In 41 B.C., Cleopatra reportedly dissolved a giant pearl—worth 10,000,000 sesterces (approximately the net worth of 15 countries at the time)—into a glass of wine vinegar in effort to demonstrate to Mark Anthony the extent of her wealth. Today, we can grow “cultured” pearls and the material is a fraction of its former value. In [...]

I'm please to announce the creation of a new keynote presentation. It is entitled: Vuja De: A Futurist Takes a Backwards Stroll into the World of Tomorrow. Below is a brief description: “The perfect keynote for any company, organization or association celebrating a major anniversary”! Winston Churchill once said, “The farther back one can look, the [...]

Please take the time to read this fascinating article, The History of Technology in a Single Graph, and then spend some time contemplating the extraordinary visual below: After you have done so, ask yourself this provocative question: What's Next? Here are some of my thoughts: Robotics, solar cells, fuel cells, rapid health care diagnostic tools, affordable gene [...]

On May 23, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson set out from San Francisco on America’s first great road trip. A mere 63 days later, he safely arrived in New York City. Today, Jackson’s journey might not sound extraordinary but remember at the time of his trip there were no road signs, no gas stations and only [...]

In the new book, Beyond: Our Future in Space author Chris Impey describes early German V2 rockets as “screaming out of the sky at four times the speed of sound.” Does anything strike you odd about the description? With a little reflection, it is obvious that a rocket traveling at four times the speed of sound [...]

Contrary to popular belief, futurists can't see into the future--and, should you happen to run into one that claims to have this unique skill, my best advice is to run away as fast as you can because they are flat-out lying. If a good futurist can't "see into the future" you might ask, "What do they [...]

As a professional futurist, I frequently end my talks with the rather obvious reminder that no one can predict the future. I then twist this fact by flashing Peter Drucker’s famous quotation: “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” I love this idea of creating the future because it is empowering, [...]

Google anounced yesterday it was discontinuing it's Glass Explorer program. Many pundits have been quick to declare both the program and the product a failure. To be certain, the technology has fallen short of many people's expectations--myself included. It is unwise, however, to dismiss the technology altogether. As an analogy consider the world's first eBook--Cybook Gen [...]