Category: Analysis

Analysis articles.

  • Social Contribution Inequality

    Social Contribution Inequality

    There has been a lot of talk in the past decades about income inequality and for good reason. Various factors contribute to income inequality, such as the political orientation of a country or its economic status. But at the root of unfair reward systems lies a way of thinking that associates people with the immediate economic benefit that they bring to a group. In other words: no long-term strategy.

    Such reasoning made more sense in a past when a famine could threaten the survival of an entire culture. Even though we live in quite different times (many countries are approaching post-scarcity economy^), our instinct hasn’t quite caught up yet. This is not entirely surprising given how fast we’ve evolved in the past centuries. Our “firmware” hasn’t had enough time to adapt. So, we’re still prone to terribly pragmatic and survivalist decision-making. Social contribution inequality is the result of this style of thinking. It is the poor rewarding of some members of society because others do not immediately see them as being profitable.

    Valuing the unexpected

    As history shows, the leading figures that have shone the light upon our evolution have come from the most unexpected of backgrounds. It is not only the producers (the “immediately profitable people”), but also the inventors and artists who have contributed into bringing us here, alive and prosperous. Therefore, we have a lot to gain by updating our social platforms to favor and nurture everybody. Otherwise, the next Leonardo Da Vinci, Nicola Tesla or Albert Einstein may never get the opportunity to change the course of history.

    On the other side, we have those that we consider parasites, or those that, due to a lack of education or opportunity, have turned to crime. How many of them could have found something useful to do, had society given them the means to? And how many people actually turn to crime precisely because the educational system hasn’t found an economically-viable label to slap onto their foreheads?

    There are many people who, despite not having a job, are heavily engaged in ensuring the well-being of a community. These are people who care, who help, who volunteer for all sorts of projects. Often, incredible and unexpected ideas spring from such individuals. Today, I think we are wise enough to understand that the smartest investment that we can do is in our society.

    Getting rid of the stigma

    The hardest but most important step that we, as a society, might have to take in order to usher a new age in cooperation, is to release humans from the social stigma of not having met certain social obligations. This is not to say that we should do away with education or jobs. But, respecting people and their potential without obligation or strings attached is a fantastic motivator. Humans have an inherent desire to improve themselves. Make room for this to happen and watch in awe.

    However, this will require extensive social changes. Some countries in Europe are in an advantageous situation when it comes to their ability to implement the next-generation social infrastructure. Other countries will need a long time to twist their outdated mentalities into groundbreaking new directions. It might be, however, the only way any nation can remain competitive in the digital age.

    As a bit of a side-note here: smaller entities and organizations will outrun sprawling bureaucratic nation-states. The sooner governments realize this, the better for all of us. The race for supremacy in the 22nd century has already begun.

    Appreciating art

    Artists improve our quality of life. The importance and reach of this sort of contribution is beyond imagination. Beside the revenue generated by artistic events and tourism, art has inspired people to do things that have furthered our civilization. Just think of how many inventions originated from the ideas of artists. Let’s take Star Trek for example. It is a highly profitable franchise, but has also served as an inspiration for several revolutionary technologies.

    Yet, artists are among the worst compensated members of society. In some countries, even in Europe, children are warned against trying to become writers or painters because “you can’t make a decent living off of that”. This is a revolting state of affairs. We’re surrounded by the creations of countless generations before us, which should stand testament to the everlasting power of art.

    Solutions

    No country has yet implemented Unconditional Basic Income^, but it would be a step in the right direction. However, this will still not remove the stigma placed on people who do not seem to contribute to society in any way. But are they really not contributing? Many heroes have risen from anonymity. Countless artists were inspired by people who we might never know.

    The discussion surrounding Universal Basic Income is still too heated. Perhaps we should take the middle path and create an array of new “jobs”. This might appease those people that are not yet ready to understand that the concept of a “job” is eventually going to be outdated^.

    There should be no need to enroll in a political party or in a corporation. These jobs should be done in the service of the community one belongs to. In this way, we may find fine organizers, inspiring leaders, enterprising spirits and who knows what other synergies of talents?

    Once we’ve taken this step, we can continue by offering education in all sorts of such jobs. People could be trained to become better volunteers or leaders or whatever activity they can find for themselves in the context of the current technological revolution. It is not outrageous to think we can trust most people to find a purpose for themselves.

    Somebody wants to play games all day? Fine, there’s a huge market for that. Here’s some education on how it can be done better. The only reason for restricting education is because an educated, independent population is a huge threat for those that wish to manipulate it.

