First thoughts on Abundance: The future is better than you think

Book by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Today I stated reading “Abundance: The future is better than you think”. It has been on my reading list for awhile.  As I read through this book, I will post some of my thoughts and take a ways. As I began reading about the possibilities of a planet where there is an abundance of resources for everyone, it was the mental hurdles we face that struck me. It seems that the same things that hold us back on believing in an abundant society are the same hurdles we face daily when dealing with all kinds of situations.

Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts, time saving, energy saving rules of thumb that allow us to simplify the decision making process. In social psychology these show up when we assign probabilities like evaluating the possibility that a suspect is armed. The first thing the brain does is check it’s database for known situations and examples. The ease of access of this information is known as the availability heuristic and leads to increased perception of the probability.

Heuristics are an essential tool in decision making when we have limited information, limited time to respond and limited mental resources available. Although on average this process of decision making can be very effective, there are times when it can lead to severe errors in judgment. There are a number of cognitive biases that can impact our decisions. Among the most powerful is the conformation bias. This is the bias where we unconsciously search out information that tends to confirm or support what we already think or believe. Then there are biases like anchoring, where we tend to focus too much on one piece of information.

These biases and others work in tandem to affect our decisions and thoughts. When combined with our tendencies to be local optimists and global pessimists this can lead to even bigger problems. This means we tend to seriously overestimate our abilities and significantly under estimate the world at large.

Molly Winter: The taboo secret to healthier plants and people

Our poop and pee have superpowers, but for the most part we don’t harness them. Molly Winter faces down our squeamishness and asks us to see what goes down the toilet as a resource, one that can help fight climate change, spur innovation and even save us money.

Five Ways to Incorporate Video Into Your Classroom and Instruction

By Patricia Brown (Columnist) Mar 22, 2016

Video in the classroom is powerful, because it has the ability to make the classroom come alive, and make meaningful learning experiences and connections. Video allows you to deliver long-lasting images, and reach children with various learning styles. But how do you make sure you’re keeping things fresh?

Here are a few ways you can incorporate video projects in your classroom—on a daily basis.

Read the Rest here

At SXSW, Augmented Reality Brings An Alice In Wonderland Book To Life

By Aqila Xiao Qi, 25 Mar 2016

At the recently concluded SXSW festival, Sony Future Lab unveiled a new device that will transform any flat surface into an augmented display. Testing out the technology on an Alice In Wonderland book, touching any character will take them out of the pages, turning them into interactive animations.

According to website The Verge, the technology is built from two components: a camera and projection. The former “map[s] the terrain and tracks changes while hand and finger recognition provides the controls,” and the latter creates the images that appear in the physical space.

Read it all here

Meron Gribetz: A glimpse of the future through an augmented reality headset

TED2016 · 10:54 · Filmed Feb 2016

What if technology could connect us more deeply with our surroundings instead of distracting us from the real world? With the Meta 2, an augmented reality headset that makes it possible for users to see, grab and move holograms just like physical objects, Meron Gribetz hopes to extend our senses through a more natural machine. Join Gribetz as he takes the TED stage to demonstrate the reality-shifting Meta 2 for the first time. (Featuring Q&A with TED Curator Chris Anderson)

10 ways to have a better conversation

When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. “Go out, talk to people, listen to people,” she says. “And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

Loop Labs : The Music Studio

Looplabs is a free, collaborative cloud based music studio that lets anyone, regardless of technical skills or ability, easily make music. Online. Together

http://www.looplabs.com/

Linda Liukas: A delightful way to teach kids about computers

https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/linda_liukas_a_delightful_way_to_teach_kids_about_computers.html

Computer code is the next universal language, and its syntax will be limited only by the imaginations of the next generation of programmers. Linda Liukas is helping to educate problem-solving kids, encouraging them to see computers not as mechanical, boring and complicated but as colorful, expressive machines meant to be tinkered with. In this talk, she invites us to imagine a world where the Ada Lovelaces of tomorrow grow up to be optimistic and brave about technology and use it to create a new world that is wonderful, whimsical and a tiny bit weird.

Tim Harford: How messy problems can inspire creativity

An Introduction to the STEAM Carnival by Two Bit Circus