PM		Pro Memory
Introduction		Brain work is done just for the fun of doing it and learning from it; curiosity driven and free of specific interests. The objective is to discover, develop, use, update, expand and exercise (new) personal capacities and talents. The method is simple: Find any small question or problem: questions challenge to find answers, problems solutions; Get started: target the brain cells to analyse, experiment, answer and solve the matter; Consolidate (briefly) the results and findings actively -pro memory- in a(ny) concrete form together with others (e.g. activities in f.i. philosophy and politics) or solo (this website f.i., personal notes, articles etc). Below you find some results; a few not elsewhere published personal notes of certain leisure brain activity projects. Perhaps they may be help for some brain work of your own. There is (much) more but the fun is in the doing not in the bragging so I modestly limit my vanity to five papers. For the record: the views expressed is the authors' and any similarity to those of others or elsewhere is coincidental. For possible ‘breakthrough’ ideas, see below the red area.
Back to start	Terug naar start Updated: July 1th, 2016

Only one paper a year was selected (and only of the last few years). There are usually 4 or 5 unpublished notes or papers each year during the last 20 years or more. With some luck however there will still be some 50 years left so there is plenty of fun coming up. (Perhaps you find one thought or remark interesting enough for a personal paper or note of your own.)
2016	Innovation - raw material economy and society
2015	Hosting some documents for a friend
2014	Column over wijkveiligheid Top 10 beroepen 2020-2029
2013	Steam power changed mechanically driven devices is a lot of ereas, the combustion engine replaced the steam engine; the computer+printer the type writer that replaced hand writing, internet set aside telex, telephone and fax. There are numerous examples of Geneal Purpose Technologies. Can they be triggered?
2012	Bijlage bij column Arbeid, grondstof van bestaan
2011
2010
2009	Horizonscan 2007 web news saved
2008	New energy platforms How would a Preliminary Roadmap look like for a Ten Percent CSP Contribution to the EU's '20-2020' Objective?
2007	Ever wondered what researcher expect for in the future? Well, in the Netherlands, the ‘Horizon Scan Report 2007’, expects some ten strong developments –configurations of threats and opportunities- to strike in random order with unknown consequences, side effects and interaction effects. The report is available in English and Dutch. See for more information www.horizonscan.nl (Publications). This gave inspiration to do an internet quick scan (work documents) on: ‘research’ AND ‘in 2010’ (in (Dutch, English). And likewise for 2020 and so on till 2050; including another language each decade (German and a few more, up to seven). Curious? A bilingual (Dutch-English) summary of the synthesis report (Outlook At The 21^th Century, The Data). PM (The data sets were handed over to the data base group of ww.toekomstverkenningen.nl (a foresight working party.) Together with some friends, there was also some involvement in a few studies on CSP (Concentrated Solar Power). See the publications at www.eukep.com. Horizonscan inventory
2006	Europe’s history and future In 2007, Europe will be fifty. It has achieved quite a lot. Can it do that again in the next fifty? PM
2005	Growth of Knowledge Evidently there were some 600 billion web pages in November, and the number doubles every 6 months. If similar huge amounts and reproduction rates apply to scientific articles and books, then that poses a challenge to establishing and maintaining any ‘body of knowledge’ at any subject, in due time. See some details. PM
2004	Research Proposals At a regular basis, some of us receive research initiatives from highly motivated people. The idea is good but not directed at the right address but also….not competitive enough. Perhaps these guidelines help, to help out. PM
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RED AREA	Other –possible breakthrough– challenges (for others more apt)
	Intelligent Life Forms It took mankind some 6000 years to get from the caves to a ISS “cave” circling around the globe and perhaps another 100 to have caves on the moon and Mars. Dinosaurs trotted the earth during some 150 million years. Wasn’t there anytime a little intelligent dinosaurs getting out of the caves into spaces? What would their traces be? (As a teaser: www.nu.nl/wetenschap/2931564/520-miljoen-jaar-oud-modern-brein-ontdekt.html)
	Advanced Learning It seems there are two sorts of learning; evolutionary and revolutionary. The first is the dominant and overly known method of incrementally learning at traditional schools and curricula; every day, week, month and yearly a little more facts, knowledge and understanding. The second is of quite a different order. It pops up in double images in perceptual psychology, in kiddy games (name words that are another word if pronounced backwards; (e.g. raw-war, ten-net, trap-part etc.; difficulty levels; words with 3, 4, 5 etc. characters, by alphabet etc.) and in computer programming (a teacher observed that once learnt to programme in a structured fashion, there was no way back to unstructured of spaghetti programming). To put it simply; once learned something structural has happened, a truly different ‘level’ is acquired and things will never be the same again and one cannot get rid of it ever. (Forgetting is no option and even if, it would not help). So the quest is: to sample, collect, organise such second order learning and knowledge problems and experiment/organise its mechanisms and fundamentals. (Yes, only for the fun of it.)
	Bums Every big city has its bums. They like to dwell underneath bridges etc. preferably out of sight of the ordinary public, in fabricated and improvised carton boxes and shelters. Why not construct simple standard dwelling units under those bridges with a bench to sleep? And why not a simple removable integral sanitary unit with fire place next to it?
