In this issue:

WORLD'S BEST (AND WORST) IDEAS
CREATE YOUR OWN COUNTRY
TRENDS FOR 2010

And much, much more...

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*Feeding hungry minds since 2004 

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Issue 55 - September 2009
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> World's best (and worst) ideas
Time magazine recently published
a list of the 50 Best Inventions
of the Year. More interesting
(perhaps) was a list of the 5
worst ideas of the year. This
included face recognition
software used by a Japanese train
company to monitor how frequently
their staff smiled at customers
and a bra that easily converts
into a gas mask.
Ref: Time (US)

> Time to turn out the lights?
It's those Japanese again. This
time they are thinking about the
nightscape - specifically the
ideal amount (and type) of light
that should be emitted by a city.
This issue is partly to do with
simple light pollution but is
also linked to a desire to what
I'd call 'light tourism' and the
need to create a harmony of
lights. Several Japanese cities
have already changed regulations
to improve city nightscapes.
Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)

> Go West (or East) young man (or
woman)
A study of 155 US and 55 foreign
students by Adam Galinsky at the
Kellogg School of Management in
the US and William Madux of
INSEAD in France has found that
living abroad can give people a
creative edge. However,
travelling isn't enough. To have
truly creative ideas you need to
live in another country for a
while. Could this be why
immigrants start so many
interesting new businesses?
Ref: Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology (US)

> Dispersed energy
Starting with the invention of
the steam engine in the 18th
century up until the development
of nuclear power in the 20th
century, large, centralised
generation and transmission has
been the dominant energy model.
However, it looks likely that
localised generation will be at
least a part of the energy
future. Example? In Japan
scientists are looking at ways to
convert foot traffic in busy
offices into electrical energy to
power lighting. Pavements offer
similar opportunities, as do
keyboards.
Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)

> Create your own country
Here's an interesting idea from
The Futurist magazine. If it's
possible to build islands in the
ocean (Dubai et al) then could
this lead to the creation of
entire countries? In other words,
why can't groups of individuals
(possibly groups that initially
meet online) fund the development
of real estate that is unattached
and unaffiliated to any existing
nation?
Ref: Thomas Frey/The Futurist (US)

> Distant diagnosis
Israeli scientists have found a
way to diagnose people at a
distance. The technique involves
bouncing energy waves at sweat
ducts, which resemble small radio
antennae. Uses could include
remote blood pressure and
heart-rate readings.
Ref: The Times (UK)

> I spy
The UK government is going ahead
with plans to store every single
phone call, email, text message
and internet search on a database
that is accessible by 653 public
bodies in the UK. Access to this
data will not require permission
of a court, simply authorisation
from a senior police officer or
the head or deputy head of a
local authority.
Ref: The Daily Telegraph (UK)

> Mobile memory
A survey by Microsoft in
Australia has found that as
people become more dependent on
the use of mobile (cell) phones
their actual memory declines.
Ref: The Advertiser (Aus)

> Bee gone?
According to various newspaper
stories, bees have been buzzing
off at an alarming rate recently.
The problem even has a snappy
name - CCD or Colony Collapse
Disorder. But now they are back.
How come? The simple answer is
that nobody knows. One
explanation is a bee virus.
Another is that the rise of
monocultures means that bees
cannot easily find a broad enough
range of pollen sources (i.e.
poor nutrition means that bees
have weakened immune systems).
Ref: The Economist (UK)

> Teachers recruited from the
bottom of the class
A study by McKinsey & Company
says that the countries with the
best performing students tend to
recruit teachers from the top of
the class. In the UK, according
to Politeia (a think tank), the
trend is towards the bottom of
the class. For example, trainee
teachers in England are allowed
to re-sit basic literacy and
numeracy tests as often as they
like. Around 13% of trainee
teachers require three attempts
to pass the tests.
Ref: The Economist (UK)

> Beam me down
Two companies (Mitsubishi
Electric and IHI) have joined a
four-year, USD $21 billion
project aimed at developing solar
power in space using giant solar
panels and then transmitting the
energy back to earth. The first
test beam is scheduled for 2015.
Ref: International Herald Tribune
(US)

> Water for peace
Could water, rather than land, be
the solution to tension in the
Middle East? The problem, in a
nutshell, is that Israel doesn't
have enough water. Neither does
Palestine, Syria or Iraq. So what
if water was re-directed from
water rich lands such Turkey to
these countries? Couple this with
Israel sharing its water
expertise and technologies with
other countries and the region
could quite literally bloom.
Ref: International Herald Tribune
(US)

> Trends for 2010
What are the new trends for 2010?
A quick scan of RSS feeds and
Google alerts brings up the
following list: Biometric ID
solutions, smart energy grids,
back to basics,
hyper-polarization, mobmedia,
practical skills (making things
and fixing things), anxiety,
brain health, cloud computing,
virtualisation, happiness
metrics, SMEs, sustainability.
Ref: Various

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: FAST FACTS

52% of people in Australia
believe that global warming is a
"critical threat". In 2008 this
figure was 66% while in 2007 it
was 68%.
Ref: Lowy Institute (Aus)

The average Californian uses 40%
less electricity than the average
American.
Ref: The Atlantic (US)

In China the literacy rate is
over 90%. In the US the figure is
86%.
Ref: Time (US)

90% of Australians still buy
music by handing money to a human
being over a counter in return
for a plastic/cardboard package.
Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (Aus)

11% of the world's population
live in 49 cities, which account
for just 0.5% of global GDP.
Ref: A Brief History of the
Future by Jacques Attali

The number of Americans that work
from home at least one day per
month has risen from 12.4 million
in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008.
Ref: Bureau of Labour Statistics
(US)

There are now 4.1 billion mobile
(cell) phones on the planet. 75%
of these phones reside in
developing regions.
Ref: The Economist (UK)

It takes 1,000 gallons of water
to make a single gallon of milk.
Ref: Harper's (US)

Of 543 MPs elected to the Indian
Parliament in 2004, 125 have
subsequently faced criminal
charges.
Ref: The Times (UK)

Americans dispose of, on average,
70kg of domestic rubbish every
year.
Ref: The Economist (UK)

75% of mergers and acquisitions
fail to deliver any value
whatsoever to shareholders. So
why do companies keep doing it?
(Answer: Because for male CEOs
size is everything.)
Ref: The Economist (UK)

22% of US music buyers played a
music game in the last three
months during 2008. Amongst those
aged under 35, the figure was
35%.
Ref: NPD Market Research (US)

150,000 Palestinians in Gaza have
no access to tap water.
Ref: International Herald Tribune
(US)

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: BOOK OF THE MONTH

"On Kindness"

by Adam Phillips and Barbara
Taylor

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: WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH

The School of Life:

http://www.theschooloflife.com/

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: QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Talent is long patience"

- Comte de Buffon

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: PREDICTION OF THE MONTH

United States vs. Google
(an eventual antitrust case).

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: STILL HUNGRY?

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What's Next trends report. So if
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more substantial (and that's free
too).

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: LOOKING FOR AN INSIGHTFUL AND
  ENTERTAINING SPEAKER?

If you are considering a futurist
speaker for your next event ask
your speaker agency about Richard
Watson or contact him direct via
www.nowandnext.com. Richard is
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occasionally Corrina). Richard's
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Welsh Government Assembly and
Procter and Gamble.

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: SMALL PRINT

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