Infotrade

Would you pull a switch that sent a man to his death to save five others on a runaway trolley? It's a lovely day out, and you decide to go for a walk along the trolley tracks that crisscross your town. As you walk, you hear a trolley behind you, and you step away from the tracks. But as the trolley gets closer, you hear the sounds of panic -- the five people on board are shouting for help. The trolley's   brakes   have gone out, and it's gathering speed. You find that you just happen to be standing next to a side track that veers into a sand pit, potentially providing safety for the trolley's five passengers. All you have to do is pull a hand lever to switch the tracks, and you'll save the five people. Sounds easy, right? But there's a problem. Along this offshoot of track leading to the sandpit stands a   man   who is totally unaware of the trolley's problem and the action you're considering. There's no time to warn him. So by pulling the ...

This is a fascinating video that looks at the different ways that human beings perceive   time   and the effects that these perceptions have on our behavior: The video starts by identifying six ways to perceive time: 1) Looking at the past as “the good old times” (past positive) 2) Looking at the past as a time filled with regrets and failure (past negative) 3) Present Hedonistic – focused on maximizing immediate pleasure and minimizing immediate pain 4) Present Fated – things happen because of my conditions 5) Future oriented, working to succeed in the future. Resisting temptation. 6) Future oriented, focused on an afterlife Some fun facts that come from the video: - “Protestant countries have higher gross national products than catholic countries.” The protestant work ethic = work hard to succeed in the future. - In some countries (e.g. Italy) there are regions that have different time perspectives. In Italy, the north tends to be future-oriented,...

The art of captivating an audience can take years to develop. Since you don't have that long, here are some quick tips to improve overnight. You’ve been asked   to speak at an important event. It’s a great opportunity and you should be thrilled—but since you rarely speak, especially in a formal setting, all you can think about is bombing. Unfortunately, captivating an audience is definitely a skill that takes years to develop and hone. Since you don’t have that kind of time, here are five unconventional ways to become a better speaker almost overnight: 1. Share an emotional story.   Many speakers tell self-deprecating stories but few can resist including the Tom Cruise “ talk to me Goose ” moment (4:20, NSFW) when all your mistakes and poor decisions and ill-fated tower flybys over an Admiral’s daughter finally came to a head and transformed you into the wonderful person you are today. Admitting a mistake is great but not when used simply to show how far you’ve com...

If you're an entrepreneur today looking to start a company, there's a decent chance you've looked at an accelerator program. The proposition is compelling: funding, access to resources, events, fellowship with other entrepenreurs, and introductions to venture capitalists who can fund your growth. Given the popularity of accelerator programs, which are now popping up all over the world, Aziz Gilani, a director at VC firm DFJ Mercury,   looked at   29 accelerators in North America as part of a study for the Kauffman Fellows program. His goal: evaluate them based on the number of exits they've produced. His findings: put simply, "there were not enough exits to evaluate." Only two of the 29 accelerators Gilani looked at, YCombinator and TechStars, had any exits of note. What's more, nearly half (45%) of the accelerator programs Gilani evaluated didn't produce a single graduate whose startup went on to raise venture capital financing. Gilani's...

the OBJECTIVE Highlight executive compensation (as in, how much CEOs etc. are paid) in an interesting way. the ASSIGNMENT Create an infographic that explores how much corporate officers in this country are paid. The infographic could compare such data with related figures, like a company's profits, stock price, or the average salary of lower-level workers, or something else altogether. The winning entry will be the one that paints CEO salaries in the most interesting light. the REQUIREMENTS Send us an e-mail at projects[at]goodinc[dot]com with your infographic. It can be in any image format, but it should be high enough resolution that it can be printed at 300 dpi. Make sure to include your sources, and a brief (one or two sentence) introduction to your concept. We'll take submissions now through   September 30 . The winning entry will be announced on October 2, featured on our homepage, and printed in the next issue of GOOD. We'll send a GOOD T-shirt...

Electric polarization in a substance resulting from the application of mechanical stress – that’s what Piezoelectricity is. It’s used in these: Eco-Enegry Flooring System pads that use the pressure applied by people walking, running, rolling over to squeeze piezoelectric blocks. Upon squeezing, energy is generated and stored on a paper battery system. Then, THEN, the energy is used for, what else? LED lights! The pads are actually made up of 6 layers. On top, the upper housing is water resistant, sealed with ultra-sonic welding to prevent moisture from entering the lower levels. Next, there’s the OLED board to be programmed with letters, patterns, all kinds of stuff to be lit up by the power below. Below that, sponge material working as cushioning and distribution of force and pressure. Under that, the Piezoelectric board containing crystal boards to generatre the energy. Below that PCB board. Below that the Paper Battery to store the energy. Then the bottom, the lower housing, the...