Science of the Time, formally known as Signs of the Time

Compassion is in our DNA – though it does not have a monopoly there. The beauty of Compassion, the necessity of it, its heavenly characteristics are part of all religions. Compassion is everywhere.  At the same time Compassion is changing. Not in the least Cool Compassion. Religious compassion still continues also in parts of the world that have secularized – Europe in the first place. But there have been crystallized new form of Compassion. Live Aid in 1985 can be considered as a mile stone in Cool Compassion: Compassion went really global for the first time. Compassion was totally ‘media-mediated’ for the first time. And Compassion was mixed with lots of fun, for the first time. These three characteristics of Cool Compassion lead the way since then. (Click on Read Why It’s Cool for more)

We have heard the world leaders. We have heard the bankers. Recession struck us hard, mainly in North America and Europe. And while some are still pointing fingers (see also WTR: Anger, Distrust and Cynicism) we have put our perspective on the sane side of recession. Recession makes us creative, recession makes us strong!  (Click on Read Why It’s Cool for more)

With the rise of the enormous amount of communities, the Social Web is a trend that cannot and will not be ignored.  It’s an exploding universe of sites full of talking people that multiplies with the speed of light. To map the Social Web, would be a waste of time. So, that’s not what we did. What we did do is use the input of our Cool Hunters and Trend Filters to ‘surf the social’ and analyze the explosions to determine what the next directions will be. (Click on Read Why It’s Cool for more)

Urban Nomads. What are they? Who are they?
Without making this a slapstick horror movie we can say: they are all around us.
Urban Nomads are the hard working, city dwellers who daily weave their own web intertwining work and play on the go. Carrying their laptops and mobile phones through cities, they travel from one hotspot to the next. If a bar does not offer them WIFI, they will probably not drink and dine there. Drink, dine and work, we must say. As long as they are connected, they will work 24/7/365 days a year. With pleasure…

Contributed by Marco Pedroni (Milan, Italy)

‘Mu by Peugeot’ is a car rental service. You can buy ‘mobility points’ and spend them to rent a vehicle, a scooter, a bicycle or an accessory (snow chains, baby car seat, GPS navigator, a car DVD reader and so on). The first step is to create a Mu account on the website http://www.mu.peugeot.it. The Italian site is just one of the many points of entry. Currently they are also available in France, Germany and Spain and are currently expanding to Belgium, Holland, Britain, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal. With a Mu account Mu points can be bought and are usable to enjoy all the available rental services - cars, scooters and bicycles on offer in the ‘Mu by Peugeot’ dealerships.

Exceedingly simple in its design and brilliant in its concept, Time Flex is no more than a shock resistant and waterproof digital watch mounted on an adhesive band that can be stuck on to any surface we may wish, and remain there for as long as we wish. It is so thin that it remains always flush with the surface of our skin or that of any garment we may be wearing and thus will not interfere with any king of activity we would be doing, and for what we would need – or simply want – a watch to keep our time.

Scriba from Ishac Bertran on Vimeo.

Scriba personalizes your hand-writing when it comes to your digital communications, starting with your emails. Subscribe and Scriba will collect the sound and light level data from where you are writing. It then adapts your ‘handwriting’. You can also let Scriba know in what mood you are (tired, happy, bored, angry) and they will adapt your ‘hand’ writing accordingly – making it straighter, neater, curlier etcetera. You can also let your email looks as if you have erased some words or crossed them out. 

With the application Foursquare you can find your friends. You unlock your city and see the hotspots and the places to be. This app has spread across the planet like a wildfire. People find each other and look for new people to meet. Through the application old communities are seen through a new vision. What’s also happening is that a lot of new applications are popping up complementing what Foursquare and applications like it have revolutionized. Assisted Serendipity is such a app. Aimed at singles, or maybe all of us who from time to time have a single moment, it monitors where other single people using the app are located close to where you are and notifies you

Buy a pair of sneakers and get a car for free! Volkswagen offers a very exclusive sneaker, designed with the new 50 VW Polo car in mind. The car’s interior and sneakers match perfectly. The only catch is that the sneakers cost 23.444 euros.

Who said print is dead? Well, everyone, including me. But we’re all wrong. The mainstream magazine business may be dying a slow painful death, but there’s a vibrant selection of niche titles available for those who really care. The folks at Stack understand this, and they also understand that people who are passionate about a topic will actually pay for well-constructed magazines that matter.

Ai Weiwei (Beijing, 1957) is one of China’s earliest and most influential avant-garde artists. The Han (206 BC) and the Tang (618 AD – 907 AD) dynasties cultivated the Chinese art vase. It was their form of a water pitcher. Today Coca Cola is one of the most popular drinks, if not the most recognizable in the world. This Chinese vase with Coca Cola is Ai’s humoristic intertwining of history and modern life. 

Charm Café is a youth focused creative centre located in Zhongshan Bei Lu, the creative street of Hangzhou. They provide a platform for Chinese artists and designers to present and sell their artwork. They also regularly host offline activities to encourage creative thinking amongst Chinese youth. Some of their main activities include the monthly West Lake Idea Mart (DIY Mart) and the weekly Charm Café creativity class and exhibition. Every October and May respectively they also help organize China Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Industry Expo and China International Cartoon and Animation Festival.

Designed by the Zurich-based firm of architects RAAFA, the 2016 Rio Olympic Tower will sit just a few miles off the coast. On the island of Cotonduba it’ll be perfectly visible along most of the Rio seafront and beyond. It will contain an amphitheatre, auditorium, cafeteria, library and even a bungee-jumping platform at the top that will truly turn it into a thing of beauty. Acting as a beacon, a “welcome to Rio” landmark, it will be 100% sustainable and capable of keeping itself and the Olympic Village going. By pumping seawater to the top of the tower it will not only create a truly spectacular cascade effect but also power turbines that will produce energy during the night. An extremely clever combination of solar panels and turbines makes all of this possible. It will be an engineering and architectural masterpiece and a thing of beauty that will add to the natural beauty of the city.