Capitalogix

Why Elon Musk's SpaceX Launch Is So Important

Last Tuesday, Musk launched his Tesla Roadster and it's passenger "Starman" into space on his Falcon Heavy rocket. 

Cool?  Clever Marketing?  Or Both?

 

Space via Twitter

This feat is exciting for a number of reasons.

1. Falcon Heavy is cheaper than other heavy lift rockets – yet, it is twice as powerful. 
2. This means we can ship payloads to Mars (or potentially farther). 
3. The boosters landed back on their platform to be reused.
4. And, ultimately, it's inspiring and momentum building to a new age of future space explorers.

When I was growing up, the space race caught the public's hearts and minds.  I was a kid, but I still remember watching the lunar landing.  It was a big deal! 

Likewise, I remember when astronauts were positioned as national heroes.  Now, we're more jaded.

In the past decade, rockets, space-stations, satellites, etc. were often just an afterthought or a small filler news item.  Meanwhile, A.I., Cloning, Voice Recognition, 3D Printing, Drones, and other technological advances were the sexy attention-getting topics. 

Recently, that has changed.  The space race is getting hot again.  Resources are pouring into this area, and SpaceX's launch is proof that we are making progress (and probably altering life's history). 

Take a look. 

 

 

This was supposed to be captivating.  Teachers can show their students a rocket launch where a man shot a car into space ... then they can watch the car float through space.  It's taking what we're used to only seeing in movies ... and making it real. 

Passion in the sciences is important, and successes like this can ignite passion in our future, in more than just space exploration. 

We live in exciting times. 

Onwards!

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - January 21st, 2018

It's day 2 of the government shutdown; but what does that actually mean?

In short: 

• "Essential" government services will still run even if employees aren't getting paid - USPS, TSA, Social Security
• Other "non-essential" government employees will be "furloughed" and told to stay at home. 
• Military will be required to work, but won't be paid until Congress comes to an agreement
• Employees will be paid retroactively once an agreement is met. 

 Efficiency at its finest ... or a force function to get the children to play nicer with each other?

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Want to Get Wisdom? Be Your Own Crowd. (Bloomberg)
• NASA Just Proved It Can Navigate Space Using Pulsars. Where to Now? (Wired)
• It's So Cold in Russia that Thermometers are Breaking. (BGR)
• What Robot Strippers Say about Sexism, Tech and the Future. (AP News)
• Benjamin Franklin Built His Character around 13 Virtues and Following His Weekly Plan Could Change Your Life. (BusinessInsider)

Trading Links:

• How Donald Trump Has Remade the Rules for Business. (Wall Street Journal)
• Fed Paid $29.3 Billion to Banks 'Not' to Lend in 2017; Gave $80 Billion to Treasury. (ZeroHedge)
• One Person is Probably Responsible for Almost 600 Percent of Bitcoin's Price Rise. (Mashable)
• Kodak's Pivot to Crypto Seems to Be Working out Quite Nicely. (FastCompany)
• These are the Biggest Risks for Businesses in 2018, According to the World Economic Forum. (Fortune)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - January 14th, 2018

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Tesla Model 3: the First Serious Review. (The Drive)
• How Religion Made a Global Comeback in 2017. (The Atlantic)
• New Year's Fitness Resolutions: the Smartest Way to Keep Them. (WSJ)
• How Kaspersky's Software Fell under Suspicion of Spying on America. (Wall Street Journal)
• Could Your Apple Watch Save Your Life?: How Smartwatch Sensors Could Help Tackle a Dangerous Heart Condition. (ZDNet)

Trading Links:

• Kodak Announces Blockchain Plan, Share Price Soars. (FinExtra)
• Here's Why Spotify is Bypassing the Normal IPO Process and Why More Companies Don't Do It. (BI)
• As Dow Tops 25000, Individual Investors Sit It Out. (Wall Street Journal)
• Amazon Has a Master Plan to Turn Alexa into a Full-fledged Economy All on Its Own. (Insider)
• A Crypto Expert Explains the Difference between the Two Largest Cryptocurrencies in the World: Bitcoin and Ethereum. (BusinessInsider)

Ultra Spiritual Wisdom on Bitcoin

Seemingly everywhere I go, someone asks me about Bitcoin.

Clearly, there are speculators and day traders banking coin. 

I am a little surprised by how fast it captured the cultural zeitgeist.

Here's a clever spoof ... worth watching.

  

 AwakenWithJP via Youtube

I'm sure we'll talk more about Bitcoin ... but, more importantly, Blockchain (which is the technology that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were built upon).

I am currently investigating and planning how we'll use Blockchain.

Onwards.

