ideas
![Brian Piercy](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="%230A66C2"><path d="M20.447 20.452H16.89v-5.569c0-1.328-.027-3.037-1.852-3.037-1.853 0-2.136 1.445-2.136 2.939v5.667H9.351V9h3.414v1.561h.046c.477-.9 1.637-1.85 3.37-1.85 3.601 0 4.267 2.37 4.267 5.455v6.286zM5.337 7.433a1.982 1.982 0 1 1 0-3.964 1.982 1.982 0 0 1 0 3.964zm1.782 13.019H3.555V9h3.564v11.452zM22.225 0H1.771C.792 0 0 .774 0 1.729v20.542C0 23.227.792 24 1.771 24h20.451C23.2 24 24 23.227 24 22.271V1.729C24 .774 23.2 0 22.222 0h.003z"/></svg>)
What do Swiss timepieces and sailing rigging systems have in common with orthopedic braces? More than you might think. The engineers at Osteoid drew inspiration from these precision mechanical systems to create Bracesys, a revolutionary approach to fracture immobilization that challenges everything we thought we knew about medical casts. Traditional plaster casts have remained largely
Blade Runner (1982) is a magnificent film, but there’s something odd about it. The heroine, Rachael, seems to be a beautiful young woman. In reality, she’s a piece of technology — an organic robot …
An analysis
Here are some of the most interesting things I learned this year.
The Power of Decentralized, Long-Range Networks for Adventure, Emergency, and Preparedness
AI’s trillion-dollar opportunity: Context graphs The last generation of enterprise software created a trillion-dollar ecosystem by becoming systems of record. Salesforce for…
Find Inc. is a Tokyo-based startup that provides a cloud service dedicated to lost items.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxN-MqM_RKI Smart speakers for kids feel like a gamble most parents would rather skip. The promise is educational content and hands-free help, but the reality often involves screens lighting up at bedtime, algorithms deciding what comes next, and a lingering suspicion that someone is cataloging every question your child shouts into the room. The tension
A new “rubbery CMOS” platform combines fully stretchable p- and n-type transistors, enabling skin-like logic circuits and a tactile “sensory skin” for wearables, implants, and soft robotics.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/1117858411 Traditional inkjet printers have become increasingly frustrating for anyone who values flexibility, repairability, or creative experimentation. Locked-down firmware prevents modifications, expensive proprietary cartridges drain budgets, and when something breaks, you're often better off buying a new printer than attempting repairs. This throwaway culture feels particularly wasteful when you consider how much useful technology gets
MIT researchers developed a method to design and fabricate reconfigurable antennas with adjustable frequency ranges. Users can adjust the frequency by squeezing, bending, or stretching the material, making the antenna more versatile for sensing and communication than traditional static antennas.
Can microfactories solve prefab's economic problem by inverting the factory model?
The 2020 commencement speech you’ll never hear
If you don’t mind massive ground antennas and fried birds, that is
Thermodynamic computing isn't just a rebrand of probabilistic computing
The material has 50% more tensile strength than steel with a strength-to-weight ratio that’s ten-times better.
Reading obituaries can boost creativity by exposing you to distant ideas, fueling the associations that lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
“Icebreaker of the Week” is a recurring feature of the newsletter The Art of Noticing (robwalker.substack.com). Some are icebreakers I made up or experienced or found somewhere; many are submitted by TAoN readers. After many requests, I am collecting & sharing all the icebreakers here. If you ...
You go to a tech expo like CES expecting to be absolutely wowed by phones, laptops, GPUs, cars, and all sorts of prominent product categories. I went to CES 2025 and was wowed by a mouse... yes, a wireless mouse that connects to your computer. Designed by the folks at Lenovo, the AdaptX Mouse easily
Today marks two years since I first set up an e-ink display in my mom’s apartment to help her live on her own with amnesia.
“They just kicked everybody out.”
How I built a transit dashboard with Rust, Skia, and an old Kindle
Psychologies, especially as represented in lists of biases, point out problems. Developing a pattern language would point us to solutions.