    This isn’t going to erase criminality or provide an instant fix for all of our society’s problems, but it will probably improve the quality of life. With the proper education, humanity is ready for the next step. Luckily, the digital age is the perfect ramp to launch us in the right direction. Now the question is: will we use this ramp wisely?

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00700-SocialContributionInequality-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00700-SocialContributionInequality-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Social Contribution Inequality’ desc=’Social contribution inequality is the poor rewarding of some members of society because others do not immediately see them as being valuable.’]

  • Smart Contact Lenses Will Soon Be upon Us

    Smart Contact Lenses Will Soon Be upon Us

    After Google experimented with integrating a glucose level sensor^ on a contact lens, it was only a matter of time before we would see more innovation in this field. A recent patent filing from Sony describes the intention of putting a camera inside a contact lens^.

    Privacy concerns

    While this toy won’t exactly be invisible –at least not at first – the privacy implications are quite serious. We’re still at least a few years away from market availability, but I imagine that after several product cycles, such a camera could reach a pretty good recording resolution. Coupled with wireless transmission to a storage device, people will eventually be able to record everything they see, everywhere they go.

    To be sure, there are many advantages to having this sort of camera hidden in plain sight – pun intended. For example, it could be used as a self-defense mechanism because it would give the possibility to apprehend criminals and present irrefutable evidence against them in court. There’s also the enormous convenience of being able to record important moments or useful information at the blink of an eye.

    When it comes to privacy, as our technology progresses, it will be increasingly difficult to detect and prohibit the use of this sort of devices. Evidently, in the wrong hands, such gizmos can also do a lot of harm. We will likely have to adapt to these changes and hope that the path they lead us on will be a good one.

    All this reminds me of an episode^ from the fascinating “Black Mirror” series, where people use a similar technology to record and relive any part of their lives. Such discoveries will drastically change our culture and society.

    Potential

    There are quite a few challenges that will have to be overcome, such as powering the contact lens. We are already able to wirelessly power devices, but let’s also not forget that the human body itself is also capable of generating and conducting electricity and therefore even data.

    The potential of the contact lens as a carrier for various technologies is enormous. When manufacturers will finally be able to integrate even a half-decent display on a contact lens, we’ll witness the birth of an extremely lucrative business segment. The first steps towards this breakthrough have already been taken^.

    So far, all our experiments regarding augmented reality have involved clunky glasses. In seven to fifteen years, we might be able to have our smartphones implanted in our eyes and ears. Many will find this prospect rather scary, but many also consider their grandparents to be woefully out of touch with technology. It might soon be our turn to be out of touch.

    Conclusion

    I think that we can say with a fair degree of certainty that smart contact lenses will flourish in the years to come. At least until we’re able to feed information directly to the optic nerve, their form factor makes them the holy grail of augmented reality. Perhaps they’ll never reach the high performance of larger devices, but I imagine contact lenses will become one of the most important “wearable” technologies of the 20s.

    As nanotechnology progresses, humans are bound to integrate more and more devices with their bodies. I don’t know if this is good or bad. It’s up to us as a society to correctly negotiate this upcoming technological leap.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/00580-SonyWantsToPutCameraOnEyeballs-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/00580-SonyWantsToPutCameraOnEyeballs-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Smart Contact Lenses Will Soon Be upon Us’ desc=’A recent patent filing from Sony describes the intention of putting a camera inside a contact lens.’]

  • The Intellectual Diet

    The Intellectual Diet

    Just like the body is what it eats, the mind is what it experiences. This is a truth with vast and grave implications when it comes to the types of entertainment we invest our time in. Entertainment is a highly efficient social programming tool because, when entertained, the mind is open and relaxed. While in this state, it is easier for toxic messages to escape our scrutiny and infiltrate our thoughts.

    A simple example about how entertainment has negatively affected our society is the impressive range of stereotypes it helped create. We need look no further than the objectification of both women and men. The silent enforcement of ideal body types starts as early as the first cartoons kids watch and continues throughout the adult life, slowly dripping into our minds from movies to magazine covers and commercials.

    Desensitize through violence

    Let’s start with a short thought experiment. Let’s imagine a person that has almost never seen other people getting hurt, shot or killed in movies, games or news. Now let’s say a military power decides to invade another country and the news suddenly broadcasts a scene of carnage. How would such a person react?