Related articles

The technology behind bitcoin is only halfway through its evolution

Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies: ScaleVP Comments From the Sidelines

Blockchain Learning hub - Stories of UNICEF Innovation

97% of all bitcoins are held by 4% of addresses

Bitcoin Ban: Merrill Lynch Prevents Clients, Advisors From Trading Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin conference stops accepting bitcoin for tickets, oh the irony

Can You Afford To Think Linearly in this Exponential Age?

Human's can't do a lot of things. Honestly, the fact that we're top of the food-chain is pretty miraculous. 

We're slow, we're weak, and we're famously bad at understanding large numbers and exponential growth. 

Our brains are hardwired to think locally and linearly.

It's a monumental task for us to fathom exponential growth ... let alone its implications. 

Think how many companies have failed due to that inability ... Radioshack couldn't understand a future where shopping was done online and Kodak didn't think digital cameras would replace good ol' film. Blockbuster couldn't foresee a future where people would want movies in their mailboxes, because "part of the joy is seeing all your options!" They didn't even make it long enough to see "Netflix and Chill" become a thing. 

   

via Diamandis

Human perception is linear. Technological growth is exponential.

There are many examples.  Here is one Diamandis calls "The Kodak Moment."

In 1996, Kodak was at the top of its game, with a market cap of over $28 billion and 140,000 employees.

Few people know that 20 years earlier, in 1976, Kodak had invented the digital camera. It had the patents and the first-mover advantage.

But that first digital camera was a baby that only its inventor could love and appreciate.

That first camera took .01 megapixel photos, took 23 seconds to record the image to a tape drive, and only shot in black and white.

Not surprisingly, Kodak ignored the technology and its implications.

Fast forward to 2012, when Kodak filed for bankruptcy – disrupted by the very technology that they invented and subsequently ignored.

 

via Diamandis

Innovation is a reminder that you can't be medium-obsessed. Kodak's goal was to preserve memories. It wasn't to sell film. Blockbuster's goal wasn't to get people in their stores, it was to get movies in homes.  

Henry Ford famously said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Steve Jobs was famous for spending all his time with customers, but never asking them what they wanted.

Two of our greatest innovators realized something that many never do. Being conscientious of your consumers doesn't necessarily mean listening to them. It means thinking about and anticipating their wants and future needs.

Tech and A.I. are creating tectonic forces throughout industry and the world.  It is time to embrace and leverage what that makes possible.  History has many prior examples of Creative Destruction (and what gets left in the dust).

Opportunity or Chaos ...  You get to decide.

Onward!

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - December 17th, 2017

I just saw the new Star Wars with my family.

It's a bit crazy to think about what percentage of my life occurred since the original came out

I can still remember watching the first one. 

 

BTW, I'm not 60 yet ... but, I am pushing double nickels.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• LeBron James: Keeping a Billion-dollar Body in Shape. (CNN)
• Success Strategies from a Self-made Billionaire. (TonyRobbins)
• When Robots Dream: AI Systems May Learn Better and Faster If They Can Sleep'. (Siliconangle)
• Machine Ethics and Artificial Moral Agents. (KDNuggets)
• The CIA is Telling Us How the Agency Uses Americans' Data. (Mashable)

Trading Links:

• FCC Revokes the Net Neutrality Rules. (NordVPN)
• Janet Yellen Calls Bitcoin 'Highly Speculative'. (CNN)
• Driverless Cars Will Change Auto Insurance. Here's How Insurers Can Adapt. (HBR)
• This Investor Says Millennials are 'Starting to Buy Homes in a Big Way'. (CNBC)
• Google Leads in the Race to Dominate Artificial Intelligence. (Economist)

 

What's Next ... Robot Rockstars?

Artificial Intelligence has already been used to compose various pieces of music, but they're not replacing real "stars" anytime soon. 

A New Zealand musician, Nigel Stanford, released a video with an imagined collaboration between himself and a team of crane-armed robots.

He spent about a month programming the robots. 

Check it out.

 

DailyDot via Youtube

What Do You Buy Someone Who Has Everything?

I'm getting cynical, I understand planned obsolescence ... but has it occurred to you that Apple could make their phones act sluggish just before the launch of a new version?  

My phone has been driving me nuts.  So, (as I write this) I'm up at 2 am to place my order for the new iPhone X.

On one hand, it satisfies my desire for the new and shiny ... but, on the other hand, it makes it harder for my wife.

Buying gifts is often hard. But it gets harder when the giftee already has everything (or buys it himself).

That is where Neiman Marcus comes in.

Every year since 1959, Neiman Marcus has published a Christmas Book. Primarily comprised of normal Neiman Marcus offerings ... the book also contains pretty amazing "fantasy" gifts.  For example, who doesn't want a rose-gold Cobalt Valkyrie-X private plane (worth $1.5 million) ...

