The Largest in the World Blog Klaas Bos

2014

Introduction

Since March 2013, I publish weekly about subjects of my interest; a subject that may interest or amuse my

readers. I promote these articles via Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

This publication brings together the 2014 posts in chronological order (Dutch articles are published in a

separate document).

Enjoy reading.

Klaas Bos

Sittard (NL), January 5, 2015

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Friend of Plants February 3, 2014

‘Ami’ is French for friend, ‘BM’ is the abbreviation of bio-based materials. Therefore, AMIBM – friend of

plants – is an adequate acronym for the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM).

Recently, this institute started its activities at Chemelot Campus.

AMIBM is an initiative of Maastricht University and RWTH Aachen University (in particular the Institut für

Textiltechnik, ITA). These universities have appointed three professors: Rainer Fischer (Molecular

Biotechnology), Stefan Jockenhövel (Tissue Engineering & Textile Implants), and Sanjay Rastogi

(Polymer Physics).

The AMIBM research covers the cultivation, extraction, breeding, and application of high value

natural raw materials: materials that are extracted from plants or bacteria. These materials are

processed and upgraded to bio-materials with new or improved properties for medical and

technical applications.

The AMIBM approach

Vegetable waste material can be used as raw material for the (chemical) conversion into bio-based

building blocks. From these building blocks plastics (from monomers to polymers) or fuels are

manufactured. This is the conventional approach.

The AMIBM approach concerns the way in which these bio-based building blocks are extracted.

Following this approach, these building block are not (chemically) converted, but made by plants! Or put

differently, in vivo production is made possible by the energy that is generated by photosynthesis.

Moreover, not only monomers, but also polymers can be produced by breeding the right plants and

bacteria. For this line of research, AMIBM involves the expertise of the reputable Fraunhofer Institute for

Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME).

A M I B M

THE ‘BIO-BASED ECONOMY’ IS DEVELOPING.

THERE ARE ALREADY CAR TIRES FROM

DANDELIONS!

AMIBM still has some issues to deal with. For example, there are already bacteria that produce bio-

polymers, in particular so-called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), This product is cheap and

biodegradable. But: it’s difficult to control the crystallization, resulting in poor quality polymers that

are difficult to process. AMIBM aims to develop bio-based additives that improve the crystallization,

which makes those PHAs easier to process and available for a wider range of applications.

AMIBM projects

Examples of promising AMIBM projects include:

• To improve of the quality and yield of dandelions for extracting high-quality rubber on a commercial

scale. There are already car tires from dandelions!

• To breed potatoes for producing starch with higher contents of amylose, amylopectin, and phosphate.

• To breed plants for producing high-value products, such as proteins, industrial enzymes, fuels, or small

chemical building blocks.

• To development systems for vertical agriculture, that make agriculture more efficient relative to land

use. Consider covered cultivations of plants without soil and several stories high.

• To produce the bio-based fuel hexanol from celluloses in waste material from conventional agriculture

(e.g., straw) through anaerobe fermentation. For this kind of fermentation micro-organisms must be

bred.

• To produce airplane fuel from industrial exhaust gases that contain carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,

and hydrogen; also through anaerobe fermentation.

Biomaterials are suitable for technical application, such as automotive (consider

dashboards, belts, airbags, and interiors), buildings (e.g., facade panels and carpets), and

energy (e.g., insulation). In addition, there are many medical applications, such as tissue

engineering, medical textiles, hygiene, and health monitoring.

By the way, not only dandelions are suitable sources of bio-materials, the research also

concerns tobacco and hemp.

Unique research equipment

An installation will be built for the AMIBM research that can ‘spin’ biopolymers into fibers:

polymers are placed in solution but are not melted as in the usual spinning procedure. The

high temperatures that are required for the usual way of spinning damage the

biopolymers. The machine can make bi-component fibers (co-extrusion), combining the properties of two

materials into one single fiber. The installation can also coat the produced fibers to add new properties.

The fibers are sprayed under ‘GMP conditions’ (Good Medical Practice) to make them suitable for clinical

applications, such as implants.

“Kennis-As Limburg”

AMIBM is one of the “Kennis-As Limburg” initiatives. “Kennis-As Limburg” (‘Knowledge Axis Limburg’) is a

program of Maastricht University/Academic Medical Center and Zuyd University that concerns research

investments amounting to 600 million euros over the next ten years. These investments will lead to more

innovative health care, better educated knowledge workers, and more research and applications in

collaboration with companies and governments. The program is focused on five locations in the Dutch

Province of Limburg, notably downtown Maastricht, Maastricht Health Campus, Chemelot Campus Sittard-

Geleen, Greenport Venlo, and ‘Parkstad’ (Heerlen region).

