Category: zerohedge

Among the 34 OECD countries, the US performed below average in mathematics and is ranked 27th, according to The Program For International Student Assessment (PISA).

While the U.S. spends more per student than most countries, this does not translate into better performance (e.g. the Slovak Republic, which spends around $53k per student, performs at the same level as the US, which spends over $115k per student).

PISA adds that students in the US have particular weaknesses in performing mathematics tasks with higher cognitive demands, such as taking real-world situations, translating them into mathematical terms, and interpreting mathematical aspects in real-world problems. But there is good news – a silver lining they offer – “a successful implementation of the Common Core Standards would yield significant performance gains.”

 However, they may have to rethink that after looking at the following…

Source: The Burning Platform

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1wyd5PG Tyler Durden

Following the sad death of its first Ebola case, Mali's President has said he will not close his nation's border with Guinea, because "the incident showed it was impossible to completely seal his country."

Mali's neighbors, on the other hand, are shutting borders, as Mauritania tries not to become Africa's 7th Ebola-infected country. This brings, according to The WHO, the number of cases of Ebola to 10,141 with 4,922 dead (so far).

Americans should not worry though, for the 2nd week in a row, President Obama devoted his address to the subject of Ebola, explaining "basic facts" of how difficult it is to catch (despite the need to enforce mandatory quarantine for healthcare workers) and in 'USA USA USA'-esque language, explains how "Americans can beat" the deadly virus.

*  *  *

As Reuters reports, the death of Mali's first Ebola case will not prompt its to close its borders…

Mali will not close its border with neighbouring Guinea after a two-year-old girl infected with Ebola was brought across the frontier by her grandmother and died in Mali this week, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said on Saturday.

 

The girl travelled hundreds of kilometres through Mali – including a stop in the capital Bamako – on public transport, potentially exposing many people to the virus, before she died in the western town of Kayes on Friday.

 

Malian authorities have isolated 43 people, including 10 health care workers who had contact with the child in the town of Kayes, where she was taken for treatment, the W.H.O. said.

 

Keita said that the incident showed it was impossible to completely seal his country off from Ebola in neighbouring Guinea but said he remained calm as the girl's journey and potential contacts had already been traced.

 

"Guinea is Mali's neighbour. We have a shared border that we did not close and we will not close," he told France's RFI radio station.

But Mauritania closed its border with Mali... (via Xinhua)

Mauritania has closed its border with Mali, where an Ebola death was confirmed in the border area this week, a local health official told Xinhua on Saturday.

 

"The authorities of Nouakchott gave instruction to conduct the closing of the all terrestrial points of passage situated on the border," said Dr Limam Deddeh, physician chief of the border city of Kobonni.

 

The border closure, which came after the first confirmed Ebola death in Mali, was meant to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus to the local population, said the doctor.

But Americans should not worry… President Obama (and his new Czar) are "focused" on the fight against Ebola and for the 2nd week in a row, makes his weekly address about the deadly virus (which is not very contagious and nothing to be alarme about – aside from the need to mandatorily quarantine any healthcare worker entering the US)…

Having explained the "basic facts" of how difficult it is to catch (despite the need to enforce mandatory quarantine for healthcare workers), dismissing Rep. Peter King's warnings…

Rep. Peter King believes Ebola may be more of a threat than doctors are telling the public.

 

In an interview with Long Island News Radio last week, the New York Republican expressed his concern that the virus has mutated and become airborne, according to BuzzFeed.

 

“You know my attitude was it’s important not to create a panic and it’s important not to overreact and the doctors were absolutely certain that this can not be transmitted and it was not airborne and yet we find out the people who have contracted it were wearing all protective gear,” King said.

 

King used the two nurses who were stricken with Ebola after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with the virus in the U.S., as a prime example of how doctors could be wrong about the way the virus is spread.

 

“Listen, I don’t blame doctors or the medical profession for not being up to date on the latest mutation,” King said.

 

“I mean, they should try to be and they should work at it but less I think they should be less definite when they make these pronouncements. That there is absolutely nothing to worry about, this can’t be transmitted airborne, that there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

His bottom line: Take the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s warnings about Ebola — that it is only transmitted through bodily fluids — with a grain of salt.

