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Archives for March 2014

Wednesdays on the Web: March 26th

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A weekly round-up of innovation, social impact, and design news from around the web.

1. An Asteroid With Rings

Astronomers have recently discovered rings around an asteroid named Chariklo. They are still unsure how an object as large as it could have such rings.

2. Inside the iPhone

Original iPhone software engineer Greg Christie has offered an inside look at the process behind the development process. You can see more here.

3. The Tallest Wind Turbine

The tallest wind turbine in the world is now floating 1,000 feet high above the ground in Alaska. How is it up so high? Answer: helium.

4. Improved Emoji Diversity

Apple is considering plans to make its Emoji characters more diverse by including other races and ethnicities in its available set of images.

5. Cheaper Clouds

Google has announced plans to make cloud computing technology cheaper and more available for consumers. Discounts will be applied to those using more computer power and data.

6. Aromatic Forks

Molecule-R is developing the Aromafork, a new utensil that lets you mix and match random smells with your food in order to make it more appetizing. Foodies rejoice!

7. Early Bird Tickets Still Available for TEDxMileHigh 2014: Emergence

Early bird ticketing for TEDxMileHigh: Emergence is underway and will be closing on April 1st. The event is scheduled for June 14th at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. For more information and ticketing, click here.

Wednesdays on the Web: March 19th

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A weekly round-up of innovation, social impact, and design news from around the web.

1. Cheaper Solar Energy

IBM is developing new massive solar panels that will make solar energy easier to harness and cheaper for consumers to use. They will concentrate’s the sun energy by up to 2,000 times.

2. Sony’s Project Morpheus.

Sony has officially announced Project Morpheus, a new virtual reality initiative aimed at making a VR headset for the PS4. Will this make video games more interactive?

3. 3D Printing for Cars

EDAG, a German engineering company, revealed the Genesis at the Geneva Motor Show. Would you drive a 3D printed car?

4. Android Wear from Google

Google has announced plans to release Android Wear, a project that will bring their operating system to wearable devices like watches. Would you wear Google?

5. Personalized Cancer Treatments

Watson is an intelligent program from IBM that will now help create personalized cancer treatments based on each tumor’s genetic code. This task is daunting, but definitely could not be done by just one human.

6. Denver Development Projects

Currently, there are 27 development projects underway in Downtown Denver. This interactive map shows all of them.

7. Smart Thermostats

Aros is a new smart thermostat and air conditioner that can learn how you like your house heated and will find ways to help you save money.

8. Luxury Electric Cars…for Kids

The Broon is a new electric car for kids that is intended to teach kids about electric energy and proper car handling. Would you let your kids drive in one?

9. Early Bird Tickets on Sale for June 2014’s TEDxMileHigh: Emergence

Early bird ticketing for TEDxMileHigh: Emergence begins today and ends April 1st. The event is scheduled for June 14th at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. For more information and ticketing, click here.

Welcome to TEDxMileHigh 2014: Emergence

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“… the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts …” – Aristotle

Emergence, simply put, refers to patterns spontaneously arising from complex systems – new behaviors and properties that aren’t simply reducible to “the sum of its parts.”

While flocking behavior is an emergent property of birds or fish, emergence also takes place across knowledge systems. Take for example, the chain of emergent knowledge fields given as an example of the phenomenon by Wikipedia:

“Biology can be viewed as an emergent property of the laws of chemistry which, in turn, can be viewed as an emergent property of particle physics. Similarly, psychology could be understood as an emergent property of neurobiological dynamics, and free-market theories understand economy as an emergent feature of psychology.”

Emergence defines our times as our living, technological and knowledge systems increase in complexity. Climate change is an emergent meteorological behavior from the Industrial Revolution; robotics an emergent property of engineering; mycoremediation an emergent property of applied biochemistry.

What can we take from our observations of emergent patterns? Can we apply the lessons of emergence to knowingly create something truly greater than the sum of its parts? What would that mean to the futures of, say, our cities?

A new property emerged in the 20th century – the global institution – which has reshaped social boundaries, political goals, meteorology, and culture around the world. While many see this new entity as either the apex of evil or the seat of promise for the future, designers from Buckminster Fuller to Peter Senge have noted that living systems continually recreate themselves, guided by the system’s own level of self-awareness. TED and TEDx, it could be said, are global institutions that have emerged from the forces of technological and design innovation with media production and the Internet. Further, they promote the kind of self-awareness Fuller, Senge, and many others have said are essential to the kind of knowing, connected unfolding we can experience as “presence.”

