Imagine you could build the city of the future, from scratch, right now. What would it look like? What would it do? It’s not a hypothetical question. According to this Salon article, software developer Plan IT intends to do exactly that: “Plan IT Valley” will be a new city located in northern Portugal, and is …
Just came across this bizarre story on Nextnature.net: Tired of spending time, money and energy on preparing meals, [Rob Rhinehart] decided to find a new way to survive without actual food. He created a unique mixture called “Soylent”, which contains nothing but the elements the body needs: iron, vitamins, fat, calcium and dozens of other …
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 …
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 …
It’s no secret that the internet has given us new ways to communicate. But if you think the information revolution has come and gone, I’ve got news for you: it’s just getting started, and we’re already seeing a dramatic transformation in the way we learn about the world. It’s also causing a shift in some …
Last week, we looked at some reasons why even the most rational individual might feel a touch of dread at the thought of a car that drives itself. This week, let’s zoom out a bit, and imagine a future society where driverless cars are the norm. I think this is a very plausible scenario, but …
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 …
Three times a week, I go to the gym on my way home from work. And three times a week, I ask myself the same question: isn’t this a waste? I don’t mean the exercise. A longer lifespan, plus reduced risk of Alzheimer‘s and cancer, is all the justification I need. No, I’m talking about …
We all know the future is coming (that’s kind of how it works) but sometimes it’s surprising just how fast it shows up. Here are 7 futuristic gadgets you can add to your lifestyle right now. Which ones are on your shopping list? 1. Augmented Reality Glasses. Google’s much-hyped Project Glass may not be available … Continue reading
Have you ever posted an article or a video on a social network? If so, congratulations! I’m about to explain how you’re shaping the world to come. You are a curator of the universe, and a herald of the future. I am? What does that mean? It means you collect and share items of your … Continue reading
I’m afraid Cosmic Revolutions is taking a minor hiatus this week. Due to a variety of other commitments, I just didn’t have time to do all the research and analysis I normally like to provide you with. Instead of writing the future, I was witnessing it: two friends with a very bright future together got … Continue reading
As the future unfolds, more and more experiences are moving from the real world to the virtual. There may one day be an equilibrium between the two worlds, but for now, the virtual side is so unexplored that the flow is almost exclusively in that direction, like a modern-day gold rush. Recently, two more everyday, … Continue reading
Today, for a limited time only, I’m putting the Cosmic back into Cosmic Revolutions. And that means we need to scale up! Normally I talk about the future on a human scale. Technology we’ll see in our lifetimes, say, or maybe a few generations later. The wildest, most speculative ideas might push that envelope out … Continue reading
We’re producing information faster today than ever before. Some studies suggest the amount of data in the world doubles every two years! Certainly between Twitter and Facebook, newsfeeds and friend streams, there’s far more information being thrown at me than I can process. How do we make sense of all this? And what’s the effect … Continue reading
One day soon, there will be more people who have read Remembrance of Things Past on an e-reader than people who have hefted a physical copy. Do you think the digital readers are missing out on anything? I do. Specifically, they’re missing the sheer weight of the thing. Whether you find the extreme length of … Continue reading
It may look like pond scum to you, but one day, the plant-like organism known as algae could rule the world. How can such an immobile, simple-bodied eukaryote pull this off? For one, many of these little guys are photosynthetic. “Big deal,” you say. “Every plant on earth can claim the same thing, from the … Continue reading
This week’s topic is one of my favorites: the intersection of the digital world with the physical. I’ve discussed this topic many times before (check out my “digital space” tag for more) but today’s especially exciting because it involves ninjas! Sorry, not that kind of ninja. I’m talking about the technological equivalent, a nifty device … Continue reading
Today, there are 7 billion people in the world speaking roughly 6,000 languages. One day, they’ll all be able to talk to each other naturally, without knowing any language except their own. This has some powerful implications for many areas of society, and we’ll take a look at four of them below. But first, allow … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 