…and in 'USA USA USA'-esque language, Obama explains how "Americans can beat" the deadly virus.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1z9iT6D Tyler Durden

When it comes to the future of the US, the biggest question mark by far is
anything relating to the Millennial generation, those Americans born
between 1980 and 2000, which happens to be one of the biggest
generations in US history.

In fact, the largest US age cohort is currently the 23 year olds. However, Millennials are different from previous generations in many ways. For example, today’s 25-34 year olds are more likely to be minorities (40%) and a higher share of them has college degrees (35%). In addition, they are choosing different fields of study in college: while engineering was in the top five bachelors’ degrees awarded in 1980, in 2010, psychology replaced it in the top five rankings. This student debt-bubble funded college infatuation also happens to be the biggest curse of the Millennials, and as discussed a year ago, “Millennials Are Devastated As American Dream Becomes Nightmare For Most.”

Still, despite their differences, and the over $1 trillion in student debt which is making the US economic recovery virtually impossible, Millennials are in many ways like prior generations. Or rather better be if there is to be any hope of the conventional Keynesian medicine fixing a problem that may be at its core demographic (just like in Japan).

In order to get a better grasp of the wants and needs, as well as problems and liabilities of the Millennial generation, we present various extensive charts that highlight the key issues surrounding those young Americans which are gradually entering their post-college careers only to find pervasive disappointment.

First, as noted, here is the size of the Millennial generation in context:

They may be everywhere, but their job opportunities are limited, and not only in the US…

Which is also pushing the labor participation rate lower. Sorry BLS apologists: it has nothing to do with demographics and everything to do with global economic depression.

So without job opportunities, Millennials are forced to spend more and more time in a state of suspended occupational animation while hoping for better days.

Although as we noted earlier this week, record “student debt” is not just a young person problem any more: increasingly people in their 50s, 60s and 70s are crippled by loans they took out to help their professional development, which they find they simply can’t pay back.

Still, there is some hope that the college (and student debt) bubble are bursting: college admissions in the past two years have declined.

So with fewer job opportunities available to Millennials, and with virtually no wage growth to talk of (for anyone, not just the young), it is not surprising that median incomes for those in the late 20s and early 30s have stagnated, usually at the expense of those 2-3 decades older.

In fact, of all nations, America’s youth seem to be the most disadvantaged of all relative to the national average in recent years (whether Gen X and mostly the Baby Boomers are to blame is a different topic entirely.

The simplest way to show the lost income opportunity for Millennials is the following chart of median income for 25-34 year olds as a % of total:

With less disposable income, and thus fewer assets, today’s youth is finding it ever more difficult to build up a solid credit history…

… which  means with less credit available, they have to save up cash for rainy days…

… and another logical outcome: fewer can afford to buy homes and start familiies, instead chosing to live in their parents’ basement…

… which assures that a Japanese style demographic collapse is just a matter of time.

It also means that the old American Dream of buying a home is increasingly impossible for most. The new American dream: renting.

To summarize the Millennial predicament: overeducated, with less disposable income and drowning in student loans. Yet like every other generation before them, they too have needs, wants and desires. In the purely materialistic realm these are the key needs as self-reported by Millennials.

The charts below summarize what they spend money on compared to all households:

Somewhat curiously, there hasn’t been a dramatic change in the distribution of household spending over the past two decades:

Still, there is a notable shift in more recent years, especially when it comes to discretionary spending and education.

They may not have much disposable income, but they do have a vocal brand preference.

And while it is unclear if today’s youth consumes fewer calories due to health reasons or simply because it can’t afford to eat as much (or simply is getting better at self-delusion when reporting consumption patterns)…

… one thing is clear: they want their cell phone…

… and their online video.

So with all that bad news, what are Millennials to do? Why drown their sorrow in booze of course. Or rather, beer: that may be all they can afford these days.

Finally, for those who want to put all this together and invest based on the above information, here is a quick snapshot from Goldman of what the bank’s preferred Millennial-inspired strategies are:

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1yzXKQ2 Tyler Durden

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1yzXIYh williambanzai7

Having previously shown just who did (and did not) benefit from the resurgence of household net worth, we thought it time to provide the context for why The Fed’s stunningly obvious policy of juicing asset inflation in the hopes of engorging animal spirits among the general population and a renaissance in public spending is a total and utter wealth-inequality-driving farce. As Evergreen Gavekal indicates so obviously, the consumer isn’t fooled by Fed policy; despite a major uptick in household net worth, spending remains anemic.

