors as well as the Corn Refiners Association.”

So, is it fair to call HFCS sugar? Not according to the Western Sugar Cooperative…

Continue reading… “Sugar Sues High Fructose Corn Syrup”

Culture, Entertainment, Green Friendly, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

The 11 Most Walkable Cities in the U.S.

pedestrian-photo-1

Just a walkin’.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has release its list of the most pedestrian-friendly cities in the US, with 11 getting rankings from Platinum to Bronze and 8 more getting ‘honorable mentions’. Only one city received the highest honor. Find out which one below…

Continue reading… “The 11 Most Walkable Cities in the U.S.”

Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, Science & Technology News

Flexible Paper Phone will be the Phone of the Future

paper-phone-580x336

Flexible Paper Phone

Though we saw another paper phone not to long ago, but the latest paper phone we’re seeing is much more high tech. Like the Kindle, it uses an E-Ink display and works by bending the phone into different positions to make calls, use apps, and listen to music.

Created by research teams at Queen’s University in Canada and Arizona State University, the 9.5-centimeter (diagonal) screen is actually a lightweight flexible display. It’s said to feel similar to a bendable piece of plastic.

Its thin body resembles that of a paper document, but, according to the video below, underneath the screen is a “flexible printed circuit with resistive bend circuits,” which are used to identify the bending of the display screen. The user actually chooses the shape for each function…

Continue reading… “Flexible Paper Phone will be the Phone of the Future”

Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, Historical Perspectives, New Inventions, Science & Technology News

Raspberry Pi: A $25 Bare-Bones PC That Fits On Your Keychain

ubuntu 25 dolla

Small and inexpensive technology is always handy.

There are a number of barebones/mass-market low-cost devices out there, many of them aimed at the huge developing world market, hoping to outfit people with basic PC functionality for as little cost as possible. The OLPC is among the most famous, but perhaps the most luxurious: with a cutting-edge screen, built-in keyboard and networking, and so on, it has perhaps aimed too high, resulting in (as we’ve seen) increasing price and limited uptake. India’s “$35″ tablet comes to mind as well.

David Braben, perhaps best known for developing the revolutionary Elite, is now leading a foundation called Raspberry Pi to mass produce this ultra-minimal PC and distribute it where even an OLPC is too much. Their device is as bare-bones as it gets, and they’re hoping to sell it for $25…

Continue reading… “Raspberry Pi: A $25 Bare-Bones PC That Fits On Your Keychain”

Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, Economy, Food, Green Friendly, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Plant Life

US Missing Out On Agricultural Millions Because The DEA Can’t Distinguish Hemp From Pot

hemp honkee 23456

If this country REALLY wants to get out of debt, legalize hemp!

In case you missed it (and you certainly may have in the midst of other current world affairs) it’s Hemp History Week. The second annual one in fact. I imagine most readers don’t need much convincing that the US ought to legalizeindustrial hemp production–remember, though it’s perfectly legal to important hemp products into the US, it’s illegal under Federal law to grow hemp–so I won’t regale you with all the reasons I think hemp prohibition (alongside marijuana prohibition) is, to be blunt, moronic…

Continue reading… “US Missing Out On Agricultural Millions Because The DEA Can’t Distinguish Hemp From Pot”

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.