You know what smartphones are about. They’re the shiny, techie status symbol of the decade; they Google bizarre factoids when you need them in conversation; and if you’re reading this column there’s a 78% chance you’re using one right now to order scallion pancakes or play “quiz” on a triple word score. But is that … Continue reading
Welcome to Cosmic Revolutions’ Topic Guides, where we wrap up all the CR articles on a particular subject and serve them to you in a nice neat package with a bow. Today’s topic is a big one: The Singularity. The term became popular thanks to sci-fi writer Vernor Vinge, who called it an “intellectual transition” … Continue reading
Those of you who follow my writing here at Cosmic Revolutions know I don’t take breaks very often. Since I started my weekly Wednesday schedule for posting columns, I haven’t missed a single one (although I do occasionally go for the low hanging fruit when I’m crunched for time). As much as I hate to … Continue reading
Welcome to Cosmic Revolutions’ Topic Guides, where we wrap up a series of articles on a common theme. This week, let’s look at one of the biggest tags at Cosmic Revolutions: Sustainability. Sustainability is all about whether we humans survive as a civilization, and how well. Earth’s resources are finite, meaning the our growth potential … Continue reading
The last time I wrote about Google’s Project Glass, I called it inspiring but probably more hype than commercial product. Well, the awesome-in-concept augmented reality glasses might be coming to a store near you sooner than I guessed. At least, if we can trust this first-hand account from a writer at the Gothamist (h/t Greg … Continue reading
America’s colors are changing – and I don’t mean the flag. As I mentioned on Monday, the Census Bureau found that over half of the babies born in 2011 were members of ethnic or racial minorities. Those babies are the future population of the United States, and it’s going to be an increasingly black, brown … Continue reading
Today we honor one of the greatest human rights heroes of our time, someone whose life work is testament to the mountain-moving power of nonviolence. I could go on all day about his legacy, but since this is a future-focused blog, let’s look forwards: what’s the relevance of Dr. King’s work in the United States … Continue reading
The best way to solve the world’s hunger problem is a hotly debated topic. In the next few paragraphs, I’ll take a look at one fairly conventional idea, and explore another proposal that’s a bit more out of the box. But in the end, I’d like to poke at some of the assumptions underlying both … Continue reading
(That’s Pinoccio without the “h”, for reasons that remain unclear. The reference to the little wooden boy does appear to be intentional, perhaps because it helps your otherwise inanimate objects acquire a life of their own). Anyway, never mind what it’s called. Just what is this wonky little circuit board we’re looking at? It’s a … Continue reading
Have you ever had your power knocked out by a storm? If so, you know that with no electricity, your lifestyle regresses about 100 years into the past. And if you were out of gas, too, you’d be really stuck. So I’m not exaggerating when I say that cheap and plentiful power is the lifeblood … Continue reading
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