Simply put – 3rd time was not the charm… and as is evident the ‘transmission’ to spending is getting less and less effective with each new Fed-driven, cheap/free-money inspired boom (and bust)

Source: Evergreen Gavekal

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1uWKv8n Tyler Durden

New York City health officials have released Morgan Dixon, the 30-year-old fiancée of recently diagnosed Ebola patient Dr. Craig Spencer, to her West 147th Street Manhattan apartment where, as WSJ reports, she will remain under mandatory quarantine. This ‘good’ news comes as New York’s Department of Health issues a statement on the deteriorating condition of Dr. Spencer who “is entering the next phase of the illness, which is anticipated gastrointestinal symptoms.” This was expected apparently, as NYC’s health commissioner Mary Basset noted, “we’ve seen with this disease that it continues to get worse before it gets better.” A large CDC team is actively involved.

Wearing a scarf and coat, Morgan Dixon the fiancée of NYC doc with Ebola just returned to their apt for quarantine. http://ift.tt/1tUnQz0

— Don Champion (@DonChampionTV) October 25, 2014

The good news… (via WSJ)

New York City health officials were preparing Saturday to release the fiancée of a recently diagnosed Ebola patient to her Manhattan apartment where she will remain under quarantine.

 

Morgan Dixon, 30 years old, was in close contact with Dr. Craig Spencer since he returned to his New York City home on Oct. 17 from treating Ebola patients in Guinea, officials said, and had been with her fiancé at Bellevue Hospital Center since he was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday.

 

Ms. Dixon was free to leave the hospital Saturday, according to Dr. Bassett. She had no symptoms and had been admitted out of caution, the health commissioner said.

 

Dr. Bassett said she was confident the city had tracked down everyone that Dr. Spencer had come into contact with.

The bad news…Dr. Spencer’s condition deteriorates…

Ebola patient entering next phase of illness, which is anticipated gastrointestinal symptoms, according to joint statement from Health and Hospitals Corp., Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

 

Patient is awake and communicating

 

Bellevue clinical team is in constant communication with CDC and other leading medical centers such as Emory University Hospital and Nebraska Medical Center

 

Large CDC team has been advising Bellevue staff

 

In addition to required supportive therapy, Bellevue initiated antiviral therapy within hours of admission; also administered plasma therapy yesterday; these therapies have been used at Emory and Nebraska

“We’ve seen with this disease that it continues to get worse before it gets better,” Dr. Bassett said.

*NY EBOLA PATIENT RECEIVED CHIMERIX’S BRINCIDOFOVIR (the same drug that did not work for Thomas Duncan in Dallas)

As NY Times reports,

The statement was careful not to convey a sense of pessimism, and patients undergoing treatment can worsen before they recover. In a brief telephone interview from his room at Bellevue, Dr. Spencer spoke in a neutral tone that seemed stripped of illusions: “I’m still undergoing treatment,” he said.

*  *  *

Joint Statement of Health and Hospitals Corporation and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The patient at Bellevue Hospital Center is entering the next phase of his illness, as anticipated with the appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms.

 

The patient is awake and communicating. The Bellevue clinical team in charge of care for the patient is in constant communication with CDC and with other leading medical centers such as Emory University Hospital and the Nebraska Medical Center.  A large CDC team has been actively involved in advising the Bellevue staff and we are very appreciative of the additional guidance. 

 

In addition to the required supportive therapy, we initiated antiviral therapy within hours of admission. We also administered plasma therapy yesterday. These therapies have been used at Emory and Nebraska.

 

The patient’s fiancée will return to her home this evening under quarantine. 

*  *  *

The full timeline of Dr. Spencer’s time since arrival, in NYC…

On 10/14, the patient departed Guinea on a flight to Brussels. Patient reported no symptoms.

On 10/17, the patient boarded a flight to the U.S. on Brussels Airlines Flight SN0501. Patient reported no symptoms.

On 10/17, the patient arrived at JFK. The patient was screened at JFK and had no symptoms upon arrival.

