Vocation (occupation)

Will Facebook grow into the Global Village?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 03/27/2014 - 12:31

Oculus Rift visor Facebook's purchase of Oculus for $2 billion is making headlines this week. While most writers in the techsphere are focused on the value of VR as the next gaming platform, Lauren Hockenson at GigaOM looks ahead to the next decade and three ways Facebook might attempt to use the hardware.

A Woman Sold for Her Brains and Body

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 03/25/2014 - 14:30

"And this, Mr. Trupp, is our greatest gem."

The attendant led the woman...no, girl this time...by the hand as she had the others. Warren wondered if this 'demo mode' hurt them or if they were even aware of the time passing.

As with the others, the attendant brought her into the room, told her to twirl and sat her on the sofa opposite him. Mr. Lomen reached up to caress her cheek with two fingers. The girl did not flinch or even seem to notice his presence.

New technologies allow us to track everything: should your employer?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 03/24/2014 - 14:01

Screen capture from the film Modern Times A short article from Popular Science reports how companies are using new technologies to track employee work habits and lifestyles in order to mold a better employee. Part of the age of new life tracking termed the 'quantified self', they reference three articles on the subject. Here is a list of what is being tracked:

    Sleep
    Distance walked or run
    Diet
    Time spent sitting at their desk
    "Happiness"
    "Performance data" on how well employees communicate with each other and shoppers
    "Tone of voice, movement and even posture when communicating with others"

On course to collapse or a future of abundance?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 03/18/2014 - 14:58

Deserted farm News this week from a NASA sponsored study on the possibility of civilization collapse and how it might happen. The study was led by applied mathematician Safa Motesharrei and looked at five factors leading to historical collapses of past civilizations such as the Roman empire: population, climate, water, agriculture, and energy.

2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 03/17/2014 - 11:51

So much energy goes into the future, both preparing for it and finding ways to retail it, but there aren't many good resources for the kids who will inherit it. 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids is just that - a resource to help today's kids understand a bit of what their future might hold.

It's a nice resource and at only 30 pages long, it manages to cover a wide range of material, including clothing, communications, living space, careers, our populations, housing developments, transportation, recreation and education. The final page includes a nice list of books, reports and websites the reader can access for additional information.

Will we have a future of extreme inequality and bountiful resources?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 03/13/2014 - 10:58

Robot speaking in public They say in every utopia there is a subclass for whom it is a dystopia. In mainstream futuristic media, the story often overlooks the economy unless it offers a political statement supporting their view and/or damning the opposition’s take on things. But the future is beginning to look a bit strange. On one side, the ability to provide ample resources in the first world has some questioning if poverty can even exist in countries like the US, Canada, and the original EU member states such as Britain, France and Germany. An article I recall from some time ago asked the question, “Can you be considered poor if you have a flatscreen TV in your home?”

Maker Cities - a shared solution community from Institute for the Future

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 03/05/2014 - 10:09

Screen shot of Maker Cities map The Institute for the Future has launched a new game in which people can add ideas about what their city might look like in the future. Using an online map, members can add their ideas which are then available to other members.

Black Mirror (UK, TV series, 2011)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 02/20/2014 - 21:25

Black Mirror screen capture Black Mirror is a brilliant 6-episode series, each depicting the social impact of new technologies or social advancement in the future. Showing on Britain's Channel 4, it can be a bit hard to watch in the States, but is worth every effort to see.

Where will technology and big data take our future?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 02/18/2014 - 13:16

Technology is slowly infiltrating every area of our human existence. I read Alistair Croll's Race Alongside the Machine today on re/code and it led me to a reflection on how we humans are being changed by the technology we develop and where this might lead in the future.

When I came up with the original idea for a future-focused site, I immediately created a short list I called "aspects of human existence." I've changed them to "elements of how we live" and use them as story tags, a taxonomy vocabulary in Drupal terms, in order to help users find content. After reading Croll's piece, I decided today's exercise would be to look at the (now much longer) list and see what I can come up with for where current trends and predictions will take us as we continue to combine humans, technology and big data.

Can genetic testing identify Olympic level athletic potential?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Sat, 02/08/2014 - 15:15

Usain Bolt The premise of the Olympics is to measure and reward the greatest human ability at various skills or sports. Modern pharmacology offers many substances identified as potentially beneficial to an athlete - meaning they give an unfair advantage to a competitor - the World Anti-Doping Agency provides a nine page handout identifying substances for which an athlete can be disqualified. With so much pressure on the athletes and so much money for sponsorships on the line, there are substantial reasons to cheat for those who are less sporting.

That doesn't mean there aren't other ways to help athletes reach or maintain their potential. In addition to regular training and hiring the best coaches, athletes also use the services of dieticians, massage therapists, sleep counselors, hydration specialists and gait analysis professionals in order to smooth every bump in their lifestyle, conditioning and performance. Some athletes even choose to sleep in a chamber that mimics high-altitude air quality to increase performance. And as modern research enables more experiments finding ways to benefit athletes that aren't cheating, by eliminating hurdles that keep athletes from reaching their peak performance, we'll hear of more bizarre - and questionable - methods athletes will use to enhance their skills.