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The Brilliant Entrepreneurial Lessons of a Plant Hacker Inventing New Flowers

inventing flowers

To raise money to put himself through school and earn a biotechnology degree, Sebastian Cocioba would gather orchids that his local Home Depot had thrown out and apply a plant growth serum to bring them back to life so he could sell them back to the store. Later, he would buy used lab equipment in … Read more

Is All-Blind Narration the Future of Audio Description for Films & TV?

audio description

“He looks ahead, his dark eyebrows overshadowing his dark eyes. One of his several gold teeth gleams in the dim light.” This is the audio description for a scene from a limited series called The Penguin from Max, a part of the Warner Brothers group. This isn’t just another AI-generated audio description of a visual … Read more

Pet Cloning Isn’t the Future … It’s Already Happening, With A Long Waiting List

cloned pets

The promise is simple: your pet can live as long as you. Or, at least, a version of your pet thanks to the largest commercial pet cloning company who is remaking thousands of dogs, cats and even horses. Apparently, there are specific rules to consider if you’re in the market for this pet cloning service. They need a piece … Read more

The First Profession to Be Replaced by Robots Could Be … Sports Referees?

Robotic refs

In theory, a robotic referee would never miss a call, show bias or be bribed. It would make decisions instantly and eliminate the sometimes-agonizing wait involved in sports where video replay is used to review and sometimes change a call already made on the field. In other words, the data shows robots would make much better … Read more

Remaking Classic Cars into the EVs of the Future

Classic cars EV remodels

When I was a kid and we would travel to India, all the taxis looked the same. The model that dominated back then, and for decades before and after was the Ambassador—alternately described as “virtually indestructible” and voted “the world’s best taxi.” Despite the fact that the factory making them operated from the 50s until closing in 2014, … Read more

Can Tech in Cars Make Us More Considerate or Better Drivers?

Nissan

As part of our Olympics trip this summer, we made a side visit to Lyon and drove across the border to Switzerland. Driving in Europe, one thing that became immediately clear is that drivers there understand the concept of a passing lane. In most places across the US, this seems to be a concept that … Read more

In a World of Digital Silence, What Should Anything Sound Like?

In a World of Digital Silence, What Should Anything Sound Like

Electric cars are quiet. Maybe too quiet. The problem, as some public health groups warn, is that electric cars dramatically increase the risk of accidents with pedestrians. The absence of sound creates danger, because we expect to be able to hear a car coming. Now that legislation spearheaded by groups advocating for the blind and visually … Read more

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In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.

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