The AMIBM research infrastructure and the collaboration with the business world – i.e., the combination

of scientific and commercial focus – tie graduates to the region and create an attractive business climate

for companies.

The bio-based products and processes that AMIBM develops will find applications in the medical, technical,

and consumer sectors, and thereby have great societal value.

Finally, AMIBM will contribute to creating regional jobs: the ambition is to offer 66 FTE of direct

employment for knowledge workers in 2021.

Scanning the Future March 17,2014

"Prediction is difficult, especially when dealing with the future," Mark Twain wrote. Yet people try to

imagine the future. And the nice thing is, the future can be scanned with scenarios and utopias.

The future is uncertain and gives rise to anxiety, both personally and collectively (society). To deal with this

anxiety, singing Christian hymns may be enough for some people. But apart from this personal, religiously

determined framework, there is the desire to scan the future. In this context, the scenario

and the utopia present a remarkable contrast.

Scenarios and utopias

Policy makers in governments and companies develop images of the future to anticipate as

good as possible what may be expected: more or less car traffic, more or less need for

medical care, more or less sales of a certain product, etcetera. These images are cast in the

form of scenarios. Trends, preferences, and the like are converted into something

measurable, into numbers. Then, these numbers are extended to the future, they’re

extrapolated.

Philosophers and novelists also develop images of the future, to express as good as possible

how people should live together: who’s in charge, how to encourage desirable behavior of

the people, how can one be happy, etcetera. These images are cast in the form of utopias, in

some cases dystopias to delineate an undesirable image of the future. Stories are told about

how people should live together in an ideal world. The word ‘utopia’ is taken from the book

“Utopia” by Thomas More (1516).

In a library you find scenarios in the ‘Nonfiction’ department, utopias in ‘Fiction’.

Typically, a scenario doesn’t come alone. One scenario is developed in which the most probable future is

described, and a positive (optimistic) and a negative (conservative) analysis is added. Scenarios are

exploratory: new insights, trends, preferences, etc. may lead to adjustments.

S C E N A R I O S A N D U T O P I A S

SCENARIOS ARE TOOLS FOR MANAGERS –

UTOPIAS GIVE DIRECTIONS TO POLITICAL

LEADERS. Typically, a scenario doesn’t come alone. One scenario is developed in which the most probable

future is described, and a positive (optimistic) and a negative (conservative) analysis is added.

Scenarios are exploratory: new insights, trends, preferences, etc. may lead to adjustments.

A utopia always comes alone, because it presents a normative image of the future: it’s the image of the

best world possible. A utopia is all-embracing and the adjustment of a part of it will undermine the whole

image of the future.

Scenarios are built on today and relate to an immediate future, regardless of how long the timeline is

stretched. Utopias are positioned in an undefined 'today’, a distant future or a distant past; the foundation

in the everyday reality is weak.

Scenarios are open. They’re not aimed at improving the world, although a better world could be the

additional effect; that’s a bonus. People are always better off with a scenario than without, because they

help to make the right decisions. If a scenario doesn’t come true, because reality proves different, the

scenario is adjusted. Societal and other changes that are exposed by scenarios, usually occur gradually.

Utopias are closed. They’re also aimed at improving the world, but sometimes undesirable side-effects

must be taken for granted; that's bad luck. In a utopia people are often worse off than elsewhere, because

to realize the desired image of the future, mankind is forced into a straightjacket. People don’t make

decision of their own, they don’t even have to think, because they meekly follow the rules that come with

the utopia. Anyone who doesn’t fit into the utopia awaits expulsion, detention, the prison camp, the death

penalty. The realization of the utopian world demands an abrupt break with the everyday reality.

The scenario is a complicated computer model – a utopia is a dream (or nightmare).

Scenarios are useful tools in the hands of managers – utopias include political visions that give directions to

political leaders.

Thinking Scenarios

You may conclude now that I’m not particularly charmed by the worlds of utopias, such as “1984” by

George Orwell (1949), “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley (1932), and the above-mentioned “Utopia”.

You agree, I guess, and, like me, you don’t find these worlds very attractive.

On the other hand, I’m fond of scenarios. A company that is traditionally strong in developing scenarios

and shares them publicly is Shell. Last year, this company published the so-called <Lens Scenarios>*2. In

this publication two scenarios, Mountains and Oceans, are being compared.

Mountains is the world of the status quo: the power is firmly in the hands of the elite. Stability at any price:

the rulers align their interests in such a way that raw materials become available only gradually and

sparsely; this process is not dictated by the market. The resulting rigidity of the system reduces the

economic dynamics and smothers the social mobility.

In Oceans the influence extends widely over the world population. Power is divided, competing interests

are solved, and compromise is king. The economic productivity surges on a huge wave of reforms. But the

social cohesion is under pressure and politics are destabilizing. This results in stagnating developments in

several political areas and in the unbridled influence of market powers.

