Having read a @lifehacker tweet this morning mentioning the link between a physically fatter wallet and higher spending, and I thought again of this project that blends the physical and virtual in a beautiful and accessible way. The creator of this nightstand also has a "fat wallet" project, if I'm not mistaken.
As the information age wears on, my guess is that form will matter just as much as it has in the past. As humans, we're wired to appreciate the shapes of things. For woodworkers, like me, objects like this table offer another way to improve and add value to what we already do. Just add a little code and some imagination. Until then, watch this lovely and romantic idea in action.
It seems to me that personal progress depends on a couple of things. First, think.
You may need to stop what you're already doing.
In an age when the "creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers" win, events like the IdeaFestival offer a place to make that new connection, whether it's with a handshake or because of that synaptic snap, crackle and pop when what you've just seen or heard finally registers. That's been true for me.
From Nassim Nicholas Taleb, I learned history will occasionally deliver overwhelming news from the clear blue. It just happens. I learned from Jane McGonigal that games can be used to make a better reality rather than as an escape from it. I learned from Teller that knowing the secrets behind the curtain didn't diminish the joy of staring slack-jawed at dancing golden spheres. I learned from Burt Rutan that with supreme imagination and damn-the-critics determination, we can trip to space in safety and return in comfort. Someday, I'll do that. The elfin and poised Daniel Tammet said last year that when we think in similes and puns, we're thinking not unlike a savant. I learned that his prodigious mathematical and language abilities are not so far removed from yours or mine. The IdeaFestival is about "this too."
Then do.
From Vova Galchenko, I learned that opportunity also depends a willingness to get our hands dirty in the business of trying and failing. Have a listen to his IF Conversation above, because as a world champion juggler, this bit of joyful self-expression takes years of work.
I hope to see you at IdeaFestival 2011! The lowest priced all-access passes of the year are on sale through the remainder of today. On Thursday, the price goes up. You can make your purchase here.
So if it's something you've been considering, let us sweeten the pot. All-access pass holders this year will get, courtesy of the IdeaFestival, a one-year subscription to four of the very best and thought-provoking periodicals around - Fast Company, Ode, Make and Oxford American!
The festival has been known to create a buzz. This year, keep it.
"All behaviors were consistent with what the researchers term 'counterfactual thinking'—looking back at what could have been—and suggest that investors are motivated by a desire to avoid regret and instead feel pride" - well of course. Investing is driven by emotion, not facts.
In the new field of exoplanetology, astronomers are discovering that Super-Earths, rocky worlds the size of Uranus, are far more common than anyone suspected. The exoplanet count has reached 573. Kepler will add hundreds, if not thousands, more.
In the image above, the mars exploration rover Opportunity, seven years past its expiration date, approaches a massive crater dubbed Endeavour that is beyond the hills in the foreground. The little rover will spend some time exploring the strata on the inside of the crater walls, which should improve the understanding of the planet's geology.
There are only 48 hours left to buy 