	Children chips Children are no pets of course. Yet pets are chipped so that they can be traced easily when they get lost. Built in, in a watch, ring, necklace or hidden in piercing might be an idea. There can be product diversity in the frequency of transmitting a signal periodically in one way or another. If yearly some 8,000 children are reported missing in a very safe country of 16 million people for some duration of time (most turn up very quickly), it might be an idea to chip children since quite a number is not found within a year or never found at all. They can have it removed if they are 18 or 21 if they want to.
	CO2 The Kyoto treaty calls or a reduction of 30% by 2020. The trouble is that the producing countries have agreed upon trading their surpluses for the deficits of countries in the third world. Thus, no reduction at all only paper shovelling. Is there an inexpensive method to condensate, trap, catch, split, break down or put it to use into fertiliser. Use bacteria or plankton or heat green houses with it. (Some groundwork? A Deep Sea Hydrocarbon Factory .
	Desert habitation Sand, salt water and some cement gives a very good quality of concrete. So one can make a road land inwards through any desert bordering the sea and make underground dwellings and agriculture facilities from it, using holes or shafts in the ceilings/roofs for light; perhaps nocturnal humidity will condensate in these underground dwellings. If not, drill for those huge wells of drinking water deep below the surface. Fertilisation? That stuff is plenty available in some (over) developed countries; perhaps a few mammoth tankers will do the job.
	Double public space in crowded cities Big cities of have equally high building flocked together. Some bridges between them and some windshield and light transparent roofs might double scarce space in crowded cities. And please do something about those rooftops; they are downright ugly to look (down) at. Use different colours of pebbles and do some decorative or figurative artwork. Or cover it with grass land or something.
	Garbage Garbage is a problem in many modern societies; there is no place of function for it. Rising water levels might become a problem too. Could one problem solve the other? Instead of piling up garbage on land, why not store in big caissons and build dikes with that?
	Health and medical research For every infectious disease a number of individuals will be immune. A (voluntary) system to find these individuals and test them for this immunity, is a key asset for developing cures. (The system could also be used for finding suitable donors f.i. for marrow transplantation for haemophilia patients without death being a necessary conditioning for the donation of this sort and other tissues. Adapting existing administrative systems for f.i. blood donations, is perhaps the most cost efficient pathway.)
	International Rescue Every month there is a catastrophe or a major disaster somewhere in the world; flooding, earth quack, forest fire. Yet, there is no quick coordinated international command centre to respond in an orderly, efficient and effective manner. See a first Calendar of Hazards on this issue.
	Maritime innovation Why do cargo ships need to float at the water surface? Why not turn them over and sail submerged, only the (modular) steering house above the water level? Why do sea going cargo ships all have a propulsion systems of their own; why not modular? Why do containers do not? Why don’t cargo ships or containers have a non human intelligent GPS-modules so that you just have to poke in a destination and the thing seeks its own shortest route using necessary modular propulsion units for land, river and sea transportation? See some groundwork on this issue.
	Prefab roads So far, improvised roads have been build using concrete plates of 4 by 4 meters. Why not use 4 by 4 prefab foundation plates, to be coated by a smooth top layer? (And save some room for cabling & sanitation pipes.) Perhaps an intelligent parquet pattern of the plates makes a smooth topping superfluous.
	Self healing and self improving internet Early March 2004 a extraordinary computer virus spread very rapidly by mail, eliminating damage done by other viruses at ones computer. (Remember the (S)F-serial books by A!?)
	Science Policies; coordination In 2001, a quick scan of the science policies and budgets of the 15 leading science countries and a few others showed that “ALL” countries had the same (three & in the same order) priorities: biotechnology, IT and ‘genomics’. (And the non leading countries following this “example”.) Is this an efficient approach? Or will there be 14 losers (fate sharing with the non leading countries) that could have been winners in 14 other priorities? Is it possible to run simulations on some alternative priority configurations?
	Space communication V oyager 10 had a plate and other information on board about earth and its location in the universe. This ‘press statement’ about human existence and its accomplishments so far, opens up the idea of using the sun (or a nearby planet/moon with a device on it) as a giant broadcast facility to broadcast V oyager’s information into space at the speed of light. The groundwork is already done, it seems: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/03/030327074850.htm
	Water Melting snow and glaciers as does rain and water from rivers provides excellent raw material to produce drinking water. All that is need is a canal with rocks, pebbles and sand to have it purified; all at macro scale levels. (Did you know that on the Spanish isle of Lanzarote, rural locals have big basements for water storage?)
	Wind energy Why not install a wind energy facility on top of high building; that is, a winged horizontal cylinder? There are quite a few high buildings in the average city. Lightning risks? If metal is used, yes. Otherwise……. And if so, why not harness & transform lightning into energy storage facilities?
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Oh, you want to know how it all began?
	I don’t know! The very beginning was probably just collecting pictures of feathered and others beasts, and wanting to know all about them……(that is, before I could read). After having learnt to read, eager curiosity took over ever since and I still enjoy its “tutoring” to the present day. (Have I infected you?)