    I’m pretty sure that in most cases, outrage would be a likely reaction. Politicians would suddenly have a much harder time selling the wars that the weapon manufacturers so badly want to happen. It’s quite likely that we’d see a drop in violent crime as well. This is quite a simple conclusion based on the fact that the mind is shaped by what it experiences and what is obviously passing as “entertainment” these days.

    To be clear: I do not propose that we censor violent movies or games or that we don’t show the news as it is. As I grew up, I was exposed to plenty of violent entertainment and realities. I still play a few rather gory computer games. What I’m saying is that perhaps we need to take into consideration the quantities in which we absorb such imagery.

    I believe that one of the purposes of this seriously biased towards violence entertainment style we are subjected to is to desensitize us to murder. It’s also easy profits for whoever produces such intellectual drugs: the brain is easily hooked on this sort of stimulation, because it taps into the primal, savage survival instinct. Like any drug, it is needed in increased quantities as the mind develops tolerance for it. We start our children with gun toys and cartoon battles and as they grow up, they’re left craving for more of the same.

    Violence is present in all forms of art, but more recently, movies and video games have spread it more efficiently than ever. All this happens in a day and age when the race for survival is clearly not a matter of “dog eat dog” anymore. Given our vast resources and technology, it is not necessary that we massacre each other, or other beings for that matter.

    Creating fake ambitions

    Our will to survive is at the base of yet another important area of our behavior. This is probably even easier to tap into than the areas of our brain that are pleased by violent entertainment. You might have guessed it already: I’m referring to the desire to procreate. Sex is an excellent tool for selling products and creating fake ambitions (be thin, smell good, use certain brands to gain the approval of the opposite sex).

    Unfortunately, the content shown on TV or “official” channels on the Internet is often seen as a sort of authority, even when it comes to advertisement. This is completely counter-intuitive, since advertisers are anything but altruistic. Most advertised products don’t have anything to do with improving our health; quite the opposite, actually.

    Just a couple of decades ago we were advertising cancer. I’m quite sure most of the “beauty chemicals” advertised today are dangerous, although, hopefully, not quite as dangerous as the additives they’ve been stuffing our tobacco with.

    Of course, it all goes way beyond advertisement. A lot of the entertainment beamed at us can be considered cultural weaponry, which is used to make us adopt certain lifestyles. There are many reasons for this, ranging from something as simple as profits (making us buy various products) down to truly dangerous society-changing opinion building (such as shaping political preferences, ideological orientation or religious affiliation).

    The reason I use the word “weaponry” is because we are dealing here with actions that tamper with our minds, ultimately causing damage to our society. Perhaps the social standards haven’t advanced yet to the stage where we can own-up to the fact that we’re producing a lot of mind-corrupting junk, but this doesn’t mean it’s not time to start exposing it for what it is.

    Solutions

    The best solution I can imagine (and have started applying for myself) is adopting an intellectual diet. However, this must be voluntary. We can’t go about it by declaring “war on violence”. Censorship is not the way. Prohibition never worked and there isn’t any proof that it ever will. Humans’ desire to be free is too powerful.

    We should aim towards increasing awareness regarding toxic entertainment. Most people I approached regarding this subject have agreed that the vast majority of movies being shown in cinemas today are utter junk. For me, this is a sign that we are already aware of the problem. The only and most important other step necessary is taking action and rejecting the content that abuses and insults our intellect.

    Therefore, content creators should be encouraged to gradually improve their output and use it to educate the public. If we – as a society – decide that it is important to surround ourselves with positive art forms, I have little doubt that it is possible, within a couple of decades, to witness a pivotal change in our collective consciousness.

    This change should not be seen as a threat to the economy, but rather as an opportunity to explore new challenges. If anything, humans are inventive. As with any evolutionary changes, new opportunities for profit will present themselves. Yes, a change in the intellectual environment could prove fatal for some economic entities, but then again, we don’t live in the jungle anymore so I’m quite hopeful nobody will die of hunger because of this.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/00421-TheIntellectualDiet-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/00421-TheIntellectualDiet-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Intellectual Diet’ desc=’Just like the body is what it eats, the mind is what it experiences. This is a truth with vast and grave implications when it comes to the types of entertainment we invest our time in.’]

  • How the Stock Market Drives Companies Insane

    How the Stock Market Drives Companies Insane

    In the past decade, we’ve witnessed countless cases of companies breaking the law and harming the environment in their frenetic quest for profits. The most recent high profile case is Volkswagen’s cheating in the emissions scandal^. Or was the toxic spill from a mine in Brazil^ worse? In case we’re undecided, perhaps the disastrous explosion in China^ can take the prize? All of these happened in the space of four months in 2015.