 

Neiman Marcus

 

I don't know about you, but it's a little feminine for me.

Or, there is a private Submarine (worth $20,000,000). 

 

Neiman Marcus

 

But that is only good if you don't have one already.

You can check out NM's 2017 Fantasy Gift List, here, and get a personal trip to Champagne, France or a pair of specially commissioned His and Hers Rolls Royces. 

Let me know if you have any good gift ideas.  I'm always looking for them.

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - October 8th, 2017

 Old people and their joints ... it's becoming an issue. 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Why Culture Doesn't Just Beat Strategy, It Must Be the Strategy. (Inc)
• Google Reveals the Top Things People Want to Find out How To' Do. (TechCrunch)
• Pain Leads to Empathy and Self-preservation: Should We Make Robots Feel' It? (Aeon)
• Gartner's Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Adds 5G and Deep Learning. (Forbes)
• Hostile Terrain: Tank Traps, Fake Towns & Secret Tunnels of the Korean Borderlands. (99PercentInvisible)

Trading Links:

• Seventy-Eight Billion Reasons Why Bitcoin Is the New Gold. (Globe&Mail)
• Amazon Wants to Open a $5 Billion Second HQ in North America. (CNN)
• Has Disruption from E-commerce Run Its Course? (Latest)
• Who Vladimir Putin Thinks Will Rule the World. (CNN)
• Employees at the World's Largest Hedge Fund Use iPads to Rate Each Other's Performance in Real-Time – See How It Works. (Insider)

Gartner's 2017 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies Identifies Innovations Worth Monitoring

There's a lot of "hype" these days.  Social media and tools like Kickstarter would have you believe that every new idea is the "next big new thing".

In contrast, Gartner's Hype Cycle Report is a considered analysis of market excitement, maturity, and the benefit of various technologies.  It aggregates data and distills more than 2,000 technologies into a succinct, contextually understandable, snapshot of where various emerging technologies sit on the hype cycle.

Understanding this hype cycle framework enables you to ask important questions like "How will these technologies impact my business?" and  "Which technologies can I trust to stay relevant in 5 years?"

 

What's a "Hype Cycle"?

 

As technology advances, it is human-nature to get excited about the possibilities we imagine ... and then to get disappointed when those expectations aren't met. 

At its core, the Hype Cycle tells us where in the product's timeline we are, and how long it will take the technology to hit maturity. 

At this point in time, Machine Learning/Deep Learning and Connected Homes are at the peak of their hype cycles ... Meanwhile, Augmented Reality and Blockchain have matured past the hype phase (with Self-Driving Cars following close behind).  

This year, according to Gartner, there are three overarching "mega-trends" to watch. 

• AI Everywhere shows the transition towards a ubiquitous AI experience, from self-driving cars, to machine learning, and to smart robots.  Consider the impact on traffic/accidents with the adoption of autonomous vehicles, or the ability of machine learning to process more data faster. 
• Transparently Immersive Experiences shows our transition towards human-centric contextual and fluid technological experiences.  - like Connected Homes or Virtual Reality. Consider the impact of Augmented Reality on advertisements or gamification. 
• Digital Platforms shows the transition of emergent platforms into adoption. Platforms like Blockchain, IoT,  and Quantum Computing. Consider the effects of bitcoin and other blockchain initiatives, as well as the opportunity for new business models centered around these platforms.

 

Here is the chart. You can click the image to see it larger. 

 

via Gartner

For comparison, here is the chart from last year; and you can check out my article on 2015's hype cycle here.

via Gartner

The hype cycle gives us an idea of which of these technologies will likely survive the market hype and have a potential to become a part of our daily life. 

Here are the five regions of Gartner's Hype Cycle framework:

1. Innovation Trigger (potential technology breakthrough kicks off),
2. Peak of Inflated Expectations (Success stories through early publicity),
3. Trough of Disillusionment (waning interest),
4. Slope of Enlightenment (2nd & 3rd generation products appear), and
5. Plateau of Productivity (Mainstream adoption starts). 

  

Which technologies do you think are over-hyped ... and which ones might survive the hype?

I find this stuff fascinating.  Consider some of the interesting technologies just starting their hype cycle:

• Human Augmentation has the potential to enhance our bodies and minds using electrical currents, chips, or exoskeletons, but also raises ethical and legal questions. 
• Quantum Computing is still in its infancy, but could theoretically solve certain problems far faster than classical computers. 
• Smart Dust opens up the possibility of monitoring essentially everything by creating a vast network of minuscule sensors that can detect various inputs. 
• 4D Printing would theoretically allow us to print objects that reshape or self-assemble over time. 

We live in amazing times! 

Onwards.