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Samir Mezrahi blasted the first outrageous house of Zillow Gone Wild out to the internet four years ago. Now he has 4 million followers and an HGTV show.
These six restored historic buildings are sending us.
Recycled materials contribute to a pollutant-neutralizing paint
A recent viral tweet by Micah Springut, founder of stone-carving startup Monumental Labs, argued that it will be cheaper to build buildings with stone than with steel or concrete within the next 10 years.
Diets, demographics, desertification: what trends aren’t growing the global cold chain?...
Companies like Lego and Mattel have divisions that seek out design concepts directly from collectors and other highly dedicated fan bases.
On why the free exchange of ideas is a complex breeding ground for truth, appealing falsehoods, and self-serving rationalisations.
Most people will die after three days without water.
The Coat Hinger is available for 30 days on Kickstarter! Go go go!! https://kickstarter.com/projects/simonegiertz/coat-hingers-foldable-coat-hangers Thank you so much for supporting my creative whims throughout the years. Can you believe it's been almost a decade?!
The commerce technology stack is changing. And the ability to move information from one system or platform to another is, perhaps, the essential feature mid-sized or enterprise businesses should look for in software providers.
Business models based on the compiled list at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4924647. I find the link very hard to browse, so I made a simple version in Markdown instead. · GitHub
Collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems.
A novel technique called Underground Gravity Energy Storage turns decommissioned mines into long-term energy storage solutions, thereby supporting the sustainable energy transition.
No need to create a fancy and modern website with hundreds of pages to make money online.
The unbundling of Excel is just as important as the unbundling of Craigslist. Here's what you need to know about the Excel Economy and how SaaS companies can take advantage of different verticals and use cases that Excel has dominated.
Eliciting product feedback elegantly is a competitive advantage for LLM-software. Over the weekend, I queried Google’s Bard, & noticed the elegant feedback loop the product team has incorporated into their product. I asked Bard to compare the 3rd-row leg room of the leading 7-passenger SUVs. At the bottom of the post is a little G button, which double-checks the response using Google searches. I decided to click it. This is what I would be doing in any case ; spot-checking some of the results.
At TEDGlobal 2010, author Matt Ridley shows how, throughout history, the engine of human progress has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas. It's not important how clever individuals are, he says; what really matters is how smart the collective brain is.
Success in nature and culture depends just as much on timing as it does on brilliance.
A new prototype compatible with a wide range of materials could grab a continuous supply of renewable energy from the air.
Tesla speculated electricity from thin air was possible – now the question is whether it will be possible to harness it on the scale needed to power our homes
Discover the practice of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Richard Feynman that has changed lives, including a method to find serendipitous answers to questions.
Artificial intelligence models have found their way into many people’s lives, for work and for fun.
The Art and Science of Not-Quite-Selling
SB Loses Shootout to Manhattan On Nov. 24 Stony Brook’s Women’s Basketball team faced the Manhattan Jasper’s. In a high scoring affair, Stony Brook lost by a final score of 74-68. The Jasper’s held the lead most of the game, including a game high 12 point lead at half (44-32).
Let's take a closer look at how nonprofit FORGE helps founders manufacture on the other side of town instead of the other side of the world.
Methodologies for understanding and measuring marketplace liquidity
Arthur Hayes rubbed success in the Feds’ face and got busted. Now he’s returning to a shell-shocked industry.
The latest wireless protocol ditches radiation and focuses on a new medium: your body.
Architect and poet Paolo Belardi traces the many conditions and situations that have inspired extraordinary ideas across the arts and sciences.
https://youtu.be/txci5QkpSWc Writing things by hand has become fashionable again despite the prevalence of computers and smartphones. In fact, some have embraced this "analog" system of note-taking exactly as a reaction to the dominant reliance on technology. Whatever the reason, this resurgence in demand for paper products might also have negative effects on the environment when
Four ways how to use drawing to get more ideas: Study, Explore, Develop, and Show. They will boost your creativity.
