"The opposite of coherent is interesting.“
Seth Godin
An issue about the slightly inconvenient tension in your mind created by things slightly contradicting each other.
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You can have your cake and eat it, too!
Eat the rose-infused lollipop, and throw away the stick. The seeds inside the stick will grow, and a rose will bloom.
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The pitfalls of mental shortcuts
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Heuristics - mental shortcuts that make for quick and nearly effortless decision making - can lead to serious logical fallacies.
I show the effects of such thinking to projects in 9 light-hearted tiny stories, arranged in a classic three-act stage play.
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"The modern world is filled with billions of machines. But 1% of 1% of us can open them up, and change them."
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Talk about kids and technology usually revolves around screen time, restricting access to 'kid-friendly content' and concerns about cyber-safety (all valid and important discussions, no doubt).
But what if we don't think about kids and technology in terms of consumption and regulation, but in creation and enabling?
What if our kids - given the right materials - are curious, brilliant inventors and craftspersons, just like we were?
In short - What if we look at this differently?
For our children to strive economically, emotionally and psychologically in the future, they will need new and different skills that are not taught in public schools. It is a fascinating field filled with innovation, compassion, and fun. This is technology at its best.
Here's a short list of companies creating stand-out products for young explorers and inventors of all ages:
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Kano makes the first laptop built for explorative kids. You build the computer, and learn how to program it. It's not just a toy, it is a fully functional home computer (that you built yourself).
(The quote at the top is from them)
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Technology is an enabler. Little Bits make kits that supercharge everyday objects and situations. Build your own intruder-alert to protect your room, or create a hidden space to store your stuff.
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Among other things, Tech Will Save Us create a conductive putty you can use to build just about anything. Their kits are very interesting combinations of high- and low-tech.
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Big LEGO fan? Honeycomb Kits build a expandable hardware line similar to Little Bits that is compatible with LEGO blocks.
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Thinking about building a design project for or with children? Head over to The Childrens Design Guide for valuable insights and guidelines!
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The collective sameness of our individualism
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We travel to broaden our horizon, to experience new things, to help us form our individual self. At least, that's what we think.
Its' easy to watch this funny video about how everyone's holiday shots look the same and go 'Those people *roll-eyes* Amirite?'.
But does that really show that people are experiencing their travels the same way? Or does it display the power of social norms that tell us how our travels ought to look like?
Are we all walking clichés, or are we told to look like ones?
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Quarks have a brain? Say what?
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Well, not exactly. But here’s a new take on a really old problem:
How can this universe actually exist? How did it come to support life?
There are two common theories. One is about god: He or she created the universe in such a way that life was possible.
The other is more of a shotgun-approach: The multiverse-theory says that there exist many, many universes (maybe an infinite number of them), so it’s little wonder that one of them has the right parameters to support life.
And now, there’s a third one: Cosmopsychism claims that the universe was able to fine-tune its laws of physics to better support life because it is a conscious mind in itself.
This is in essence a way to bring panpsychism to the literally next level. What’s panpsychism?
It’s basically the view that all matter (animals, rocks, stone, trees, but also electrons or quarks) have something like a mind - a basic kind of experience, an inner life.
Sounds totally crazy, I know. But interestingly, it can solve a few philosophical problems we couldn't come to terms with for a couple of decades.
But allowing neat solutions to big problems is nice, but not the only thing a theory must do.
We must also be able to find some evidence in its support.
And that we did.
Researchers found out that if you sedate plants, they lose consciousness. Which in turn begs the question: If they lose consciousness, doesn't that mean that they have consciousness? Because ... in order to lose something, you first need to have it, right?
I don’t know about you, but if any of this is true, I need to sit down and take a deeeeeeep breath.
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An online magazine you can only read when you’re offline? Amazing!
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Why be metaphysical when you can directly contradict yourself?
Take the distribution benefits of online media and pair it with the ability to focus when offline and tadaah:
You get a magazine in your browser that you can only read when you unplug your wifi.
Genius!
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If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, ...
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... it probably is a duck.
The above tweet shows the value of bitcoin (on the right) and compares it with a textbook-example of an investment bubble (left).
For me, it’s not really about bitcoin. It’s more about the insight that bitcoin is old, really old. Something that is born out of capitalism and follows capitalistic rules. Because of that, it will always behave like capitalism. This goes for all the other cryptocurrencies as well: If it is money, it will act like money. Who keeps track of how much money there is (central bank vs. network) is just a minor detail.
The blockchain might be groundbreaking innovation, and bitcoin might have been an interesting proof-of-concept. But it behaves just like every other tradable good in capitalism.
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(Image Source: californiasunday)
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Every time I sit down to write Let's be Fwends, I think: "No bitcoin in this issue!"
And then, I usually end up with something about bitcoin. Or in this case, two things about bitcoin.
I've written about the ecological impact of bitcoin before. As it proliferates, its ecological footprint goes up as well. Right now, Bitcoin uses as much electricity as the state of Denmark.
And now there's someone who wants to change that. Bram Cohen - famous for inventing the BitTorrent protocol - wants to create a bitcoin variant called Chia Network that doesn't use more energy than it has to.
He does it in an interesting way. Let's just say that if the Chia Network takes off, hard drives should be a good investment.
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Cyclists beer and beer-repellant shoes
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These two things have been sitting in my content inbox figuratively forever.
Now the time has come for them to shine. Two inventions that somehow go together really well:
One is the packaging of dutch Vals Nat beer that you can easily put on your bikes top-tube. I think it’s save to say that is has never been easier to drink while out with your bike.
The other is a beer-repellant sneaker made by adidas (no doubt for the Münchner Oktoberfest).
You can now drink beer on your bike without the fear of ruining your sneakers by spilling your drink over them.
It’s heartwarming to see companies tackling the real problems we all face out here.
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Cats domesticated themselves
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[C]ontradictions are an inseparable part of every human culture. In fact, they are culture’s engines, responsible for the creativity and dynamism of our species. Just as when two clashing musical notes played together force a piece of music forward, so discord in our thoughts, ideas and values compel us to think, re-evaluate and criticise. Consistency is the playground of dull minds.“
Yuval Noah Harari
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Got a headache because you just can't seem to make up your mind on too many issues?
Then high-five yourself because you're on the road to great new ideas! 💡💡💡
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