Category: New Viewpoints

Impact Lab > New Viewpoints
Breakthrough Thinking, Games, Great New Product, Human Behavior, New Inventions, New Viewpoints

Scrabble + Rubik’s Cube = The Scruble Cube

Scruble-Cube

Now THAT’S a puzzle!

When kids say fun and games, most parents are not happy. They are not happy that the learning progression is not in process during such activities, and their stand seems much justified. But that is, except in the case of two indoor games. One is the famous board game- Scrabble. Scrabble has been highly popular for decades now. Its bundles of fun for the children and the parents are happy as it helps build a voracious vocabulary. Yet another is the Rubik’s Cube. In the 1980s, people who could solve the Rubik’s Cube were considered geniuses and the faster they could do it, the better. Now what if these two were clubbed together ?

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Analysis, Education, New Viewpoints

Take Better Photographs by Studying an Egg

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM7CcUrUD2g&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Understanding the way light falls on a subject and what it means for the final product is critical to taking good photos. This clever teaching technique uses an egg to help you hone your eye for good lighting.

Photographer Joe Edelman thinks you need to get back to basics to learn good photography lighting. How back to basics? Prepare to hit up your fridge for an egg and grab a flashlight.

Check out the video above to see how you can studying lighting using nothing more than an egg (or other small egg-like object) and a simple light source. For more photography tips check out the full article about beauty photography and technique at the link after the jump…

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Architecture, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, New Viewpoints

Blobitecture – The Rise of Organic Architecture

blob architecture blobism blobitecture selfridges birmingham 2

Blobitecture example in Selfridges, Birmingham UK

Yet what is blobitecture?  It is a term for an architectural school in which organic shapes are the aim, bulging, cellular, amoeba-like buildings its expression.  Although the term did not appear in print until 2002, blob architecture had been used as an expression in architectural circles since the middle of the previous decade.  Notably it was the New York Times which first brought it to greater attention, as part of William Safire’s On Language column. (Pics)

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Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Green Friendly, Latest News, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints, Recycling

Ben & Jerry’s Factory to Convert Ice Cream Waste into Energy

Ben & Jerry's BIOPAQ AFR from Paques - 3D artist impression

Green Energy Never Seemed Sweeter.

Unilever is taking a Ben & Jerry’s factory in the Netherlands a green step forward: constructing a bio-digester that will convert the waste products from ice cream production and provide for 40 percent of the factory’s green energy requirements.

Made by Paques and expected to be operational a little later this year, the BIOPAQ®AFR is not like bio-digesters of old.

Paques describes:

After a successful test period, Unilever has opted for a new type of bio-digester from Paques, the BIOPAQ®AFR, in which natural micro-organisms (in this case more than 24 billiard (24•1015) little bugs!) ‘eat’ waste products and convert them into biogas. In this system, wastewater is purified by converting waste products from ice cream production such as milk, cream, proteins, syrups and pieces of fruit into biogas.

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Architecture, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, New Discoveries, New Inventions, New Viewpoints

Circular Walking Bookshelf

Circular-Walking-Bookshelf

A new twist on circular reasoning?

DAVID GARCIA STUDIO is an experimental architectural platform and has put forth some pretty awesome and thought provoking creations including this circular walking book case. From the site:

The Archive Series are investigations on space and books, aiming to blur the borders between art and design. Clearly non functional, they aim to appeal to the senses, creating a narrative which more often than not, reaches the absurd…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, New Inventions, New Viewpoints

Aquanotes For The Shower Thinker

waterproof note pads

Will waterproof notes be a hit?

Like many ideas, waterproof notepads seem like a good one initially. If you’re a driver, and you’ve ever gotten in an accident in the rain, you know how tricky it is, to jot down your co-accidentee’s information on a wet car trunk, with a wet pen, on a wet piece of paper, with water trickling down your nose.

This is not the reason however, for which Mark Knudsen came up with a waterproof notepad. What M.Knudsen claims, is that he kept having these fabulous ideas, while in the shower…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Entertainment, Great New Product, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Man Discovers Glasses-Free 3D

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uef17zOCDb8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Who’s got two thumbs and needs glasses to see 3D? Not this guy! Francois Vogel’s figured out a way to remove those pesky spectacles from the equation, and he’s ready to revolutionize the stereoscopic industry forever...

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Crazy Stuff, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attacks: Feed Your Bones Instead

cold-weather-heart-attack

Calcium supplements have been linked to increased heart attack risk.

A study published in the British Medical Journal via Natural Awakenings found thatcalcium supplements can increase your risk of a heart attack by as much as 31 percent. The new research looked at 11 studies on 11,921 individuals. It’s scary stuff for those at risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, both of which plague the U.S. But it’s also more proof that the best way to feed your body the nutrients it needs isn’t through supplementation, but through your diet. How can you feed your bones? Well you may be surprised at the foods with the highest percentages of calcium…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Photos, Current Events, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

Drunk Scientists Pour Wine on Superconductors and Make an Incredible Discovery

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Red Wine was the best for making superconductors better at their job.

Superconductors behave like most metals; they conduct electricity. They do so, however, with a twist. All metal has some resistance to the flow of electricity. But when the temperature drops, superconductors get less and less resistant (and therefore more conductive). When they reach very low temperatures, their resistance drops to zero.

Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids…

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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.