A city, according to Marilyn Hamilton in her book Integral City, “is a whole system that arises from the massive interconnections and entanglements of structures, cultures, intentions and behaviors.” Resilience, today an often-proffered goal of humankind at the intersections of social, ecological and economic systems, can be said to emerge when a system is well-adapted to its environment. Coherence appears from the internal alignment of a system that optimizes efficiency. With resilience and coherence, new patterns and capacities of a city emerge.

Our mission of engaged citizenship at TEDxMileHigh begins with this idea that by bringing together our community around the power of big ideas emerging from Colorado, we can help create this awareness and share in the emergence of a bright future for ourselves and our children. We’re looking forward to the conversations that emerge from our engagement with you in 2014.

 

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Wednesdays on the Web: March 12th

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A weekly round-up of innovation, social impact, and design news from around the web.

1. Dinner at the Movies

Dinner and a movie is a tried and true date night, but what about having dinner at your movie? AMC is bringing fast casual dining to their theatres, and Southlands 16 in Aurora is now offering meal options.

2. Razer’s New Laptop

Gamers rejoice as Razer is about to release an updated version of its ultra fast, ultra powerful notebook. Would you purchase this extremely advanced technology?

3. Galvanize Touching Down in Denver and Boulder

Tech startup and entrepreneurial hub Galvanize is coming to Denver and Boulder. They are projected to open their Pearl Street location this May and their LoHi office early next year.

4. Pebble App Store

Pebble, a new smartwatch, has developed their own app store, similar to the one found on most Android devices. Partners apps include eBay, Evernote and Time Warner Cable.

5. iWatch for Epileptics

Dialog is developing a medical watch for people suffering from epilepsy to help them track their seizure activity. Its greatest benefit will be notifying wearers of when to take their medications.

6. New Plant Energy

Biochemist Dr. Paolo Bombelli and plant scientist Ross Dennis from the University of Cambridge are researching the potential of photo microbial fuel cells, or photo-MFCs; potted plants that act like miniature power plants and transform sunlight into electricity that can power iPads.

7. Air Conditioner Art Work

Artcool Stylist Inverter V air conditioner from LG is a new home AC system that uses bright LED lights to make this often ugly appliance look like a work of art. Do you like this design?

8. Selfie Art

Wired Community Director Eric Steuer is a new father and, as such, has been losing a lot of sleep. To document his transition into sleepless fatherhood, he has created a clever new project devoted to taking selfies during the night.

Wednesdays on the Web: March 5th

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A weekly round-up of innovation, social impact, and design news from around the web.

1. Saving Colfax’s Signs

Denver-based designer and illustrator Sean Duggan is trying to save the iconic neon signs of Colfax Avenue by leading a poster campaign where people can donate each time they buy one of his creations.

2. Indoor Google Maps

Google Maps now has maps for over 75 popular indoor locations across 22 different cities in India. The maps appear as users zoom in on their screens.

3. Life on Europa

NASA is exploring options to search for intelligent life on Jupiter’s moon Europa. However, don’t expect to see or hear anything from possible Europans until at least 2030.

4. Robotic Arm from China

The uArm is the latest robotic arm available to consumers. Designed, manufactures, and kickstarted in Shenzen, China, it goes for $185.

5. Life Under the Sea

In order to find life 1,000 feet underwater, diver Mike Lombardi will need to put on a 530-pound “Exosuit.” His mission is to find undiscovered species of bioluminescent animals who spend their lives in total darkness.

6. iOS on the Dashboard

CarPlay from Google will finally bring iOS to your car dashboard. Save your pennies, though, because it will initially only be available to Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and other luxury cars.

7. Crosswalk Redesign May Save Lives

Crosswalks can be dangerous, and designers and law enforcers alike are trying to think of new ways to make them safer. New York City is leading the charge by monitoring them more closely with officers.

8. Fitness Technology Advancing

A new device called Moov might be the most innovative piece of fitness technology ever. Personalized and customizable, it ismore advanced than anything else like it seen before.

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