On 10/21 at 7 AM, the patient reported fatigue and exhaustion. No fever, vomiting, diarrhea. Fatigue is a symptom of Ebola, but it is very unlikely that people he came into close contact with on 10/21 are at risk. Out of an abundance of caution, we are  actively monitoring the health of these close contacts.

On 10/21, around 3:00 PM, the patient visited The Meatball Shop. The Meatball Shop is located at 64 Greenwich Avenue. Spent 40 minutes at The Meatball Shop.

On 10/21, around 4:30 PM, the patient visited the High Line. Walked on High Line and stopped at the Blue Bottle Coffee stand (10th Ave & W 16th St)

On 10/21, around 5:30 PM, the patient got off the High Line at 34th Street and took the 1 train to the 145th Street station.

On 10/22, around 1:00 PM, the patient went running along Riverside Drive and Westside Highway

On 10/22, around 2:00 PM, the patient went to pick up Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share at 143rd St and Amsterdam Avenue (Corbin Hill Farm) Patient picked up box and brought back to apartment

On 10/22, around 5:30 PM, the patient left for The Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with two friends. For his arrival at Gutter, the patient took the A train at 145th Street and transferred at 14th Street and took the L train to Bedford Avenue.

On 10/22, around 8:30 PM, the patient left The Gutter. For his return trip, the patient used Uber as his means of transportation.

On 10/23, around 10:15AM, the patient first reported a fever. At this point, the patient called Medecins Sans Frontieres and the New York City Health Department. He was immediately taken to Bellevue by FDNY EMS. The patient was tested for Ebola at the Health Department’s Public Health Lab. Test results are presumptive positive for Ebola. A confirmatory test will be conducted by the CDC; results will be available within the  next 24 hours.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1t3DtAp Tyler Durden

Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,

Russell Lee Sharecropper mother teaching children in home, Transylvania, LA. Jan 1939

Europe is fast turning into a freak comedy show. Very fast. Or maybe we should say it’s always been one, and it’s just that the Larry, Curly and Moe moves are only now coming out in droves. Or maybe, what do I know, we’re just starting to understand how much talent for farce and slapstick the boys from Brussels have always had.

Just Wednesday, I wrote in 40% of Eurozone Banks Are In Bad Shape about a Reuters report based on Spanish source Efe, that claimed 12 banks would fail the ongoing stress tests, results of which are due this Sunday at 12pm CET (their daylight savings time will be over by then). I noted how the indignation expressed over the leaked data by Brussels seemed odd, since in 2014 everything leaks.

Then, I cited Pimco’s global banking specialist, Philippe Bodereau, saying he thought 18 banks would fail, and moreover, almost a third would narrowly pass. Something that according to several sources was important than who actually failed. Because all banks have had many many months to shore up their capital positions, and if they’re now still below or just above the dividing line today, that’s suspect at best.

130 banks were supposed to have been tested, and ‘almost a third’ of that is some number north of 40. Add the 12 to 18 sure failures, and you’re north of 40%.

But today Bloomberg reports on a new draft they have obtained, which raises the numbers even further.

ECB Set to Fail 25 Banks in Review, Draft Document Shows

25 lenders in the European Central Bank’s euro-area bank health check are set to fail the regulator’s Comprehensive Assessment, according to a draft communique of the final results, seen by Bloomberg News. 105 banks are shown passing the review, according to the draft statement. Of the lenders that failed, about 10 will still face capital shortfalls they need to plug, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified…

If 25 fail, and ‘almost a third’, i.e. at least 40, narrowly make it, 50% or more of Europe’s banks are in trouble. And that’s after they’ve been given ample time to borrow, sell assets, do whatever it takes to pass. More than half of all banks. And sure, Europe has scores of ‘systemic’ or Too Big To Fail banks, and they’ll never be put in the corner with the dunce hat on. But that’s not as great as it may seem, it just means we’re not allowed to know what shape they’re really in, and if they threaten to topple over, taxpayers will need to pay up.

And that’s still not all. Catherine Boyle explains a few things at CNBC about the stress tests:

What’s Missing From The EU Bank Stress Tests

The EBA stress tests involve running banks’ books through shocks like a 14% drop in house prices from current predictions. However, they do not involve deflation, or a sustained period with higher or lower prices for commodities such as oil – both of which the euro zone is potentially facing.

