In this issue: SOME GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE INTERRUPTION SCIENCE HOME ALONE 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 89 --------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------- : INSIGHTS & IDEAS > Don't believe a word According to OK Cupid, an online dating site, men exaggerate their height by an average of two inches and expand their income by an average of 20% when posting profiles of themselves. The older the person is the older their photograph tends to be too. You have been warned. Ref: Prospect (UK) > Some good news for a change Things really are better than you think. On almost every measure that matters (longevity, literacy, infant mortality, wars, extreme poverty etc.) life is getting better not worse for the vast majority of the world's people. For example, in 1990, slightly over 40% of the population in developing countries (1.9 billion people) were living in conditions of extreme poverty (then defined as living on less than $1 per day). By 2000, this number had shrunk to 21% (1.2 billion). Ref: The Economist (UK) > 12 Most disruptive technologies McKinsey & Company has outlined 12 disruptive technologies that it believes have the potential to reshape the world. Collectively these technologies could be worth between $14 trillion and $33 trillion by 2025. The technologies are: advanced materials, renewable energy, mobile internet, automation of knowledge work, The Internet of Things, cloud technology, advanced robotics, autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles, next-generation genomics, energy storage and 3D printing. Ref: McKinsey Global Institute (US) > Interruption science Gloria Mark at the University of California at Irvine estimates that the average office worker in the US is interrupted every 11 minutes and it takes 25 minutes for individuals to return to their original task after being interrupted. Ref: New York Times (US) > Glass half full Research by Tali Sharot at University College London says that optimists are worse than pessimists at predicting the future, but they end up being more successful than pessimists due to the fact that they have a go at things. Ref: Financial Times (UK) > Home alone In many countries the nuclear family is either dead or dying. In Sweden, for example, 47% of homes are solo households; in Norway, 40%; in Japan, 30%; and in Australia, nearly 25%. So why do so many supermarkets still insist on putting everything in packs of two and four? Ref: The Australian (Aus) > Top trends for 2014 According to JWT, an advertising agency, the top 10 trends for 2014 are: Immersive Experiences, Do You Speak Visual?, The Age of Impatience, Mobile Gateways, Telepathic Technology, The End of Anonymity, Raging Against the Machine, Remixing Tradition, Proudly Imperfect and Mindful Living. Ref: JWT Intelligence (US) > Tech trends for 2014 Some more trends. According to Frog Design, the top tech trends for 2014 are: anonymity goes mainstream, drones everywhere, disconnection, rise of the Chinese internet, mind control, augmented humanity, self-driving cars, Internet of Things goes to art school, rich product data, the re-interpretation of craft, bucking the price norm, uber-fication of services, consumers owning their data, quantified self at the office and the re-invention of the PC. Ref: Frog Design (US) > Forrester's trends for 2014 Forrester this time. According to the tech research firm, the top trends this year will be: digital convergence eroding boundaries, digital experiences being make or break for firms, sensors everywhere, and re-thinking trust and identity. (The rest of the list isn't worth bothering with unless you are a real geek). Ref: Forbes (US) > And finally... a roundup of other trends from all over Explosion of wearables, further growth of mobile devices, Big Data revealing big insights, localised link building, voice-activated search from mobile devices, the emphasis of context over content (that's a good one!), PR becoming more about thought leadership, the collaborative economy, happiness and wellbeing, internet currencies, smarter cities, mobile money, EduTech, blah blah blah. Ref: Everywhere. --------------------------------- : THE NUMBERS The Internet dating industry is now worth an estimated GBP 2.5 billion worldwide. Ref: Prospect (UK) People that text more than 100 times per day are 30% less likely to think that being ethical is important, according to a study by the University of Winnipeg. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) 60% of Iranians are aged under 30. Ref: Harper's (US) In November 1923 a person needed 2.5 trillion German marks to buy 1 US dollar. Ref: Prospect (UK) Europe has 75% of the world's installed capacity of solar photovoltaic energy. Ref: The Economist (UK) Between 1981 and 2005, carbon emissions in the USA increased by 33%. However, since 2005 they have decreased by 9%. Ref: New Scientist (UK) The volume of train travel in Britain has almost doubled since 1993. Ref: The Economist (UK) In the Netherlands, 25% of all journeys are made by bicycle. In the UK the number is 2%. Ref: Guardian (UK) Of 16 female US senators in 2010 aged 56-74, not one had visible grey hair and neither did 90% of women in the House of Representatives. Ref: Financial Times (UK) 1/3 of the NHS's 39,409 consultants were born outside the UK. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) In the US, the hiring of temporary or contract staff has risen by 37% since 2007. Ref: William's Inference (US) Over the next 10 years, the number of people aged 65+ will increase by 49% in the UK. The number of those aged 75+ will increase by 63% over the same period. Ref: Future of Employment Working Group (UK) Alcohol kills 2.5 million people each year, accounts for 5.5% of disease and premature death, and is the third biggest cause of ill health after high blood pressure and tobacco according to the World Health Organisation. In terms of national rankings the heaviest drinkers in the world are in Moldova, followed by Russia, South Korea and Portugal. The UK is not that far behind, ranked 17. Australia is ranked 44 and the US is number 56. Ref: Good Weekend (Aus) The average person in the UK eats 44 grams of chips (fries), 75 grams of meat and 3 grams of green vegetables each week. Ref: The Economist (UK) People in the US in their 20s are 300% more likely to display narcissistic tendencies than people aged 65+, according to the US National Institutes of Health. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) --------------------------------- : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." - John Barrymore (actor) --------------------------------- : PREDICTION OF THE MONTH 24 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020 (the UK Ministry of Defence says 7 trillion by 2040). Ref: SAP --------------------------------- : BOOK OF THE MONTH Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next by John G. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay Untangling the Web: What the Internet Is Doing to You by Aleks Krotoski --------------------------------- : WORD DETECTIVE Phubbing: Snubbing someone with a mobile phone instead of interacting physically with him or her. Prevalent in restaurants, cafes, bars and retail outlets where one person is so engrossed in a text or phone conversation that another person is ignored. --------------------------------- : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH Got a pair of Tom's shoes? Then you'll need some socks. A small business that sells high quality British made socks, but gives a second pair to homeless people in the UK. www.jolliegoods.com --------------------------------- : 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.