There are theories that people think about things that they can represent with their vocabulary. The hypothesis is that we do not think about things we have no words for.
My idea is to influence behavior by introducing many more positive words than usually adopted by children in a regular family and school environment.
I hope that less words for violence and criminal acts and more for kindness and positive outlook on life will result in more positive thoughts more often and ultimately less violence and more benevolence.
Companies pay thousands of dollars per month to engage in Web 2.0 marketing to identify discussions and places where their brand comes into contact with their potential customers and other interesting parties. They can choose if to promote a certain discussion, to interfere or to ignore. They also do this with competitive brands.
There are companies that deal with constant searching of textual information according to various filters and notifying interested parties.
I propose to do the same with rich multimedia content – Images and sounds. Images can be logos, landmarks, pictures of people, product images etc.
Sounds can be language identification, sound signature of product (like windows login sound or Intel sound etc.) specific ring tones, specific words spoken etc.
The software and service proposed would have a special algorithm for identifying if a graphic or sound element is used in user generated multimedia content such as web images on sites and in on-line albums, YouTube or in news broadcasts, TV shows, movies etc.
The notifications will include an automated list of recent multimedia references to your brand or any other brand you specified…
Possibly this can also be used for other uses…
Lifelong learning means there is a need to test knowledge of people all the time to measure progress. The time it takes to develop tests, administer them and grade them takes a huge budget from the already tight education budget.
What if we could make a simple device that would use biometrics to authenticate a person and then flash images and concepts from the study materials in front of his or her eyes. A low cost EEG could measure the brain wave activity in response to each image and thus gauge the familiarity of this concepts to the student.
This is of course not accurate but could still give an indication of the level of familiarity of the person with the concepts. This can allow to test and grade people automatically, fast and with very low cost and eliminate cheating.
Could probably be used for knowledge testing rather than reasoning testing.
There must be a way to use the earth spin and electromagnetic field to generate more electricity than we could ever use. We might need to invest many trillions of dollars building a space structure or many interconnected smaller structures around the earth to create this giant dynamo but it might be worth it.
We just have to make sure it does not have side effects such as changing the earth rotation speed or even stopping it completely which can generate a new set of problems…
It is a well known fact that education is one of the strongest forces behind economical growth both for individuals and for nations. Students coming from low-income families have many pressures that arise from their immediate survivability concerns and find it hard to shut themselves out of their daily hardship to immerse themselves in studies that are difficult and offer no immediate relief to their current problems.
According to psychological theories it is hard to make someone invest in fulfilling needs that are lower on their need pyramid when the higher needs are still not satisfied. In this case the need to fulfill their personal growth potential and invest in a better future is lower than the need for immediate solution for food and shelter.
This is why I think so many kids from low-income families are not doing well in school-they simply have more important things to deal with.
Instead of trying to change the motivation for these kids I suggest finding a method that will help them do both. I suggest a method that will accomplish the goal of improving their education to create a more productive and capable individual as well as help them in their immediate situation.
I suggest that some of the education funds be put aside to directly compensating low-income students on success.
A student will get a salary every month according to his participation / grades and a yearly bonus according to final grades. These salaries will come from both government and private sources and will come from the understanding that students need to get compensated for their effort, even if it is learning. Doing math exercised or learning biology is much harder to most people than flipping burgers. The question is do you want a nation of burger flippers or of scientists? Why would anyone work hard for free when they can work less and get paid?
For students coming from high-income families and for students from low-income families that have demonstrated high achievements, the needs pyramid allows for using other forms of compensation instead of cash. They can be motivated with awards, social recognition, advanced courses and other things they will appreciate.
Low income students can also get cash compensation for creating worksheets and grading lower grade assignments. They will be taught that they can make money from their education.
I am thinking of a simple and clear way to present complex story / plot lines. There are many aspects that needs to be taken into account such as time-line, geography, knowledge, motivation, decisions, actions, events experienced or aware of etc. As I get closer to a solution I might try to give some more specific examples.
This is useful for both keeping track of the plot when writing a novel as well as understanding and comparing other works.
The aim is to make a story map that can be grasped in a short time without going into too many details.
Some people that like to play soccer or basketball love the feeling of dribbling or kicking around a ball when they walk.
It is not always appropriate to carry a ball around with you especially if you are in the middle of a busy school or work day.
It would be fun if someone would produce a glove or shoe that can simulate the feel of dribbling or kicking a ball. A realistic simulation software chip and some low electricity electrodes might be enough to make a realistic enough experience.
Wearing this shoe for example you would press a button to start a 5 minute simulation. Then you would feel a tightening or a soft electric feedback from the top of the shoe as you move it forward as if you just kicked a ball and made it roll. The software in the shoe would calculate the time and location of the next time you should feel that ball. As you walk you will start to anticipate where the virtual ball is and enjoy the real-like experience.
The shoe can also measure a simulated kick of the virtual ball and even take into account direction and accuracy.
With basketball enthusiasts in mind a glove can simulate dribbling and even a ball throw. A throw can even indicate distance and correctness according to angle and strength.