If ‘shocks’ like these are the worst case scenario of the tests, and half of the banks fail that, you might want to speak of a systemic problem. Many housing markets are still very expensive, let’s see interest rates go up to any historic average of your choosing and then see what happens to home prices. No review of what havoc deflationary pressures or oil and gas prices might do to banks sounds hardly serious either.

There is also disagreement over how certain assets may be classed. In weaker economies like Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy, the governments have passed laws allowing banks to convert deferred tax assets (DTAs), which are tax payment deferrals generally awarded during times of weaker profitability, into more capital-enhancing deferred tax credits (DTCs).

Translation: local accounting tricks are still alive and well. Deferred tax credits are just one example, obviously.

Oliver Burrows, senior analyst at Rabobank, told CNBC: “European banks have actually done quite a lot in terms of balance sheet repair and capital raising. To give it additional credibility, you need to have some victims, and those are going to be quite predictable. Another fear is that if there is a rush of these weaker “victims” to raise more capital, there may not be much demand for it – and that could weaken the sector further. “Who would want to support or buy new equity in these banks?” Burrows asked.

That’s it right there: they’ve done a lot, and still fail. So where are they going to get the rest of the investments they need?

And then the EU comes this morning with a new stunt worthy of Larry, Curly and Moe. They’ve sent new calculations about members’ economic data, and the contributions they need to send to Brussels based on those data, around, and it’s a shame all the news is about how Britain is told to pay a billion and a half or so extra. Holland must fork over much more per capita, for one thing.

But what makes it even better is that Greece has been told to pay more, and that can go straight to Germany, which is set to receive a billion. Explain that. Italy has to pay extra, France receives.

The problem is of course, Brussels feels it doesn’t have to explain anything it does. They put the data on some webpage before even informing the member nations, as per the Dutch finance minister. Who, like Cameron, had no idea where the numbers came from. Brussels thinks: you don’t have the guts to break up the EU, anyway. So what are you going to do about it? Well, Cameron feels Nigel Farage breathing down his neck, that’s what.

The best part is that everyone’s falling over one another to assure us that the new accounting methods, which include drugs and prostitution, have nothing to do with this madness. But isn’t it just great to ponder that Britain has to fork over an additional billion only because the French have cheaper hookers?

Someone finish off that inane union before it starts to do real serious harm. Because it will.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1xp5YJD Tyler Durden

The Queen unleashed her first tweet on Friday from the official account of the British Monarchy, explaining her pleasure at opening a new exhibit at The Science Museum…

It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the @ScienceMuseum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R.

— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) October 24, 2014

The news media were exultant and instantly went to Social Media for their reaction… Unfortunately for The BBC, they live broadcast a less-than-BBC-esque remark from one @WolfgangDikface…

The account has since been removed/disabled.

h/t usvsth3m

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1yzzuNY Tyler Durden

Submitted by Martin Armstrong via Armstrong Economics,

They are saying that this week’s attack in Ottawa was because Canada was supporting the USA in sending troops to fight against ISIS (after passing the bill to lauch combat missions against Islamic State by 157-134 in their House of Commons).

The European powers are very much afraid to do the same because of the high domestic Muslim populations.

What took place in Canada does illustrate the risks of a religious war.

Japanese pilots would crash their planes into ships because they believed the Emperor was the virtual son of God on Earth.

What someone believes is paramount.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1uWaQ6p Tyler Durden

We are now less than a year away from the day when Robert Zemeckis and Michael J. Fox inspired an entire generation to expect nothing less from 2015 than flying cars. Sadly, as a result of the past 6 years of human “progress” being redirected to finding creative ways of preserving crony capitalism, the failed way of Keynesian life and masking insolvent banks as lipsticked pigs, the only automotive question we have of 2015 is whether there are any GM cars that haven’t been recalled; cars which one hopes will never be airborne. And yet, there is one aspect of 2015 that the Back to the Future trilogy may have gotten correct: that “other” thing which every 80’s kid wants to have more than anything: hoverboards.

As a recent Kickstarter campaign by Los Gatos, CA company Hendo claims, a campaign which has already raised well over $100,000 more than its goal of $250,000, the company is preparing to introduce “the world’s first REAL hoverboard and hover developer kit.”

