I recently received a call from a recruiter, and he sounded like the guy from Idiocracy
. Have you seen this movie? If not, you really need to see it. It is about the dumbing-down of America and the lowest common denominator of human being. It’s about drinking Gatorade and eating fast food.
The Guy from Idiocracy
After talking to the recruiter for a few minutes, I actually thought it was a joke. Why would anyone trust him to find good people? Why would anyone even bother to talk to him? His diction was so poor I didn’t really understand what he was saying. I could tell he knew absolutely nothing about programming. I just kept remembering the frustrations of the main character in the movie when he tried to communicate with the “normal” people.
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Dreams Come True, Money, Success, US Economy
dumb, fast food, future, government, idiocracy, Money, politicians, singularity, Success, tax check
Yesterday I discovered Cooliris, which might just be the coolest thing I have ever seen. It’s an extension for browsers (Chrome, IE, Firefox and Safari) that lets you see all the images in a virtual wall. It is absolutely incredible.
I love Cooliris because it is so neat. But there is more to it. We have talked quite a bit about accelerating technology, and that is a powerful force in our lives. Yet there is another piece of the puzzle that most people are totally unaware of: how we interact with technology.
What does Cooliris teach us about how to interact with technology?
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Accelerating Technology, Business Strategy, Dreams Come True, Internet
chrome, computers, cool, entertainment, fascinating, future, Internet, mind, Success, technology
Critics of technological progress, in general, and the Singularity, specifically, have been quick to point out a study that the genome sequencing program has led to little actual medical treatments and cures.
You can read these criticisms here. And a little gloating here on the Discover blog.
A great rebuttal has been posted at Physics and Cake.
Even the critics point out the the speed and power of gene sequencing is no less than amazing.
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Online Investing AI
criticism, critics, future, singularity, singularity update, technological progress
pic by covilha @ Flickr
Gold is going up, up, up. As currencies go down, down, down.
Gold and precious metals are often safe investments because of the relative scarcity of the materials–hence, the whole “precious” thing.
Gold must be mined and smelted. That takes time and money.
But amazing technology may change that.
In an article in CNET, a group of scientists explain how they created DNA nanobots to manufacture at the molecular level. The scientists even programmed the nanobots to create gold particles.
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Accelerating Technology, Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
future, gold, nanotechnology, singularity, technology
Things are falling apart.
Riots in Greece.
Oil spills and volcanoes.
Bailouts.
Sudden, inexplicable falls in the stock market.
But when we come to this conclusion, are we participating in a unique psychological phenomena that mistakes pieces for the whole? Another possibility, it that the media tends to over-report the negative and under-report the positive. As any good editor will tell you, “If it bleeds, it leads.”
After reading the The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
by Matt Ridley, you may start to understand the possibility that things aren’t getting worse; they’re getting better, much better.
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Accelerating Technology, Great Books, Internet, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
benefits, economic, future, global economy, Internet, nanomedicine, rationally optimistic, singularity, technology, wealth
Picture credit: ellievanhoutte @ Flickr
Depending on which researchers you talk to, about half to two-thirds of all Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement.
There’s a variety of reasons for not saving for retirement. You might think you don’t have the spare money. You might think that saving money for retirement can be started “later.” Or, you’re one of those James-Dean-live-fast-die-young type of people who figure they won’t be around long enough to enjoy the delayed fruits of their labors.
Worse, some people might think they can rely on Social Ponzicurity to take care of them in their golden age.
The truth is, a lot of factors can affect your retirement. So, if you’ve calculated your retirement savings, or you’re going to–you might want to consider the following six factors that can influence your retirement:
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
compound interest, future, Money, retire, retirement, returns, savings, time
The story of the 21st century will be the story of using technology to create leverage. Leverage is often used to describe weight and money. In the 20th century, leverage referred to massive machines that moved rocks, laid concrete, and shaped steel.
But there are other forms of leverage that technology can create.
By using technology to automate aspects of your life, you can create massive leverage. You’re using less time, while accomplishing more work.
Automated Trading is an example of how technology is creating leverage. In fact, Automated Trading creates four levels of leverage–four ways you can get more results out of the work you do.
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Online Investing AI
auto trading, Automated Trading, future, Investing, leverage, Money, wealth, wealth technology
Carol Gonzolez @ Flickr
The future demands more of us than our institutions have prepared us for.
Our learning institutions are designed to make us productive members of society. Heavy emphasis on “productive.” In fact, schools are built around the idea that we will be wage earners.
Teaching rote memory and learning to color within the lines and think inside the box are more valued in a factory setting where the guy or gal on top is the Queen bee wealth creator; everyone else is just a worker bee.
But, now, the hive has changed. You have more computing and communication power in your iPhone than US Steel did in its entire corporate structure. There’s no reason you should stay a wage-earning drone when you can become a wealth-creating owner.
Here are some new ways you can create wealth.
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Accelerating Technology, Automated Trading, Business Strategy, Internet, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
alchemy, future, information, information economy, Money, new wealth, value, wealth, wealth creation, wealth singularity
headsclouds @ Flickr
Do you think that little room in your house–the one where you set up your desk and computer–is especially scary?
Then why is your boss so freaked out by it?
Home offices are not a threat to productivity; they’re a threat to power. Certain people are turned on by an office full of fawning subordinates, even if they’re paying for the attention.
But don’t worry about working for these bosses much longer. They’ll be obsolete. Innovative companies with enlightened managers are out-performing and out-saving their dinosaur competition by creating more creative work options.
Here’s why:
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Accelerating Technology, Business Strategy, Internet, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy
company, computer, entrepreneurship, future, home office, personal finance, power, productivity, small business, work
Picture courtesy monerd@Flickr
Let’s say we build a time machine and set the dial for about ten years in the future.
In this mind experiment, we spot two people–one rich and one poor. We decide to talk to them.
Besides telling us about their families and letting us in on tidbits about the future, the rich gal tells us why she’s rich and the poor guy laments the reasons for his modest state.
It turns out that the rich person is an owner, a creator, a collaborator, and a value creator; her low-earning friend is an employee, a laborer, a soloist and a wage earner.
We decide to ask why. The reasons, it turns out, are technology and attitudes.
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Accelerating Technology, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy
creator, future, futurist, laborer, Money, poor dad, rich, rich dad, technology, wages, wealth
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
