Aug 31
Back in 2009 George Kembel, cofounder and executive director of the Stanford design school, the d.school, discussed a unique student project. Citizens of Nepal asked his students to solve a pressing need: affordable incubators that could save the lives of newborns. The students developed their first prototype–a $25 “sleeping bag” that could hold and retain …
Aug 29
Is creativity something only some people are born with? No, says George Kembel, you’ve got it right now. The cofounder and executive director of Stanford University’s school of design, the d.school, believes that “creativity is a profound, latent human capacity available to all of us if we know how to awaken it.” Kembel’s talk at …
Aug 26
This year, Labor Day will be marked by record unemployment rates paired with stagnant wages for working people, said Richard Trumka, who in 2009 became the youngest person ever to be elected AFL-CIO president. He spoke at the Christian Science Monitor Breakfast on August 25. “People have pretty much lost faith in Washington to solve …
Aug 24
Intuition is more important than logic; mistakes are good; nobody can predict the future or reason the root causes of past events. While these concepts sound like the makings of an Esalen workshop or self-help retreat, they were, in fact, the basis of a speech delivered by a West Point colonel. On August 17, the …
Aug 24
Witch burning, mutilation, slavery, and genocide are mandated in the Old Testament, says Christopher Hitchens. Religion is not only untrue, it produces immoral beliefs. Monotheism is akin to living in a dictatorship like North Korea. Hold on, says Dinesh D’Souza. Christianity was a force for good in India. It enabled individuals to escape the caste …
Aug 19
For over a hundred years, the Chautauqua Institution has been America’s incubator of great ideas. With the nation’s lengthy economic downturn and many asking whether the American Dream is dead, how will this “most American thing in America” show us the way to continuing prosperity and global leadership? Next week FORA.tv will present a series …
Aug 17
Political pundit James Carville says Mitt Romney has the best chance of winning. After all, he’s the ‘old white guy.’ Since 1944, old white guys have never failed to win the nomination, he says. Who was more old and white than McCain in 2008? No way, says New York Times columnist Gail Collins. Romney is …
Aug 16
To truly understand Iranian Islamic politics, Westerners need to leave behind their preconceived notions of modernization, religion and revolution, says Karen Armstrong, contemporary and historical religion’s most prolific author. She spoke at the Chautauqua Institution on August 5. Revolution in the West, she said, is historically a transitional phase that goes from a religious view …
Aug 12
Check out three conferences next week that will expand your mind on new technologies and new media. August 15-16 – Social Media Marketing Summit First up, two days in San Francisco will give anybody interested in leveraging social media for marketing a leg up on the competition. The Social Media Marketing Summit brings together some …
Aug 10
This week in London anarchists used social media tools to coordinate widespread looting and vandalism. That’s not surprising, says Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. New technology can be used for good and bad purposes and often it’s the latter that rules the day. But wait, says author and …