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During his campaign for presidency, President Barack Obama talks to YouTube News Editor Steve Grove about his technology and innovation platform. According to President Obama, technology should be integrated into American government in order to enhance democracy.

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In a YouTube interview, conducted by YouTube News Editor Steve Grove on November 14, 2007, back when President Barack Obama was still the Senator of Illinois, explains how important technology is for the American government. According to President Obama, “technology really gives us the opportunity to make progress that we haven’t seen in a very long time.” During his campaign for presidency, President Obama utilized technology to enhance his campaign and gain notoriety through his own YouTube channel, MySpace profile, and personal website. As the Senator of Illinois, President Obama stressed the importance of connecting directly with the people; in fact, he had over 15,000 policy ideas submitted to his website from average voters.

Why is technology so important to a campaign or to a government? President Obama doesn’t see technology as something separate from other issues. Instead, he sees technology as a tool to help solve other problems such as health care and education. Furthermore, technology allows the government to be more transparent, and more accessible to the average American. One of President Obama’s best attributes is his ability to use modern trends and technologies to his advantage. If the goal of a campaign is to reach the most people possible, why not use all that technology has to offer?

In the interview President Obama talks about his future plans for the American government, such as implementing a Chief Technology Officer, and conducting online chats directly with the American people. Although some of these ideas have not yet become a reality, President Obama raises many significant points about technology. His willingness to use technology in order to achieve other goals illustrates how science and technology actually play important roles in public policy.

More Info:

• http://www.barackobama.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziSsCXx7JeM

Sigmund Freund’s intellectual curiosity has rendered him a profound connoisseur of the human life and psyche. Here are five of his wisdoms that refer to the future and human existence, ranging from love to culture, and from his own thoughts to the relation with others.

Sigmund (Shlomo in Hebrew, which means “the wise”) was the first son of Amalie Nathanson, the third wife of Jacob Freud, a Hebrew wool merchant from Galicia. When Sigmund was only four years old, the family had to move to Vienna in 1860 due to political-economic upheavals. Jacob was a freethinker although he had studied the writings of the Jewish tradition, and did not give his son an orthodox education. Sigmund passionately immersed himself in reading and studying the Bible at an early age, and was fascinated by Jewish history. This fascination would greatly influence him later in life. At the time, Vienna was a city full of strong anti-Semitic sentiment, which was a source of great limitation. At the same time, however, this did not stop Sigmund’s inspiring thoughts.

Things did not become much easier with the passing of time. Sigmund was dedicated to his studies, but he graduated behind schedule (in March, 1881), because the life of a student was too constricting. He disliked the way the teachers taught their classes, and it left him feeling unsatisfied and critical. His thoughts and curiosities needed to be free to inquire about the aspects of human existence that so often attracted his attention.

His sensibility of thought was not easy for his wife Martha, with whom he had six children. He saw her in the role of wife and mother, but not as a lover and confidant. This drove him to find comfort elsewhere, causing many problems in his relationships. Sigmund’s life was one indeed fully lived, in every aspect; an experience of a grand mind that serves as a great providers of wisdom and warnings for the future.

More Info:

• http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/freud.html

Design does not have to be seen solely as creativity applied to the necessities of consumerism. Instead, it should be the vehicle and the expression of a type of thinking, of a formula of creativity that is built on three axes: desirability, feasibility and viability. The future of design must be oriented as such, as the outlook of new designers shift to collaborative “design thinking”.

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In today’s society, it is not farfetched to say that consumerism dictates many aspects of our lives. It is also not surprising that the most profitable products on the market are the most aesthetically pleasing and innovative, thanks to designers whose job it is to make products sell. Tim Brown, the CEO of the firm IDEO, a design and innovation consultancy, believes that this concept needs to change.

Tim Brown wonders when design got so small. By focusing on a design or a singular product, design has become pigeonholed into simply being a tool of consumerism. Design has become incremental and does not make the impact that it could. This does not mean, however, that making products easier to use or more attractive is a pointless endeavor; instead Brown stresses the need for “design thinking” in order to see the bigger picture.

Design thinking begins with integrative thinking, which is the ability to exploit opposing ideas and constraints to create new solutions. According to Brown, design thinking, when applied to design, is accomplished by balancing desirability (what humans needs), technical feasibility, and economic viability. Instead of focusing on the design of a singular object, we should be using design thinking as an approach to solve problems and create new solutions. Brown also believes that smaller design is a recent phenomenon and that design now stands for image, fashion, and aesthetics, when it should stand for innovation.

Is design getting big again? Looking around at the latest changes in the world, one would be inclined to say yes. Design needs to start with what humans need, not just what new objects would look good on someone’s shelf. Thanks to current technology, companies are now able to use design to help tackle world problems by taking into account diverse cultures. While design is useful in both a large and smaller realm, it should start once again living up to its full potential.

More Info:

• http://designthinking.ideo.com/
• http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_urges_designers_to_think_big.html

According to Pete Alcorn, we are only 150 years away from a new Enlightenment period due to a decrease in population and raised wages and opportunities. We should be looking towards the future with more optimism than ever before.

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This is Pete Alcorn’s theory. At the beginning of his explanation, he admits that he was once a follower of Malthus, but now he understands the need to overcome this way of thinking. In 1798, the English economist published An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it affects the future improvement of society, in which he explained his theory that population was held within resource limits by two types of checks: positive ones, which raised the death rate, and preventative ones, which lowered the birth rate. The positive checks included hunger, disease and war; the preventative checks, abortion, birth control, prostitution, postponement of marriage, and celibacy. Population, according to his theory tended to grow in a geometric progression.

Malthus’ theory, while seemingly negative, is not without justification. Pete Alcorn, at a conference held by TED (a non-profit group that organizes events and conferences), invites us to step away from Malthus and embrace his theory on the new Enlightenment. According to economic models, a declining population has two main benefits. One benefit is a reduction in land prices, which lifts a burden off of the poorer populace. Secondly, a drop in population brings about a scarcity of labor, which then creates wage increases. After 30% to 60% of Europe’s population was killed during the Black Death in the 14^th century, Europe saw these changes come about, including technological innovation and the birth of the middle class. The immense decline in population gave rise to a forward social-economic movement in Europe: the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Pete Alcorn, the head of podcasting for Apple, believes that we are only 150 years away from another Enlightenment period.

Alcorn points out that according to the UN’s population data, the world’s population is expected to top off at about 10 billion in the late century. It is also projected that the population will most likely begin to decline afterwards. Although it seems natural to assume that a declining population is a negative thing for our society, it is, in fact, going to lead to positive social movements.

More often than not, we tend to romanticize the past, while fearing the evitable downfall of the future. Instead, Alcorn believes that we need to start romanticizing the future, for he foresees only positive changes for our world. One should consider, however, that it is crucial that people keep a positive outlook; transitions in any form are dangerous times and often lead to rash decision-making. With all of our technological and scientific advancements, coupled with a declining population, we should look forward to the fact that our future generations will be able to benefit from the 22^nd century Enlightenment.

More Info.:

• http://www.ted.com/speakers/pete_alcorn.html
• http://www.ted.com/talks/pete_alcorn_s_vision_of_a_better_world.html