In this issue: PHEW, WHAT A SCORCHER BABY BOXES SMART WATER And much, much more... --------------------------------- BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL BRAINMAIL *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 --------------------------------- Issue 82 --------------------------------- Brainmail is a free monthly (usually) newsletter dedicated to current and future trends, statistics and other nuggets of information. To subscribe, or unsubscribe, to the world's best cerebral snackfood visit http://brainmail.nowandnext.com/ Tell the whole world about brainmail - forward this to zillions of friends. --------------------------------- : NEW TRENDS, NEW TECHNOLOGY & NEW THINKING > Not so smart A study led by James Flynn, which compared IQ scores of UK teens in 1980 and 2008 says that average intelligence has fallen by two points over the last 28 years. This finding reverses the finding of earlier studies that showed intelligence increasing by around 3 points per decade. Ref: Prospect (UK) > Phew, what a scorcher Climate models suggest that by the year 2070, Australia's coastal areas will be subjected to temperature increases of between 4 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas inland the increase will be 6-12 degrees Fahrenheit. Ref: CSIRO quoted in Discover magazine (US) > Baby boxes In Germany there are around 200 heated 'baby hatches' where mothers can leave unwanted newborn babies for adoption. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Word detective: nomophobia Nomophobia is the fear of losing one's mobile phone. In a 2008 study, 53% of mobile phone users were nomophobic. By 2011, the figure was 66%. Ref: Sunday Times (UK) > Income polarisation India's richest 100 people own assets roughly equivalent to 25% of India's GDP. Meanwhile, 800 million Indians survive on less than 50 US cents per day. Ref: FT (UK) > Shift to visual culture The script for the movie Terminator 1 contains just 3,850 words. Ref: The Futurist (UK) > What's with the gloomy face? Researchers attending a global conference on risk in Oxford in 2008 gave the human race a 19% chance of surviving until the year 2100. Ref: Guardian (UK) > Game on A dedicated gamer will have spent around 10,000 hours gaming by the time they reach 21 years of age. That's roughly the amount of time they'll spend in school. Ref: Jane McGonigal quoted in the FT (UK) > Smart water Fed up with keyboards or joysticks? Why not use a bowl of water instead. Researchers at the Leuven Engineering College in Belgium have created a bowl covered with electrodes, which becomes a three-dimensional interface when it's filled with water. It's not accurate, but the bowl does recognise certain patterns. Uses might include kids' toys. Ref: New Scientist (UK) --------------------------------- : THE NUMBERS In 2011, 33% of US smartphone owners used their devices for navigation. Ref: HBR (US) In 1996, less than 1% of the world was online. Ref: New Scientist (UK) The number of British workers in the UK workforce fell by 280,000 over the year to September 2011 while the non-British figure increased by 147,000. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) 16 of the world's most polluted cities are now in China. Ref: Sunday Telegraph (UK) China will use around 20% of global energy by the year 2035. Ref: Sunday Times (UK) By 2013, the US Air Force will have more drone (UAV) 'pilots' than real F-16 pilots. Ref: FT (UK) There are more people aged over 65 than aged under 16 in the UK. Ref: FT (UK) Chemical science underpins 21% of Britain's GDP. Ref: New Scientist (UK) Approximately 1/3 of the world's ice-free land is used to raise animals for meat. Ref: Economist (UK) In 2007, 32% of Americans said they were "very stressed". Last year the figure was 24% and this year it's 22%. Ref: The FT (UK) 13% of the world's landmass now has some kind of legal protection. Ref: Time (US) China Mobile has 600,000,000 customers. Ref: The Economist (UK) A survey by Edelman, a PR company, says that in 2007, 65% of Americans trusted their bank. By 2012 it was just 35%. Ref: FT (UK) --------------------------------- : BOOK OF THE MONTH "Future Science" by Max Brockman --------------------------------- : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH It's an app this month - Evi, a virtual assistant for 69p: www.evi.com --------------------------------- : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "It is seldom at the frontier that discoveries are made but more often in the dustbin." - Alan Bennett --------------------------------- : STILL HUNGRY? Not a lot of people know this, but brainmail is put together using some of the leftover bits from the What's Next trends report. So if this snack-sized newsletter is leaving you a bit hungry, go to nowandnext.com for something more substantial (and that's free too). --------------------------------- : BRAINMAIL LIVE If you are considering a future focused speaker for your next conference, workshop, or other event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via nowandnext.com. Richard is the creator of brainmail (along with Matt and Phil). --------------------------------- : SMALL PRINT The material appearing in brainmail is sourced from a variety of usually reliable publications worldwide. However, we cannot guarantee the truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should be applied before quoting or using any material in a commercial context. If something appears to be too good to be true it probably is.