“Choose things that are good enough, and do not worry about whether they’re the best.”
Psychologist Barry Schwartz is best known for his immensely popular TED Talk and his book The Paradox of Choice. He recently joined Ryan Hawk, host of The Learning Leader Show, to discuss what having too much of a good thing means for us, and how to stay engaged in an ever-changing, digitized world.
Continue reading… “How to want what you’ve got in a world of infinite choice”
Artificial Intelligence – specifically machine learning and deep learning – was everywhere in 2018 and don’t expect the hype to die down over the next 12 months.
The hype will die eventually of course, and AI will become another consistent thread in the tapestry of our lives, just like the internet, electricity, and combustion did in days of yore.
But for at least the next year, and probably longer, expect astonishing breakthroughs as well as continued excitement and hyperbole from commentators.
This is because expectations of the changes to business and society which AI promises (or in some cases threatens) to bring about go beyond anything dreamed up during previous technological revolutions.
AI points towards a future where machines not only do all of the physical work, as they have done since the industrial revolution but also the “thinking” work – planning, strategizing and making decisions.
The jury’s still out on whether this will lead to a glorious utopia, with humans free to spend their lives following more meaningful pursuits, rather than on those which economic necessity dictates they dedicate their time, or to widespread unemployment and social unrest.
We probably won’t arrive at either of those outcomes in 2019, but it’s a topic which will continue to be hotly debated. In the meantime, here are five things that we can expect to happen:
Continue reading… “5 important Artificial Intelligence predictions (for 2019) everyone should read”
The Red Planet is a freezing, faraway, uninhabitable desert. But protecting the human species from the end of life on Earth could save trillions of lives.
The Earth and Mars are a bit like fraternal twins that slowly grew apart. Four billion years ago, both planets were warm, sheathed by protective atmospheres, and carved with rivers and pools of liquid water. But today, Mars is an irradiated desert enveloped by a thick miasma of carbon dioxide, while its twin is a sensationally fertile orb and, for all we know, the universe’s cosmic jackpot of life.
These divergent stories make scientists immensely curious: Can we discover evidence of a fecund past in the Martian ground? We’re closer than ever to finding out. Ellen Stofan, the former chief scientist of nasa and current head of the National Air and Space Museum, has predicted that we will find evidence of past life on Mars in as little as a decade.
Continue reading… “Is Colonizing Mars the most important project in human history?”
If you want to be as healthy as possible, there are no treadmills or weight machines required. Don’t just take my word for it—look to the longest-lived people in the world for proof.
People in the world’s Blue Zones—the places around the world with the highest life expectancy—don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms.
Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without even thinking about it. This means that they grow gardens, walk throughout the day, and minimize mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.
In fact, Blue Zones researchers determined that routine natural movement is one of the most impactful ways to increase your life span, and a common habit among the world’s longest-lived populations.
Continue reading… “The healthiest people in the world don’t go to the gym”
Preliminary study suggests that ‘microdoses’ of psychedelics may enhance a person’s creative problem solving abilities
The use of minute doses of magic mushrooms and truffles containing psychedelic substances could induce a state of unconstrained thought that may produce more new, creative ideas. ‘Microdosing’ in this way may allow people to experience the creative benefits of psychedelic drugs without the risk of the so-called ‘bad trips’ that often come with high doses of such substances.
The use of minute doses of magic mushrooms and truffles containing psychedelic substances could induce a state of unconstrained thought that may produce more new, creative ideas. “Microdosing” in this way may allow people to experience the creative benefits of psychedelic drugs without the risk of the so-called “bad trips” that often come with high doses of such substances. This is according to a new study in the Springer-branded journal Psychopharmacology which is the official journal of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS). The research was led by Luisa Prochazkova of Leiden University in The Netherlands and is the first study of its kind to experimentally investigate the cognitive-enhancing effects of microdosing on a person’s brain function within a natural setting.
