In this ninth installment of our on-going series of interviews with some of the leading thinkers and scientists on the subject of energy, we interview John C. Mankins.Facing and solving the multiple issues concerning energy is the single most pressing problem that we face as a species. There is a lot of media coverage about energy, alternative energy and global warming, but what has been missing is the knowledge and point of view of scientists, at least in the main stream media. If you have missed the first eight interviews, please scroll down the right side of the page and …

Intellectual Property (IP) has always been important.  However, as I have written here, in the last 30 years, it has replaced hard assets as the most important part of corporate valuations.  In the Shift Age IP will be the most important asset that any individual or company can own.  The ability to create value, transactions, liquidity and ultimately an open marketplace of Intellectual Capital (IC) is therefore one of the most important historical developments that lies ahead for the emerging global economy.In a couple of recent columns, I have written about the efforts of one company, Ocean …

It was 50 years ago this week that the Russians launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite to orbit the earth. It changed the world.  In fact, there are few, if any events of the last 50 years that had such a global impact on just about every aspect of humanity. I can still remember the night that, as a …