Hate teamwork? All that constant talking, discussing and brainstorming can sometimes get in the way of doing real work, in addition to giving you a headache, draining your energy and killing your creativity. Why does collaboration have to be so difficult?

If you haven’t seen the movie Falling Down, then you’re likely to have at least heard of it. The 1993 flick is memorable for Michael Douglas’ fine portrayal of Bill Owen, a freshly divorced, recently laid-off defense engineer who goes on a violent rampage across Los Angeles.

The 1950s were a great decade for science fiction movies in Hollywood. One of the most bizarre sub-genres that came out of the studios was the “Giant Bug Movie” in which giant, mutant insects took to attacking cities and making women scream.

Ghosts. They’ve been objects of fascination for centuries. We’ve got so many names for them: spectre, phantom, spook, poltergeist or ghoul.

We’ve also tried many ways to communicate with them: ouija boards, seances, scrying, mirror gazing or using electronic gadgets like infra-red/UV/thermal cameras and electromagnetic field meters.

While not as scary or exciting as the supernatural, there is another invisible presence lurking all around us: our wireless networks.

They invade our homes, offices and coffee shops but are invisible to the naked eye – until now. The Digital Ethereal project uses the same tools as ghosthunters to make wireless networks not just visible but appear almost ghost-like.

We’ve all probably had a eureka moment in our lifetimes. It could be a crazy invention, an original plot for a film, a new religion or a start-up idea.

But soon, we’re brought down to earth by friends, family, colleagues and bosses who can immediately see the flaws and limitations in our brilliant idea.

But what if we were given the resources to make our ideas reality and perhaps change people’s lives?

Welcome to the world of the concept car designer. They get to create the cars of their dreams, show it off to the world and maybe even see them on the roads some day.

If music is a means of self-expression, then drums are the means of expressing ourselves to a lot of people.

Drums are a primal instrument whose beat connects us to the beginning of human civilisation much in the same way as fire does.

But somewhere along the line, the simple animal-skin drum morphed into the modern drum kit, which is actually a complicated ensemble of different instruments.

'Concrete jungle', 'urban sprawl' and 'human zoos' are some of the disparaging names we give to cities.

And yet since 2010, for the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population lives in a city.

Real life can be boring sometimes. However, dreams, fantasies and even nightmares can add excitement without putting us (or others) in danger.

Animation can also break the boundaries of reality and make the unreal seem real to the viewer, for a few hours anyway.

Today, computer animation is used in most blockbuster movies to bring dinosaurs to life, transform actors into superheroes, and safely engineer the large-scale destruction of famous cities.



But London-based design and animation agencies DBLG and Blue Zoo have turned animation on its head by attempting to make real objects appear unreal.

Their stop motion animation called ‘Bears on Stairs’ is so seamless that it is difficult to believe it is not a digital production, but is actually made up of real objects that you can touch.

Science has given us great power over the natural world but at the same time also exposed our limitations when it comes to the laws of nature.

Biology dictates that we cannot live forever, chemistry says we cannot turn lead into gold and the laws of physics state that perpetual motion is impossible.

Apparently Norwegian artist Reidar Finsrud hasn’t received the memo. He claims to have created a perpetual motion sculpture that defies the laws of physics and could one day provide us with free energy.

Music is the inspiration behind many style subcultures like mods, hippies, punks and rockabilly. But lately, musical influences in fashion have been stripped of their original meaning and used as pure marketing devices. 

How exactly are you still able to express an alternative taste in music when mainstream pop singer Miley Cyrus is seen wearing a an Iron Maiden top, or boy band member Harry Styles is spotted sporting a Ramones t-shirts?

The answer might lie in smart fabrics such as Chromosonic.

Routine can make us feel comfortable. They help us avoid stress and shield us from unexpected or unwanted experiences.

Taking the same reliable route to work, grabbing a coffee from a favourite café, dining at tried-and-tested restaurants and hanging out with a trusted group of friends make most of us feel safe and happy.

But what if you suddenly have the urge to get out of your comfort zone without wanting to give up the reassuring comfort provided by routines? The answer to your dilemma could be hidden in your shoes…

Freak accidents freak us out even though the chances of them happening are miniscule. 

Lightning strikes, meteorite hits, parachutes failing to open and roller coasters going off the rails capture a lot of attention in the news despite being extremely rare events.

One such freak accident that always makes the headlines is a shark attack.

Nothing exemplifies the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” than social insects like ants, termites, bees and wasps.

While a single ant is not an impressive creature, collectively the ant colony can perform complex building tasks that seem beyond the ability of even humans.

With this principle in mind, researchers at non-profit, independent research centre SRI International have developed a new generation of micro-robots that replicate the teamwork of social insects to build objects.

Growing up, many of us have plastered the walls of our childhood room with posters of cars and motorbikes. We’d spend hours just gazing at them and dream of one day racing them at speed.

But what if the mean machines in those posters were not really machines at all?

Strange things can happen when you cross creative contortionists, body painting art and cool motorbike design…

Most of us have an extrovert friend that we secretly envy. He or she always seems to grab all the attention from the opposite sex.

 

This friend is not shy to wear outfits in daring colours or attempt impossible dance moves in nightclubs. A real peacock. Or perhaps a Peacock Spider?