I pride myself on being open-minded. Nevertheless, I am constantly surprised at how often I find myself saying "I had never thought of that." To this end, a friend of mine recently introduced me to the concept of "shared space." In it's simplest form, the concept questions society's over-reliance on traffic rules and laws.  This article in Salon…

Are you one of those people who drives around a parking lot looking for the "perfect spot" in the hopes of saving time and/or effort? Well, if you are it is a habit that you might want to unlearn because it isn't saving you any time. The following is a passage from the new book…

As a professional futurist and speaker, I must admit that I was absolutely fascinated by this article: "Holographic meetings, gestures as mouse clicks and the Microsoft magic wand." This is because it highlights my own continuing need to unlearn. Is there really a need for me to physically travel all over the world to deliver…

In my home state of Minnesota the citizens are rightly proud of our reputation for being "Minnesota nice." The compliment even extends to our freeways where it is unusual for people to zoom to the front of a crowded freeway lane and wedge themselves in. According to this informative article, however, it may not only…

Late last week, it was announced that NASA had, pardon the pun, pissed away $154 million by creating a urinal/water fountain system that didn’t work. To witness how a more simple technology can have huge implications down here on this planet, watch this amazing video (Note: it is a little graphic, but it helps to…

In 1601, James Lancaster, an English sea captain, set sail from England to India. Overseeing a crew of 278 sailors on four separate ships, Lancaster conducted an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment to prevent scurvy. He administered three tablespoons of lemon juice to the members of his ship and left the crews…

The Internet, the real estate market, fuel cell technology, nanotechnology and, now, "clean tech" have all experienced an investing "bubble." In retrospect, it is easy to point to signs that the market was inflating to dangerous levels. It is even easier to suggest that such bubbles are a bad thing — precisely because so many…

All-State Insurance is now sending video games to customers between the ages of 50 and 75. According to this article, “ten hours of game playing turns the clock back 10 years in terms of memory, useful field of view, processing visual information, and general cognitive functions.” More important, the technology could reduce the risk of…

I live in a major metropolitan area and the traffic situation drives me crazy. If someone then told me that they were going to close a road in order to reduce traffic congestion, I’d likely think they were either crazy or stupid. As I mention in my book, Jump the Curve, emerging technologies can, however,…

I’m not a golfer, but I thought I knew enough about the game to know that you’re suppose to keep your head still when putting. Well, according to this fascinating article, the trick may not be in keeping your head from moving; rather, it be in training your head to move in an egocentric manner….