Shell demonstrates that these scenarios are useful starting points for developing images of the future,

which would take too long to elaborate in this article.

Virtual Quicksand April 21, 2014

Thanks to the social media we stay informed about the fortunes of our family, friends, and colleagues.

Fantastic! Some of them are very active; about them we know more than about others. But keep in mind

that in this ‘game’ one social platform plays a remarkable role!

Connect and Communicate

Social platforms apparently all operate the same way. You establish a virtual link with a real person and

you have a new friend (Facebook), connection (LinkedIn), or follower (Twitter and Google+).

You can stay in touch with them by sending a (direct) message, which can lead to a one-to-one

conversation that cannot be accessed by others.

You can also publish (post, tweet) a message that is visible to all of your friends, connections, and

followers. They can read that message, respond to it, and appreciate the message. The consequence of this

appreciation (like, mark as interesting, or retweet) is that the message will also be visible in the timeline of

all the friends, connections, and followers of that friend, connection, or follower.

Sometimes a ‘sponsored’ message pops up in your timeline, which was not published by your friends or

followers – this is advertisement.

Calculation

Suppose, you follow 100 individuals on Twitter. If these 100 persons publish 10 tweets per week on

average, than each week there will be 10 x 100 = 1.000 tweets in your Twitter timeline.

Check it out! That is quite right.

And suppose, you have a total of 100 friends on Facebook. If these persons also publish 10 posts per week

on average, than each week you have 10 x 100 = 1.000 posts in your Facebook timeline.

Check it out!

But, it’s wrong …

F A C E B O O K

SOME FACEBOOK FRIENDS ARE SUBMERGED

IN VIRTUAL QUICKSAND. I DON’T LIKE THAT. The Facebook Disappointment

…Because you miss a large part of the posts of your Facebook friends completely. Check

it out by opening Facebook in two separate windows. In one window you open your own

timeline and in the other you search for a number of your friends. In the second window you can see when

a particular friend has published her or his last Facebook message. In the first window you can check if this

message has been included in your timeline.

I’m sure you will discover that many messages are missing in your timeline. At least, I was aghast after

having made this simple analysis.

For unclear reasons Facebook thinks it’s not necessary to show you all the messages that are (also)

intended for you. Some of your friends are submerged in the virtual quicksand of Facebook messages so to

speak. In the same way Daud was submerged in quicksand in the movie “Lawrence of Arabia” from the

director David Lean (1962).

Why Does Facebook Interfere?

What is the algorithm that determines that some messages are included in your timeline and other are

not?

I’m not certain, so I’m speculating a bit. It helps if you like the messages of your Facebook friends. It helps if

a friend likes a message that is sponsored (this is advertisement Facebook makes money with); such a

message will not be left out of your timeline. It doesn’t help if you only read the messages of your

Facebook friends, but don’t like them explicitly (or react upon them).

Anyway, it’s no mistake, it’s in the design of Facebook: you don’t get to see everything.

Keep this in mind, if you want to stay informed about your Facebook friends.

Facebook and My Blog

This irritating mechanism has consequences for my blog. Each week, I invite my Facebook friends (and

others) to read my newest blog post. It may very well be that you get to see this text through a reference

from a Facebook message. After reading the above it wouldn’t be surprising if this was the last time that

such a message has emerged in your Facebook timeline.

I would really regret that, especially because Facebook plays such an obscure role.

I have two recommendations for my Facebook friends who like to continue reading my blog. Either you like

my messages (frequently click the ‘like’ button). Or you subscribe to my blog posts by filling out your e-mail

address in the field in the top right corner of this internet page www.klaasbos.blogspot.com.

I appreciate both the ‘likes’ and the subscriptions.

In summary, I just can’t get excited about Facebook. But I wouldn’t have mentioned it if Facebook wasn’t

one of the largest companies in the world, and incredibly influential!

A separate post about separation June 2, 2014

In relationships between people separation is often associated with pain, frustration, and aggression.

But in the world of chemists separation is often a desirable outcome. Or, it’s at least worth serious

research, and this article.

According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics the entropy increases in the course of time, i.e., the

chaos in the universe increases if you let everything run its course. Apparently, it’s human to revolt against

this regularity, by gathering what had been dispersed. Men wants to restore order, which already starts

with separating household waste.

To separate

During the creation, as described in the book of Genesis, there is also talk of separation of matter:

Genesis 1: (4) …and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light “day,” and the

darkness he called “night.” … (6) And God said: “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water

from water.” (7) And God made a vault to separate the water under the vault from the water above it.

Physical separation technology

At Chemelot Campus the Indian company Technoforce is located, a manufacturer of

physical separation equipment. In this equipment Technoforce applies techniques such as

distillation, drying, stripping, crystallization, and extraction. And it applies extreme

process values, such as a temperature of minus 20 up to plus 300 degrees Celsius and very

deep vacuum up to 0,001 millibar (i.e., one millionth of a bar; normal air pressure is 1

bar).

