The Future Favors the Bold – 8 Backcasting Scenarios for Understanding the Future

Futurist Thomas Frey: Did you hear about the spy who was caught stealing huge amounts of data by hiding it in the DNA of his skin? Officials couldn’t find any trace of the information on him so they eventually had to let him go.

 

 

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Is there a “need for speed?” Why the U.S. Postal Service should get behind the hypertube

A system of tubes contemplated for the U.S. Postal Service.

Raymond Alvarez:  Travel in the 19th Century was dusty, smokey and slow – very slow. But commuters these days may be wondering if it was better. In Beijing, the roads have become so snarled that commuters abandon their vehicles in traffic that doesn’t move for days. Here in the U.S., many young adults don’t even contemplate owning a vehicle. They prefer cycling or walking.

 

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Trimming the Fat – Introducing the Lean Micro-College Model for Education

Futurist Thomas Frey: Last year the DaVinci Institute launched a computer programmer training school, DaVinci Coders, and one of the key people we tapped to be one of our world-class instructors was Jason Noble. On Friday I attended a talk given by Jason at the Rocky Mountain Ruby Conference in Boulder, Colorado titled “From Junior Engineer to Productive Engineer.”

 

 

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Futurist at Intel shows how you’ll download and program your own robot

Jimmy, an open source robot.

If you could build your own robot, what would you have it do?  If you’re the type of person who is into building stuff and coding, you may soon get your chance to answer that question for real, courtesy of an interesting project coming from the labs of chipmaker Intel. (Video)

 

 

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The future of movie theaters

Is the movie industry dying at the hands of home theaters, Netflix, Redbox, LoveFilm, and Amazon Instant Video?

Jack Valenti, former President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) once said, “I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.” That was a controversial claim but it helps highlight the fears that emerging technologies can cause amongst those with an interest in the status quo. In this instance, the underlying concern was that VHS-enabled time-shifting meant that viewers could not only copy and distribute copyrighted broadcasts, but also fast-forward commercials, which could discourage advertisers.

 

 

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What is the future for biofuels?

What happened to biofuels?

Everybody was talking about biofuels a few years ago. Politicians in the U.S. saw corn ethenol as a path to “energy independence,” while greener folks preferred biodiesel made from waste cooking oil. Fans of biofuels said that these were supposed to be just a bridge to second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and algae biodiesel; these wouldn’t be made from food crops or limited feedstocks, and they would be much greener overall.

 

 

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NASA plans to grow vegetables in space

NASA is organizing the Vegetable Production System (VEGGIE) program that will send packs of seed material to the ISS.

When humans begin colonizing space there is one challenge we’ll be facing, how to get food to those colonies. The idea of farming in space is hardly a new one.  Astronaut Don Pettit successfully grew a zucchini, broccoli, and sunflower on the ISS, but NASA is now researching how vegetables may be grown in space for consumption.

 

 

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
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By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

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