Forget tradition. Social media trends are now driving piñata sales in Mexico.
During the pandemic, Quinn Miller quit his sales job to start a vending machine side hustle. Today, his business brings in $30,000 a month, and he only has to work six hours a week on it. He shares how he got started.
The wave of enthusiasm around generative networks feels like another Imagenet moment - a step change in what ‘AI’ can do that could generalise far beyond the cool demos. What can it create, and where are the humans in the loop?
Data suggests brands can blunt public awareness of species loss when they use at-risk animals in ads. Should they pay?
What would be possible if hand-drawn sketches were programmable like spreadsheets?
Right now, each card costs me about $20 each, but with only a bit more scale, I think I can get that down to $10.
Introducing Wyldcard, a new paradigm for tabletop gaming, trading cards which can magically change as you play.
Let’s play a game. I’m thinking of a number from 1 to 100. You guess, and I tell you whether my number is higher or lower.
By exposing people to small doses of misinformation and encouraging them to develop resistance strategies, "prebunking" can fight fake news.
Junior defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham has turned to the courts after his cross-country move to pursue NIL opportunities went awry.
T-Mobile spends $304 million to win over 90% of available 2.5 GHz licenses.
Anytime you order nachos at a sporting event, there’s a good chance they came from a molten-cheese empire in San Antonio, Texas.
https://vimeo.com/721917759?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=125548125 One of the most wasteful and mostly non-biodegradable things we have lying around is food packaging. But if you buy your food or ingredients in "traditional" supermarkets or from the usual brands, you know that sustainable packaging is not their utmost priority. There are product designers and creators out there that are concerned about
Biden’s Cancer Moonshot aims to cut annual deaths in half. Scientists have the goal in their sights.
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It’d be much cheaper than lithium battery storage.
Chances are, you've met far more stupid cousins than you realize
Amid the endless tiny indignities of air travel, only one true retreat remains.
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Ever wonder how Lincoln Logs or Sea Monkeys found their way into 20th-century toy stores? Here are the little-known origins of 10 classic toys.
On asking people to consider stuff that sounds crazy
Tap into people's unspoken needs to create breakthrough innovations.
Google is promoting the growth of open source tools for designing semis. The science fiction version of this story leads to everyone designing chips, the reality is going to be much narrower, but s…
MIT engineers designed an adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images of the body. The stamp-sized device sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours.
In the last year, millions of people have bought a copy of 50 Shades. Here's the thing: they didn't all do it at the same time. Some people bought it when it was a self-published ebook. O…
Building a two-sided market is probably the hardest thing you can build as an entrepreneur. It's so hard that a few weeks ago, I organized a Marketplace
Early Happy Meals promoted the McDonaldland characters, which were introduced in 1971.
You can follow my latest writing at ScreenshotEssays.com
“Writing is thinking” is my favorite expression for how to work in a company. This annotated thread explores the value of writing.
We yearn for frictionless technological solutions. But people talking to people is still the way that norms and standards change.
Repair Café is here to help you fix your broken items. Join our community of skilled volunteers and get your belongings repaired in a sustainable way.
Let’s say you manage a product that helps small businesses support their customers. You’re looking to improve customers’ engagement and retention levels. There are two ideas are on the table:
With this many ideas to choose from, you have no excuse not to get started today with your own service business.
This makes too much sense not to try.
With close study, the genealogies of even the most original ideas can be traced
Reselling software can mean recurring revenue and great profit margins. But how do you choose a niche and find your first customers?
A century later, Nikola Tesla’s dream comes true
“ By the law of averages, if you reach four decades of work experience, then you know what it was like to be disrupted both personally and as a business.”
'We were telling the story of a phone that would change everything. So that’s what we had to build.'
Historically, “smart” TVs aren’t always particularly smart. They’ve routinely been shown to have lax security and privacy standards. They also routinely feature embedded OS …
Zapier has 3M+ users and generates $125M in ARR. At a $5B valuation, its fast-growing horizontal platform is unable to meet the demands of all of its customers. The increase of underserved Zapier customers presents an opportunity.
