The English language has achieved something unique in human history: it has become a truly global language. It’s spoken by nearly a billion people spread across six continents, and is as close to a worldwide lingua franca as there has ever been. The interesting part about those 1 billion English speakers? Only a third of … Continue reading
The future, being what it is, has a tendency to become the present. And so it is that although this blog is just half a year old, many things have changed since I last discussed them. Here’s a quick look at the state of the future as it stands today. Driverless Cars and the Law … Continue reading
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. – Arthur C. Clarke In last week’s post, we looked at the emerging technologies that allow a direct interface between your brain and a computer (or machine) – a BCI. Check out last week’s links if you’re interested in the “how.” Intracranial wiretaps, hands-free driving and monkey-robot … Continue reading
The setting: your home. The time: 7:30pm, in the not-too-distant future. Your room is dim and cool, and the hum of a city evening drifts through the open windows. Your computer screen’s high-frequency flicker casts shadows all around. The metal object in your hand resembles an old-school headphone jack. It’s small and surprisingly heavy. You … Continue reading
Normally, I tune in to Socrates’ Singularity blog for the in-depth interviews with interesting guests (and so should you!). But while browsing his site recently, I came across something a little different I just had to share: two action-packed, animated short films. I’m embedding them here so you can watch them. Both of these films … Continue reading
What’s the most complicated thing you’ve ever folded? Paper airplane? Road map, perhaps? I’ve folded my fair share of origami cranes in my day. Then there’s this guy, whose ornate paper dragons and hermit crabs beggar belief. But here’s something on a whole other level: a fully-functional, self-folding, flying robot inspired by pop-up books. Harvard’s … Continue reading
Today, I’m dusting off two quickie-but-goodie items from my accumulated stash of articles. They’re two different perspectives on the same question, a question that lies at the very heart of this blog: Can we ever know what the future holds? Continue reading
We have more communication options today than ever before. For most of human history, there were a grand total of two: speak in person, or write on something. Today, you could text, Skype, IM, email, Facebook, and call half a dozen people all around the world within seconds, from a mobile phone in the middle … Continue reading
Don’t look now, but you’re surrounded by hidden messages. Colorful arrows line the sidewalk, menus hover over the diner down the street, and a grand star map looms overhead – even when it’s the middle of the day and overcast. They’re all written out in invisible digital ink, and you can see them all – … Continue reading
Google Wallet May Be Lame… Many of Google’s projects have earth-shaking potential (see here and here), but at first glance, Google Wallet doesn’t seem to fit the bill. Here’s a news article if you need to catch up. The short version is, it replaces all your credit cards with a smartphone. You load your bank … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 