If you read my last post on changing technology and how rapidly we are seeing the entire world change around us, you know how I feel about some of the changes. After reading that post, one of my subscribers who happens to be a very high-level quadriplegic with no arm function, sent me an article showing this next high-tech toy soon to be on the market that will have the capability to grow that change even more dramatically. It is called Google Glass and looks like this:
As always, click on the image to make it larger: According to articles in New Mobility magazine, Popular Science magazine and a Wikipedia entry, Google Project Glass had originally been designed for paraplegics and quadriplegics who cannot use their arms as a way to maneuver their wheelchairs with voice recognition software. It is expected to be released to the general public sometime in 2014. Initially, the idea was to wear them as you see them in the picture. However, they are still working on a version where someone could wear them with prescription glasses. They are even working on a version that would come with your prescription glasses built into the unit itself. I can see tremendous opportunities for everyone, not just people with disabilities to benefit from an item like this. However, I see a huge downside in this technology and how it could be misused by that multitasking person who is already trying to drive, text, eat a sandwich and keep his or her children behaved on the way to school during the morning commute. As if distracted drivers do not cause enough traffic accidents already, just imagine what introducing this technology could do to that distracted driver in the lane next to you! I am all for this technology and its appropriate applications for people with disabilities and/or able-bodied people in the workplace, or in the comfort of his or her own home. It does scare me to think of how it has a huge potential to be misused and will cause people to be even more distracted from their already busy lives. Like I stated in my last post, I am all for new technology and the changes we see coming. But, like everything else, if it is not used properly, I see some tremendous downside to this new idea. I look forward to your comments. Later, Mike
I had an interesting experience yesterday with a virtual friend. While chatting on Facebook with her I watched an entire football game and she was about fifteen hundred miles away from me. I have never done that before. It was a reminder about how much our technology has advanced in the last several years. We all know change is happening exponentially. This was just one more example of how we are communicating in the twenty-first century. It was the perfect example of multitasking. We were watching the Washington Redskins played the Chicago Bears and commenting about the game as well as carrying on a three-hour discussion about a number of things. It was fun because we would be in the middle of discussing something and all of a sudden I would see "TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!" on my screen. Washington beat Chicago in a wild game 45-41! It was the second-highest scoring game in the NFL this year. I know I wrote a few weeks ago about professional sports and some of the things I believe are wrong with them. I still believe that, and feel strongly about all the injuries in sports at all levels, but I still like to watch football. I especially like exciting games like this one. At one point, I asked her if she wanted to switch over to FaceTime and watch the game while we were able to see each other. She said she could not do that because she was talking to a mutual friend on her smart phone! It was just another example of new technology and multitasking at its finest. I want to show you a picture I found recently I find rather humorous:
Click on the image to make it larger: I think you will agree with me when I say, "Technology is changing all of our lives in one way or another, sometimes on a dramatic basis." I remember as each one of these new devices came out thinking to myself, "What will they think of next?" Little did I know just what was coming down the line. It is often said, "If you think what has happened in the last ten years is dramatic, just wait until you see what happens in the next ten years!" There is a classic example going on right now with the new iPhones. We are already at iPhone 5, and now we have the iPhone 5C and 5S. How long will it take Apple to come out with the iPhone 6? I am guessing it will be available for holiday gift giving. Call me cynical, but Christmas is only a little more than two months away. That is a long time in our new world of constant change. I look forward to your comments. Later, Mike
In 1998 I heard a speaker talk about change. He was a futurist who studies future events, conditions and developments. Without going into a lot of the details about his presentation, he discussed the history of change in order to better understand future change.
He addressed change in the Middle and Dark Ages, and how we doubled our base of knowledge about once every one hundred years. He said by the time we were in the late nineteenth century that number was down to about every fifty years. Then came the Industrial Revolution, and he said it went down to about every fifteen years.
He told us we were doubling our base of knowledge about every eighteen months. Remember, that was in 1998. He also told us in the next twenty-five years, we would be doubling our base of knowledge about every three weeks!
Well, we are about half way there. How do you think we are doing? I can think of many ways my life has changed because of what we have learned a great deal in many disciplines from medicine to cell phones. Can you come up with a few by starting with the technology that delivered this note to your Inbox? I mean, we are already on the iPad2. Now, we have cars that can parallel park themselves. We did not have that even last year.
Many of my posts come from ideas I get from friends. One of them sent me this CORNING ad which prompted me to thinking about change. Check it out and see what is happening at CORNING. The products will be available in the near future. You can see a fascinating video by clicking here.
If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I skip all over the place with my subject matter much like I do in my speeches. I do that intentionally because I want this blog to be all about education and diverse learning. It all goes back to my basic premise, "The problem isn't the issue. The issue is how you deal with the problem." That's why the subject of this post hit me. It's about gaining knowledge. It's all about the process, the journey, both yours and mine. My last post about the American's With Disabilities Act was done because a friend sent me the article and it just fit. I am excited to see what will happen with the new changes.
I learned about the article for my inspiration to write this post while listening to the radio the other day. The Internet is really pretty cool that way. If you're not already aware, you can learn a lot by spending time on the 'net. (He said jokingly.)
According to a February 22, 2008 article in Technology Review, a startup company in South San Francisco, Solazyme, is converting various forms of algae into biofuels in a new, unique way. It truly is a fascinating read. You can access the article by clicking here.
Check out this video Solazyme has produced to explain what they are doing:
Imagine condensing a 150 million year process into three days! Talk about "CHANGE"!
Regarding change, I'd like to paraphrase our current President and say, "Bring it on!"
In doing a little research on the technology, a quick Google search pulled up 173,000 sites for "green fuel algae." There is obviously something going on here. It will be interesting to watch the technology develop.
Obviously, this is not the only part of the solution to solve our energy problem. But, it promises to be a good start. Other renewable energies like solar, wind and hydroelectric will definitely play their part. Let me know what you think of the article and video.