How data businesses start, and how they keep going, and growing, and growing.
Two inventors turned a failed experiment into an irresistibly poppable product that revolutionized the shipping industry
What's an idea? What sorts of ideas are there? And how to explain them once you have them?
SAP’s acquisition of Qualtrics shows how the shift in technology has changed business; it is a perfect example of using the Internet to one’s advantage.
Decentralizing freight transport and distribution can provide flexibility and increased efficiency, getting cargo closer to where it needs to go in a more timely manner while taking stress off of overloaded ports.
From blood banks and barcodes to the Super Soaker and the pizza box, here are the fascinating stories behind inventions that changed the world.
A growing number of companies are offering design tweaks for old Ikea furniture — and business is booming.
This is an article about juxting — coming up with ideas by randomly juxtaposing two things and seeing the ways they could relate to each…
The marketplace revolution is still just beginning and the enterprise gateway is the newest type of marketplace.
The ideas that influence us aren't always obvious. Here are ten that have shaped my life, that may have the power to change yours.
Some careers can be made on the back of a single, wonderful idea. We take a look at what that looks like, through Bill Gurley's VC career.
Talking out loud to oneself is a technology for thinking that allows us to clarify and sharpen our approach to a problem
Leadership Now is a leading source for leadership development and analysis. We believe that anyone can make a difference by leading from where they are.
DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.
Setting the Stage
Curated list of awesome open source healthcare software, libraries, tools and resources. - kakoni/awesome-healthcare
An introduction to forming hypothesis statements for product experimentation.
How are individual entrepreneurs (solopreneurs) building multi-million dollar companies? What can we learn from their stories? Read this report to find out.
How do creators find ideas to write about? Poets, artists, and authors alike have been wondering about the source of our inspiration for millennia. But what's the difference between inspiration and idea sex?
Radio stations in United States have evolved since their early twentieth-century origins. In 1920 8MK started operations in Detroit; after it, thousands of private and public radio have operated in the United States. The lists of radio stations in the US are organized in a number of ways; some of them are the following:
Meet the manufacturers capitalizing on 3D printing today, and find out how they are transforming their design and production workflows with additive.
A handbook for how to become an expert at framing problems.
Fast fashion is leading to a mountain of clothing being thrown away each year and has a huge impact on the environment, so can we turn our unwanted garments into something useful?
David shares 50 ideas that changed his life. Read here.
The most common question prospective startup founders ask is how to get ideas for startups. The second most common question is if you have any ideas for their startup. But giving founders an idea...
Curious about product design at Dropbox? Here’s a look at tools we use for solving problems, making decisions, and communicating ideas.
@mmcgrana: Patio11’s Law: The software economy is bigger than you think, even when you take into account Patio11’s Law.1 A few years ago, I woke up in Sunriver, OR, and went to make coffee. The house had one of those bed-and-breakfast-type coffee trays. Drip machine. A stack
‘Structured thinking’ is about building a big answer by asking many small questions
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Working backwards and breaking free from the norm exposes new and unique opportunities you probably haven’t considered.
So: To be clear, I don’t think we can really call COVID-19 itself a Black Swan event. Plenty of people saw it coming, in some form or another, and said so. If you asked people last year, “what will…
New advances in DNA technology — and new databases allowing law-enforcement searches — means more unsolved murder cases are being closed.
It's been said that ideas don't matter, and that only execution does. I wholeheartedly disagree. You need both to succeed, but you can only get so good...
The new documentary “The Booksellers” looks at the esoteric world of the antiquarian trade, and the passionate, eclectic and endangered characters who make it hum.
A list of ideas, in no particular order and from different fields, that help explain how the world works…
"We are sidestepping all of the scientific challenges that have held fusion energy back for more than half a century," says the director of an Australian company that claims its hydrogen-boron fusion technology is already working a billion times better than expected.