    Now, just think about how many companies get away with extremely dangerous practices just because we haven’t caught them or because disaster hasn’t struck yet. I believe there is an explanation for these behaviors. And, as it is often the case, understanding the causes of an undesired behavior can give us clues about how we can change it.

    A life-form analogy

    Profit is the motivating force behind a company’s decisions. Following a natural tendency, the individuals that have teamed up to form a commercial entity share the desire for prosperity. This collaboration between individuals is similar to the association of more cells that constitute a multi-cellular organism. Companies can therefore be seen as a sort of life-form. The environment where many of the larger life-forms exist is called the stock market.

    One of the most important changes that the stock market has seen in the past decades is the worrying drop in stock ownership time. Actually, this has outright plummeted in recent years. What this means is that companies have less time to prove themselves to investors and, often, this negatively impacts their long-term strategies.

    The stock market is forcing corporations to make a profit as large and as soon as possible, lest investors simply pull the plug and move on to the next “growth opportunity”. This childish attitude on the part of the investing public forces many economic entities into a ruthless quest for profit. The alternative is death and, like any life-form, a company will do everything in its power to survive.

    As with all ecosystems, there is a relationship of interdependence between companies and the stock market. While companies adapt to their environment, they also have the power to change that environment. The problem is that, for the time being, there’s a lot of greed and paranoia swirling inside this ecosystem.

    The rules of the game

    If the stock market influences the companies’ behavior, it stands to reason that skillful changes in the market could help companies to become friendlier. The main issue in the investment game is that most of the players are, to put it mildly, uneducated. Fewer investors than ever hold a company’s stock for more than a year. Like hyper-active children, most of them stumble into speculation, fattening the paychecks of brokers and stressing out everybody in the market.

    With or without the stock market, companies are bound to sometimes play dirty due to their desire for profit. Unfortunately, the lack of proper investment principles on the part of the public becomes yet another reason to adopt bad policies and take massive risks.

    A ruthless stock market may mean better profits for a while, but it’s us breathing in Volkswagen’s fumes; losing our planet under mountains of sludge; having our life blown to bits due to the fact that some manager decided to improve his bottom line by neglecting the security of a warehouse that contains 900 tons of ammonium nitrate. I’m referring, of course, to the three articles that are linked in the first paragraph.

    We’ve built a jungle-like environment for these corporate life-forms, and we’re reaping the rewards. As companies are becoming more and more disconnected from humanity, our values and ideals become secondary – all bow in front of the throne of the quarterly financial statements. It’s survival of the fittest.

    Solutions

    The most obvious way to break this vicious circle we’re in is, of course, education; not only financial education, but also psychological education. Financially, investors need to understand the concept of long-term investments. Psychologically, they need to be prepared to weather the ups and downs of the stock market and to hold onto their assets (provided that those assets are of a company that the investor truly cares about, has vetted and has faith in its long-term vision).

    Certain changes of policy must be applied on the companies’ end as well. We should take back our governments from the greedy claws of lobbyists. Through the increased independence thus gained, we can facilitate the creation of a strict code of conduct for corporations, enforceable through larger fines and increased regulation.

    Some will cry that this will stifle innovation. Perhaps it will, to a certain degree, which is why any such measures must be taken together with the companies and the people that brought their success. Let us not forget that these entities are comprised of our brothers and sisters.

    Too many times have we, as a species, decided that we know best when we intervene in an ecosystem. We must heed the delicate balance of the stock market and the companies that inhabit it. Now is the time for dialogue, for finding a harmonious way to co-exist with these corporations, before they decide that they don’t have any need for humans. Even if we don’t manage to create true artificial intelligence, automated processes will continue to make humans obsolete.

    Note 1: For those interested in the stock market, I can recommend one of the best books I’ve ever read on the subject of financial and psychological education in investment: Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor”. Warren Buffett is one of the author’s students.

    Note 2: I’ve entered the stock market roughly 8 months ago and so far, never sold a single stock. I’ve invested in two established, dividend-paying North-American semiconductor companies, one major software company and a promising (but high-risk) computer games studio in Sweden.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/00350-StockMarketDrivesCompaniesInsane-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/00350-StockMarketDrivesCompaniesInsane-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’How the Stock Market Drives Companies Insane’ desc=’In the past decade, we've witnessed countless cases of companies breaking the law or harming the environment in their frenetic quest for profits.’]

