I decided to label this post under many categories because after going over several things I found I couldn’t quite decide on which one was better than all of them. So I figured why not post a collection of things I found that are quite informative and interesting.
Awards
MacArthur Foundation just released this year’s list of “genius” grant winners, with 12 men and 9 women. Their work spans a range of fields from film (The Act of Killing) to a physicist and more. This is a grant program that you can not apply directly to. The only way you can receive this award is when the foundation calls you up saying that you won. They seek you out based on the work you have produced and achievements you have garnered along with the potential your work has for the future.
Class of 2014 Recipients
Learn more about the winners
Learn how Uncommon being a Genius is
MacArthur YouTube Channel – Learn about the Winners
Business/Education
For those interested in the business world of things you can listen to Billionaire investor Peter Thiel talk about his views on various companies and how those companies are unique or not.
Peter on Twitter, Google, and More
Learn how Y Combinator will be teaching, “How to Start a Startup” at Stanford and offering this course for free (CS 183B: How to Start a Startup). The class starts next week and course material will be posted after the lectures.
How to Start a Startup Website
Anyone can Take Y Combinator’s New Stanford Class
Y Combinator Goes to College
If you wish to enroll in Stanford online courses that are free you can click this link.
Finding a place to work for your startup or company or impromptu meeting can be difficult, especially when Public Libraries have very little space and it works on a First-Come, First-Serve basis. Just like Airbnb helps people find nice cozy rooms to rent from individuals there is now a place you can use to rent workspaces for your business.
PeerSpace
Learn how PeerSpace just raised $1.5 in funding
Breather
Uber is one of those companies that is disrupting many industries – travel, personal assistants, luxury service and more. Many countries ban them, but they still operate, and many cities love them. In a change of direction for Germany they have lifted their ban.
German Courts Lift Ban on Uber
Kuddle is the first of it’s kind to offering a photo sharing app just for kids. It is being called Instagram for kids. Parents are learning that kids use social media, regardless of any age requirements, because their older siblings or friends are using them. This is cause for concern but one that no parent can win at so instead companies are racing to build programs and apps that are created for kids to use that filter out all the bad stuff. This is a huge market to work within because so many kids are using technology more so than their parents can keep up with.
Creating a Childproof Internet
Economics
It always amazes me when people apply for jobs and they are not qualified for them. They hope that just by submitting something they will get a response back. The strange thing is that individuals who are looking for work and individuals who have jobs all agree that they do not have the skills they want in order to find a job, or for those employed, to do their best. In a survey conducted by Udemy, an online learning site, said that of all those surveyed, more than majority said there is a skill gap from what employers want and what they can offer. This includes people with college degrees, saying that most who come out don’t have concrete work skills that companies are looking for and it’s true, if you are an english major what more can you offer besides breaking down prose and analyzing text? Write a novel? Great, but can you use Adobe InDesign, probably only a few can. Improve your skills for free online now.
Learn more about why Workers Don’t have the skills they need
Design
This man, who has Autism has spent the last 15 years of his life building the perfect place for his cats to live and play in. His condition makes it difficult to deal with other people but he says that his cats are his family and he wants to give them the best he can. It’s very impressive with what he has created for them. Click to read more about him and watch the video below.
Health
A team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have created a device, called biospleen, that can remove pathogens from the blood of people with Sepsis, a condition that causes the immune system to overreact to infections in the blood. This devices uses special receptors to attract any infections in the blood and as the special receptors are filtered through the device, they are pulled in to remove all dangerous infections leaving the blood cleaner as it leaves the device. It has already shown improvements in test subjects and are hoping to go to human trials soon. Learn how the device works in the video below.
Wiping Out Sepsis
Technology
We now have a personal plane that can turn into a camper and more but just in case you needed something else to travel with there is now a boat can that can turn into six different uses on water. The boat is called Kormaran. Although pricing is not available yet you can contact the company to find out more about how to order one. Here are a few pictures
Bathing Mode
Trimaran
Specs
Read more about them
Contact them
Personal Story
Matthew Deshaw shares his personal story about moving into his freshman dorm at Harvard University and what the whole experience was like. He shows his understanding about his situation based on the men who have come before him at that very campus and what that means for him. It was not so much the story he told but his writing style I paid attention to when I read his story. It’s always interesting to learn what kind of people end up there considering that getting into Harvard is one of the greatest achievements anyone can accomplish, next to graduating from there.
Read his Story Here
