(CHALLENGE) Awaken your inner GENIUS!
“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein
I know, I know, it’s been awhile since I wrote something here in the site ha ha. I’ve been very busy with doing a lot of admin stuff – making the team bigger, how to make better content, growing local communities, identifying the geekiest things in life we can bring to you. It’s been years since I was really active in writing for FlipGeeks, but part of my job now is more on exploration and pushing myself to be more creative daily. One major reason I am able to do what I currently do is because of my undying passion and curiosity in all things geek and more. Because of that, our FlipGeeks team is also able to create something new and inspire people too! The reason I am now writing something short and quick to you dear reader, is because of something I read online. Now, let me share something interesting to you especially if you have a knack for S C I E N C E!
Just to give you a quick rundown about myself, I’m a Mathematics major and I worked as a Software Engineer for 6 to 7 years, and in the past three years I’ve focused on working in the creative industry. Even though I’m more into geek stuff, arts and culture nowadays, I always had an interest in Science and Technology. So there’s this new show by called “GENIUS”, an original show by National Geographic, which will be premiering at 8:00PM later tonight on the Nat Geo channel (GAHH, will definitely watch this later!!).
The new series will focus on Albert Einstein and promises that this series will be unlike any shows documenting the genius’ life. I think everyone knows Einstein for the formula “E=mc2” and his theory and relativity. But not all of us really know that during his lifetime, he was mostly as normal as you and me. He had personal struggles, love problems, family problems, oh and did you know that the theory of relativity sparked his brain when he was a train? (hmm, I have to watch the show to confirm if it was really a train or something else ha ha).
No doubt I’ll be watching the premiere later. Anyway, as I tried to surf the net about the new series, I found out that there’s a contest by Nat Geo in which everyone can join and submit their own brilliant ideas – the ones that could solve an everyday problem, and the ones that could change the world. Since there’s a lot of excitement in my anticipation for the new show, I decided to join.
I’ve had some wacky ideas from time to time, mainly because I ponder on a lot of things daily. I like to observe things and people found in whatever environment I’m in. Doesn’t matter if I’m in a geek convention, in the mall, in a coffee shop, doesn’t matter because I simply like figuring how things work out. Having an analytical background, I tend to think of a problem when I have to come up with something. So with all that excitement awhile ago, I entered the contest and tried to think of something quick ha ha. We all know that the weather outside (in Manila) is extremely hot and humid, and nowadays I spend a lot of time inside a mall strolling and enjoying the cool temperature there. A few days ago, I was in a mall strolling once again with some snacks and drink in hand. After I was done with my snack, I had to throw my trash right? But man I couldn’t find a trash bin! Did you notice that in malls as well? They’re usually near escalators or elevators, but not all have trash bins near them. So after 15 to 20 minutes looking for a trash bin, I found one. As soon as I was able to throw my trash properly, rather than being happy I was more tired and annoyed. So it got me thinking on how throwing trash is a bit hard and annoying inside malls.
So for my contest there’s my problem ha ha. With that problem I thought that the simple solution was just placing more trash bins right? But where’s the fun in that? I also know that a lot of people just throw their trash anywhere and some people sneakily just leave theirs in the corners of the malls. ARRGH. I realized that there’s something that needs to be changed – that maybe, we need to change how we present those trash bins, and that we need do something to change the habits of people in throwing their trash. I was thinking about that and I suddenly thought about droids. I assume everyone knows about BB-8? The new Star Wars droid that is shaped like a ball? In case you’re wondering, BB-8 is not a product CGI, and is actually real and is based on the technology developed by Sphero. Now I actually thought that we could design a trash bin based on that technology. Make a trash bin that looks like a droid! I’m sure that it can be programmed so that it could roam inside a mall and have its own route. I think that if we put some of those in malls, people will be more enticed in throwing their trash properly, make people enjoy their mall experience more when they see one. Since it’s a technology that’s not really used here in the Philippines, it will definitely give people (especially kids) a new sense of wonder and curiosity on what we can do in solving other problems.
I won’t be talking about the details because I know I’ve been saying a lot of things already ha ha. But you see, If we give a little bit of time, we could actually think of new ways in solving problems and making relevant solutions. May it be a new invention or just an innovation – like the use of Sphero, anyone can come up with something. The world is full of great and beautiful ideas, and all it needs is our imagination and curiosity. If you need a little bit of spark or a little push, go watch GENIUS. And let’s all unlock our “inner genius”!
I know my idea seems very normal ha ha, and I know you can come up with something cooler. So join the contest too!! Heck, I don’t care if your idea is better than mine, and we do hope you win that contest – because we sincerely believe that you can be who you want to be and achieve big things (just like Einstein). All you need is a bit of passion, imagination and curiosity. Everyone can be an “Everyday Genius”.
We definitely recommend you go watch “GENIUS” later at 8PM on the NAT GEO channel, then join the contest at www.everydaygenius.asia . If you don’t have any concepts for your own inventions yet, just try that one out and test your idea! It’s open for everyone to enter – prepared or not! The contest simply wants to bring out your “inner genius” and CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS TOO. Be creative and go wild with your ideas. You have that power. But if you need something to jump-start your brain, go and watch “GENIUS”. After you’ve watched the first, we’re pretty sure that something inside you will be awakened.
The contest will run now until May 7, 2017! Well if I win, that would be very cool so I could discover new stuff and maybe cover the event for you guys! Good luck and see you around J
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GENIUS will star Geoffrey Rush as Einstein, Emily Watson and other stars from Game of Thrones, Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men and more! GENIUS is a National Geographic original scripted series produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, Imagine Television and OddLot Entertainment. National Geographic is also partnering with SNOW app, where users can use the face filter to look like Einstein!
You could also follow these channels for more cool stuff:
www.youtube.com/NationalGeographicTVAsia
Tony Tuason