Matt Meyers spent two decades at Weyerhaeuser dealing with product engineering, manufacturing, software engineering, product development, sales and
A radiative cooling technology could help cut energy consumption in new buildings by nearly 70 percent—and significantly shave demand in existing structures, too.
Brighten someone's day -- send a free postcard.
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?My name is Gonzalo and with my partner Gala, we run a business called Sheedo. Our main product is a paper made out of waste cotton from the clothing industry, so we don’t cut trees or use toxic chemicals in our production line. But what...
An MIT Sloan Ph.D. candidate discovered what turned skilled hobbyists into entrepreneurs.
5 frameworks to help Founders coming up with a new startup idea that is the most likely to lead to a transformative company.
Babies start laughing before they can speak, and this delicious sound just may serve as a powerful source of human communication and connection, says psychology researcher Caspar Addyman.
Robert R. Taylor is a name you’ve probably never heard before. But this serial entrepreneur made his mark on the world of business by coming up with several products you are almost certainly very familiar with. Today we’re going to talk about, on the surface, the most boring of those- liquid hand soap. Something you can thank Mr. Taylor and [...]
I’ve been tinkering with different startup ideas and needed a good checklist to think through them. There are great templates for this already: The YC application, Amazon’s internal press release, and Sequoia’s Writing a Business Plan. I found myself mixing and tweaking these templates because they don’t exactly match my model of the world, so I wrote up my own list.
Your phone increasingly knows what you’re taking a picture of. And which apps you have installed. So…
Nine interesting markets to track in 2019.
Why we should ask people to submit problems, not ideas
Chris Dixon's blog.
Insider gathered advice from successful entrepreneurs on turning passions into profitable businesses.
Hello! Who are you and what are you working on?My name is Ross Lohr, and I’m a co-founder of Project Repat. We make it easy and affordable for customers to turn their memorable t-shirts into a one of a kind, custom t-shirt quilt backed with cozy fleece. People buy quilts from Project Re...
It's not a trick question: You can make a battery out of concrete by storing gravitational potential energy.
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Maciej Cegłowski found fans where they were, and won their hearts
Editor’s note: This article by now-a16z general partner Alex Rampell was originally published in 2012 in TechCrunch. The biggest ecommerce opportunity today involves taking offline services and offering them for sale online (O2O commerce). The first generation of O2O commerce was driven by discounting, push-based engagements, and artificial scarcity. The still-unfulfilled opportunity in O2O today is tantamount to...
Hello! Who are you and what are you working on?My name is Raymond Furgason, and I am the Creator and Founder of Carbage Can. The Carbage Can is a car trash can. It’s so easy to gather common trash in your vehicle - tissues, food wrappers, receipts, coffee cups… the list is endless. We’r...
From the makers of this incredibly clever wearable memo, the Wemo is back with an entirely new look. The Wemo 2 takes on a flat form that you can stick on any surface, transforming it into a doodle or memo pad in seconds. Slap it on your laptop to take notes during meets or on
An “operating system” for power could double the efficiency of the grid.
Master programming by recreating your favorite technologies from scratch. - codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x
Author’s Note: This article was written over 60 hours with love and care using the blockbuster mental model. If you like my writing style…
People often credit their ideas to individual "Eureka!" moments. But Steven Johnson shows how history tells a different story. His fascinating tour takes us from the "liquid networks" of London's coffee houses to Charles Darwin's long, slow hunch to today's high-velocity web.
This course provides a hands-on introduction to the resources for designing and fabricating smart systems, including CAD/CAM/CAE; NC machining, 3-D printing, injection molding, laser cutting; PCB layout and fabrication; sensors and actuators; analog instrumentation; embedded digital processing; wired and wireless communications. This course also puts emphasis on learning how to use the tools as well as understand how they work.
The new Muttville shelter is a high-design open-concept space, making the rescue experience more approachable and fun for both dogs and humans.
What do you get when you add YouTube seed money, state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and a consumer-first sales model? A wheelchair that could upend the mobility equipment industry.