Technology & Innovation — May 29, 2010

Economic Recovery?

“US fashion commentators are now suggesting that economic strength might also be reflected in the length of men’s swimming trunks,” reports The Guardian. But is it a truncated theory?

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

“US fashion commentators are now suggesting that economic strength might also be reflected in the length of men’s swimming trunks,” reports The Guardian. But is it a truncated theory? “When the stock market rises men’s beach shorts shrink proportionally as customers trade more conservative board shorts for racier lengths. Trend experts are claiming that as the economy musters a recovery then men’s hemlines are heading north. Shorter swim shorts are, according to Eric Jennings of luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue ‘definitely the look right now’.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Industrial landscape featuring large smokestacks and various structures of an oil refinery, some incorporating cutting-edge carbon removal technology, set under a cloudy sky.

The Present

Not all forms of carbon removal are created equal

The carbon market and offsetting system have created “carbon cowboys” and perpetuated forms of neo-colonialism and other inequities.

The letters "AI" appear with a glitch effect in multicolored pixels against a black background.

The Present

AI skeptic Gary Marcus on AI’s moral and technical shortcomings

The cognitive scientist argues the current AI environment is failing us as consumers and a society. But it’s not too late to change course.

A digital illustration of a human brain with blue veins and a glowing light at the top, set against a black background.

The Future

How Neuralink’s chief competitor is tapping into the brain without surgery

“Neurotech is not just about the brain,” says Synchron CTO Riki Banerjee, explaining how their tech can help with paralysis, brain diseases, and beyond.

An abstract illustration features a bell curve with red dots and a percentage labeled 49%. The background includes a monochrome portion of a face with wide-open eyes peeking below the curve.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Bad at probability? That might be a blessing.

How black and white is your thinking?

Image of Earth set against a black background with the text "A Volatile World" in large white letters.

Why does it feel like the world is falling apart?

“We’ve engineered a volatile world where Starbucks is completely unchanging from year to year, but democracies are collapsing and rivers are drying up.”

▸

11 min

—

with

Brian Klaas

Up Next

Culture & Religion

The Art of Theft

“Art is a conversation between and among artists, not a patent office. Reality can’t be copyrighted,” writes David Shields in his spirited defense of artistic appropriation.