What’s In This Issue?
Honda Creates Ultimate Concept Toy To Put Babies To Sleep
Most of us who have had babies can recall a time when we desperately strapped our little one into a car seat in an effort to induce sleep with a short road trip. Now Honda is making it easier, with a toy that features the sound of 37 different car engines. If only it were a real product instead of just a concept.
How Japan's "Hunky Dads" Are Changing Parenting
As Japan contends with many demographic changes from its aging population and lower birth rates, this government sponsored "Ikumen Project" is an interesting social experiment designed to get men more involved in parenting. It is too early to tell if it is working, but the project is a worthwhile idea and this article is a good read.
What If The College Your Kids Attend Doesn't Matter?
Given the widespread increase in stress levels among young people, this article asks that valid question about whether it is truly worth it - particularly when it comes to putting intense pressure on kids to get into the "right" college. At a moment when many are in the midst of applying to college, it's a timely read.
Story Of The Week:
7 Reasons Why The Future Of Humanity Looks So Hopeful
Over the past year I have seen two conflicting stories evolve in the media. The first is about the quantifiable evil activities of many tech corporations - like Amazon treating workers poorly or Uber creating a toxic masculine culture or Facebook standly idly by while others misuse their data. This Silicon Valley powered evil was chronicled in several powerful books this year, including Lab Rats, Bad Blood, Bullshit Jobs, Technically Wrong and others.
The second story, though, is far more hopeful and has 7 reasons to feel a sense of hope. It includes sobering analysis about how (1) fears of overpopulation may be overblown, and genius ideas for (2) putting sensors on bumblebees to improve agriculture and help us study the world. Scientists have figured out how to (3) plant clones of ancient redwood trees, measure planets that were (4) once far too distant to detect, develop a new powder that can (5) capture carbon dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere, use drones to (6) deliver life saving vaccines and even (7) build a prosthetic limb that allows kids to be master chefs.
Even as social media and ecommerce threatens to make us greedier and lonelier, other technology is making life better and safer. Yes, it's a contrast and perhaps I'm being too hard on the big tech brands. But after spending the week reading and collecting all these stories, I am feeling deeply optimistic about the future. I hope you're feeling the same thing.