  • The Virtual Reality Revolution

    The Virtual Reality Revolution

    Every single person that I’ve witnessed give virtual reality a try has been floored by the experience – especially the ones that didn’t see it coming. Even those who knew what it’s all about came back with amazed expressions once they took off the HMD (head mounted display) for the first time. I placed my bets on the fact that virtual reality is going to skyrocket faster than most people expect it to.

    The rather expensive hardware required will definitely make some customers think twice. However, there already are plenty of gamers out there who own powerful hardware. They will be joined by early adopters who will make sure that they can properly run most of the VR experiences. They will show these programs to relatives and friends, which will feed the wave of excitement. And so, a new technological revolution will begin.

    The next step in the evolution of entertainment

    Virtual reality is more than most people expect it to be. This is why, when referring to VR content, I write about “experiences” or “programs”. Whoever thinks that this about games or movies couldn’t be further from the truth.

    What we have here is a whole new dimension for experiencing art, one which wraps a world around us rather than showing it to us through a small rectangular window. Indeed, for now, the field of view of most HMDs is quite narrow (110 degrees), but 2nd generation devices such as StarVR^, with its 210 degrees of coverage, will bring large improvements in that regard.

    Expect the 2nd generation to show up in 2017, probably along with the 1st generation HoloLens – Microsoft’s augmented reality HMD. When exactly in 2017? That, remains to be determined by the level of hysteria to be reached during the 2016 holiday season once people realize the amount of fun they can have with these things.

    The first generation of HMDs faces other limitations too. One of the worst is the requirement to be plugged into the PC – with the exception of smartphone-powered HMDs, which are not nearly as convincing in terms of graphical quality as their PC-powered cousins. I expect plenty inventive solutions to address such problems in the next couple of years.

    Despite any limitations, I continue to believe that VR and AR will take off faster than expected. Almost everybody that I’ve discussed with is perfectly happy to tolerate a few temporary problems, given what they’ll be getting in return. It’s hard to understand the potential of VR without experiencing it, but let’s just say that it’s a step forward at least as big as from paper to radio or from radio to TV.

    Impressive potential for innovation

    Today, there’s a very important difference compared to when the newspaper, radio or TV appeared. That difference is called “technology proficiency”. In this age, there are millions of people able to create digital art. And then there’s this thing called “the Internet”, which means that we are all but a few clicks away from enjoying the work of some talented young team toiling away in a garage across the ocean.

    The reason why VR & AR will spread faster than expected is that the emergence of a new medium for expressing our creativity will usher in a staggering amount of innovation and original art. The transition from 2D to 3D graphics will seem like a baby step in comparison. There’s an army of engineers and content creators out there, the likes of which this Earth has never seen before.

    They’ve made gloves^ that can not only allow the precise tracking of hand movements in VR, but also showcase our first try at feeling objects in the imaginary world. There’s even a suit^ with temperature controls! There’s eye tracking^. There’s spatial awareness^. There’s mobility^. And all this happened in less than three years. Such a density of innovation completely dwarfs anything we’ve seen during previous technological leaps.

    By now, a lot of companies have realized what’s at stake. They are investing a lot of money into making this technological revolution happen, because if it does, it will fuel demand for entertainment and the hardware to power it. Manufacturers of video cards are especially ecstatic about this area, but pretty much all companies involved in producing PC components should probably get their champagnes ready.

    Should we line ourselves up for pre-orders?

    Despite my obvious enthusiasm towards this technology, the answer to this question is a definite NO. I’ve found an article that does an excellent job of explaining why. There is only one matter that the author hasn’t emphasized enough: the amount of high quality VR content is still quite low. I would recommend waiting at least until the 2016 holiday season before jumping in. By then, a lot of bugs will be worked out and more content will be available.

    Don’t pre-order any HMD:

    http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/222843-why-you-shouldnt-pre-order-an-oculus-rift^

    We’re less than two months away before tens of thousands of customers will receive their Oculus Rifts, the HMD most likely to reach retail availability first. Very soon after, the Vive Pre will follow. These first representatives of the high-end VR experience will open the door for many others. Personally, I’m probably going to order my HMD after November 2016. I haven’t made up my mind regarding the brand. I’ll be patient and read a few dozens of reviews before parting with my money.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/00240-TheVRRevolution-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/00240-TheVRRevolution-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Virtual Reality Revolution’ desc=’Every single person that I've witnessed give virtual reality a try has been floored by the experience – especially those that didn't see it coming.’]