Continue reading… “Can tiny doses of magic mushrooms unlock creativity?”
They’re popping up everywhere, from Mexico to Laos—and luxury travelers can’t get enough. Here’s why.
At one point in the mid-2010s, “glamping” became a four-letter word.
A sudden boom in upscale tented accommodations—which ultimately felt neither glamorous nor like camping—saw the trend go from boom to bust as quickly as spaghetti donuts and ramen burgers.
But now, glamping is back, and the glamour factor is through the canvas roof.
Continue reading… “Tented camps are fast becoming the world’s best resorts”
A four-day work week will be made permanent at a New Zealand company after a trial was so successful it found there was ‘no downside’. Staff reported better productivity, a better work-life balance and lower stress levels after working four eight-hour days a week for two months.
The trial at Perpetual Guardian – a financial services firm that manages trusts, wills and estates – involved almost 250 employees across 16 offices.
Staff reported a better work/life balance, having more energy and improved mental health (Picture: Getty)
They worked four days equalling 32 working hours instead of 40 across the week – but were still paid for five days.
Founder of the Auckland-based company, Andrew Barnes, said there was ‘no downside’ to the new system and that staff reported reaping the benefits of extra downtime.
Continue reading… “Four-day work week to be made permanent after company finds ‘no downside’”
The way Dr. Jesse Karmazin sees it, New York City needs some fresh blood.
It’s been over a year since we last heard from the physician behind Ambrosia LLC, the company hoping to reverse aging by pumping adults with the blood plasma of the young, but don’t think for a second that Karmazin’s been sitting still. Far from it.
Karmazin confirmed today over email that he plans to transform what was once a clinical trial running out of Monterey, California, into a full-fledged New York City-based clinic offering that most elusive of products: youth.
And you’d better believe it will cost you.
Continue reading… “The ‘blood boy’ clinic is coming to NYC so rich people can live forever”
Smarkets CEO Jason Trost lets employees pick how much they want to get paid. Smarkets
Smarkets, a betting startup based in London, lets employees pick how much they want to get paid.
The system works through social consensus, and each employee’s salary information is published in the company’s internal wiki.
There are pros and cons to the process, but ultimately it works, Smarkets CEO Jason Trost said.
Experts from chip designer Arm on how chip design will evolve to ensure performance keeps advancing.
“Moore’s Law is dead. Moore’s Law is over.”
So says Mike Muller, chief technology officer at chip designer Arm, the Japanese-owned company whose processor cores are found inside nearly all mobile phones.
Given Moore’s Law has been the engine driving the breakneck pace at which computers have advanced over the past 50 years this statement might seem worrying.
But Muller is more sanguine.
“On one level it’s true, but I’d say, certainly from my perspective and Arm’s perspective, we don’t care,” he said, speaking at the Arm Research Summit 2018.
Muller and his colleagues have good reasons for their indifference to the end of Moore’s Law, the prediction that the number of transistors on computer processors will double every two years.
For one, the bulk of Arm-based processors are sold into the embedded computing market, where there is still plenty of scope for transistors to get smaller and chips to get faster.
But more importantly, Arm believes the regular boosts to computing performance that used to come from Moore’s Law will continue, and will instead stem from changes to how chips are designed.
Here are three ways that Arm expects processor design will evolve and advance.
“The new approach could even pave the way for 100 percent self-sufficiency in power, heat, and water.”
A new report funded by the Dutch government finds that microgrid technologies could make a local “techno-economy” 90 percent self-sufficient, through the decentralized sharing of energy at the local level between multiple households.
This report adds fuel to efforts by the Siemens Corporation to design better microgrids and promote their efficiencies.
The new approach could even pave the way for “100 percent self-sufficiency in power, heat, and water, and 50 percent self-sufficiency in food production”, according to the report’s author, energy systems engineer Florijn de Graaf.
Continue reading… “Study: Decentralized microgrids can provide 90% or a neighborhood’s energy needs”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.