Futurist Thomas Frey: Recently my wife Deb came up with a rather comical phrase to describe her occasional memory lapse, referring to it as her “photogeriactric memory.”
Continue reading… “Where do great ideas come from? More importantly, where do they go?”
Would the world be a better place if Adolph Hitler never existed?
While many people will argue over who exactly was the worst of the worst, with names like Pol Pot, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan, Nero, Osama bin Laden, Attila the Hun, and Hirohito entering the conversation, it’s easy to attribute a face to the evil we all despise.
Continue reading… “Optimizing Evil”
Neal Stephenson launched the Hieroglyph project to rally writers to infuse science fiction with optimism.
When you think of recent films such as The Road and TV series like “The Walking Dead,” today’s science fiction, Neal Stephenson argues, is a fixated on nihilism and apocalyptic scenarios. Gone are the hopeful visions prevalent in the mid-20th century. According to Stephenson, author of modern sci-fi classics such as Snow Crash, that’s a problem. He fears that no one will be inspired to build the next great space vessel or find a way to completely end dependence on fossil fuels when our stories about the future promise a shattered world.
Continue reading… “Why are science fiction writers so pessimistic?”
Futurist Thomas Frey: It’s easy to spot signs of desperation in people’s eyes. With unemployment rates at persistently high levels and young people unable to find jobs from one year to the next, we have become a society seething with anxiety.
Bill Gates
Whatever Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires believe, the internet is not going to save the world, says Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates. But eradicating disease just might.
Continue reading… “Bill Gates thinks tech billionaires have all their priorities wrong”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Lg_kvLaAM[/youtube]
This YouTube video about the invention of a plastic-to-oil converting machine went viral and exceeded 3.7 million views. This shows that concern over “the plastic problem” is certainly not going away, despite encouraging bans on and decreases in the use of plastic shopping bags.
Elon Musk and Daryl Oster, competing for what could become
the world’s largest infrastructure project
Futurist Thomas Frey: When Tesla Motors CEO, Elon Musk, mysteriously leaked that he was working on his Hyperloop Project, the combination of secrecy, cryptic details, and his own flair for the dramatic all contributed to the media frenzy that followed.
Libraries and librarians need to exist and help foster a love of reading and places in which reading can occur.
Neil Gaiman gives The Reading Agency annual lecture on the future of reading and libraries. He explains why using our imaginations, and providing for others to use theirs, is an obligation for all citizens.
Continue reading… “Our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming: Neil Gaiman”
Futurist Thomas Frey: What has been the hardest problem you’ve had to solve in your life? As I step you through this question, just focus on the ones where you actually found a solution.
Continue reading… “Introducing Synaptical Currency Theory – Assigning Value to Brain Capital”
The first step involves a step-by-step mapping of each event in a patient’s complete care cycle.
By cross-subsidizing margin shortfalls in one activity with the revenues generated from others the health care industry have been able to survive economically. But the very existence of these cross-subsidies is symptomatic of deep flaws in the health care reimbursement system. As we move forward we need to be mindful of two principles that must be at the heart of any fundamental health care reform: “no margin, no mission” and “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” As the era of health care cross-subsidization ends, these principles must guide our actions.
Continue reading… “Redesigning the health-care-delivery model”
Scot Osterweil
The creative director of the Education Arcade and a professor at the MIT Media Lab, Scot Osterweil spoke at MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference about why educators need to encourage more creativity—and how that could help us build a better, more leisurely future.
Continue reading… “Tech education pioneer Scot Osterweil on games, education, and a better future”
How many times a day do you hear someone use the term “going forward”?
As businesses travel farther into the 21st century, leaders continue to target building better workplaces, retaining staff and reducing overheads – but how often do companies actually get it right?
Continue reading… “Just how far out is Thomas Frey?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.