Are hoverboards really just around the corner? This is what the funding-strapped company claims:

So where does the HENDO hoverboard stand today? Well, about 1 inch off the ground. As you can see from the video above, the prototype is real and it works! But to see it hover in person, and better yet, to defy gravity by riding it, is something you need to experience as well.

 

With the support of the Kickstarter community, we all can. We need your help to put the finishing touches on the Hendo Hoverboard, to help us produce them, and to create places to ride them.

 

Our engineering team has been amazing, rapidly iterating on design after design. In fact, this our 18th prototype, and we continue to make advances week after week.

 

The magic behind the hoverboard lies in its four disc-shaped hover
engines. These create a special magnetic field which literally pushes
against itself, generating the lift which levitates our board off the
ground.

While our hoverboard is primarily intended to be self-propelled, the actions which stabilize it can also be used to drive it forward by altering the projected force on the surface below.

Currently, this surface needs to be a non-ferromagnetic conductor.  Right now we use commonly available metals in simple sheets, but we are working on new compounds and new configurations to maximize our technology and minimize costs. 

While one day we expect to have hoverboards that can effortlessly
float over any medium (even water!), our current technology requires
special types of surfaces. 

Therefore, we need a hoverpark to go
with our boards, and we have been busy designing a park befitting the
awesomeness of our technology.

Levitation using magnets seems simple – just put one magnet over
another, same poles facing, and the top one will float. Voila, right?
 Sadly, as we all find out (usually as heartbroken little kids) this
never works. Due to something called Earnshaw’s Theorem, a stable static
equilibrium between two magnets is impossible. There have been a number
of ways around this, but none have proven feasible enough for everyday
applications. Until now.

 

Lenz’s law explains how eddy currents are
created when magnets are moved relative to a conductive material.
 These eddy currents in turn create an opposing magnetic field in the
conductor.  Our core technology, which we call Magnetic Field
Architecture (MFA™), focuses this field more efficiently. 

You can
go ahead and google both of these scientific principles, but to sum it
up in regards to levitation: Lenz = Easy, Earnshaw = Hard.

 

The Hendo Hoverboard is a first-step product, a precursor to the
broader implementation of the world-changing technology of MFA.  It
enables a new generation of lift and motion technology that will change
the way we view transportation. Additional applications for MFA
technology are virtually limitless – from business, to industry, to
healthcare, and beyond.

 

Unlike magnetic levitation systems
employed today, our hover systems are comparably inexpensive and
completely sustainable. Hovering modes of transportation are now
possible and practical. Lifting a wide range of loads – whether it’s a
person riding a hoverboard (what we were all expecting) or a building
riding out an earthquake (what we never imagined could be possible) – is
all within reach.

For the skeptics, Wired did a summary of the underlying technology and came away with the following conclusion: “Ok, so the physics for this type of hoverboard seems possible. Looking at other sites talking about this online, I am fairly certain it’s real.  One last physics note: I’m really not sure if a hoverboard powered by electromagnetic repulsion would be frictionless.  I suspect there would be some type of electromagnetic drag as the coil moved over the metal surface – but I could be wrong.”

But it can’t go everywhere (at least not yet), one would complain. And one would be, of course, right. But neither can one (or rather should) drive their car off the road. In principle, it wouldn’t take much to coat every road surface with whatever magnetic alloy is required to convert all existining cars into the hovering vehicles first seen in Star Wars.

The company’s take on the practical appliances of its technology:

We have a number of applications in mind, with industries that range from warehouse operations, to building foundation improvements, to novel methods of electromechanical fluid separation.

 

But what really excites us are the possibilities of applications we have no idea even exist – from new ways to harness energy, to replacing specific pieces of equipment in manufacturing processes; from the ordinary, to the exotic.

Surely there is much more, especially if and when the big corporations come sniffing. And sadly, once said corporations come knocking, the “magic” will immediately disappear because this technology, should it prove feasible, will be disruptive enough to threaten the existence of various, and numerous, trillion-dollar markets.

Usual cynicism aside, one can hope with less than 365 days until October 21, 2015, that for only the second time in the recent past a futuristic vision revealed several decades ago will actually coincide with reality. When was the first time? Why George Orwell’s “1984” of course…

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1z8BUpW Tyler Durden