Substances are separated based on their physical characteristics, such as differences in

boiling point, density (which makes oil float on water), state (solids, liquids, and gases),

and solubility (so some substance dissolves in water and others in oil).

S E P A R A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y

Separation equipment is needed to make pharmaceutical products, food, oils and greases, polymers and

chemicals. They’re used to purify process flows, concentrate fruit juices, recover dissolvent, and to process

waste.

Colloids

February 18, 2014, was the inauguration of Remco Tuinier, employed by DSM at Chemelot Campus, as

Associate Professor Colloid-Polymer Mixtures at the Utrecht University.

A colloidal dispersion consists of small particles (disperse phase), dispersed in a medium (continuous

phase). These small particles measure from nanometers up to several micrometers. There are many

examples of colloids.

A continuous gas phase with small particles we call an aerosol. Examples are mist with small drops and

smoke with small solid particles. A liquid continuous phase with gas particles is foam, such as whipped

cream. Small liquid particles in a fluid we call an emulsion, such as milk. Small solid particles in a fluid is

called a sol, with paint as a typical example. Small particles can also be dispersed in solid substances. If this

is a gas, we call it solid foam, for example pumice. If it is a liquid, it’s a solid emulsion or a gel, for example

cheese. Finally, small solid particles in a solid substance is called a solid sol, such as ruby glass.

Paint is a colloidal dispersion, existing of various components: water, binding agents, pigment, and

adjuvants; often polymers are added. The trick is to produce paint with the correct viscosity, that dries

quickly enough and that forms a hard and durable layer.

To improve the art of paint making research on colloids is required. Part of this research concerns the

depletion interaction.

Depletion interaction

The depletion interaction has to do with the fact that when extra components, for example polymers, are

added to a colloidal dispersion, a disturbance is caused: the various components stand in each other’s way.

The word depletion is negatively derived from the Latin word ‘plere’, which mean ‘to fill’. So, depletion

means ‘to de-fill’. The depletion interaction is scientifically explained by the interaction of physical forces,

such as the vanderwaals forces, electrostatic forces, and sterical forces (spatial repulsion). Through these

forces the smaller particles in the dispersion (the polymers) cannot get in areas around the larger particles

(the other components). In these so-called depletion zones there is a lack of polymers and, as a result, the

freedom of movement of the polymers is limited. The polymers can increase their freedom of movement

by pushing the larger particles towards each other.

These ‘depletion forces’ lead to the separation of equal objects from the other objects. The larger particles

attract each other indirectly: ‘attraction through repulsion’. If the depletion interaction gets stronger (for

example, by adding more polymers to the dispersion), phase separation is the result. For example, the

‘smart addition’ of a polymer can result in gels, sometimes liquid-liquid segregation can result, and even

crystals can be formed. Under specific circumstances, a dispersion can be separated into three

components, with sharp interfaces. The phase transition from milk to cheese is desirable, the sifting of

mayonnaise is not.

Foam

I end this article with a remark about the colloidal dispersion foam. The German philosopher Peter

Sloterdijk uses foam to describe the world of today: foam as a metaphor for the extreme individualism of

our time.*) “During the formation of foam, the dense, continuous, massive is subject to an invasion of the

hollow: air reaches unexpected places. However, as soon as the agitation of mixing, the insertion of air into

liquid, settles, the reign of the foam collapses quickly. The foam air returns to the common atmosphere and

the more solid substance collapses into drops.” According to Sloterdijk, the instability and volatility that

characterize foam show the multiple ways in which the contemporary man experiences his life and the

world.

*) Peter Sloterdijk, “Sphären III. Schäume – Plurale Sphärologie” (2004, “Spheres, Volume III. Foam: Plural

Spherology”).

Why you remain faithful to great leaders July 7, 2014

There’s a good chance that one or more people are an inspiration to you. They’re probably great leaders

of a movement, a country, or an industry. They have something about them that urges us to make their

ideas and products parts of our lives. Why are these people so inspiring?

In 2009, “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action” by Simon Sinek was

published. This book makes clear what the differences are between three basic questions: WHY? – HOW? –

WHAT?

These basic questions can be asked about the actions of politicians and entrepreneurs, and about the

operations of organizations and companies. And there’s a particular order in these questions.

According to Sinek, politicians and entrepreneurs who don’t know how to answer the WHY question resort

to manipulation. For example, companies put a lot of energy in price reductions and promotions, in

messages that anticipate fear or good intentions, and in novelties (usually mistakenly called innovations).

Manipulation yields short-term results, but is not sustainable in the long term.

Leaders know how to inspire people, which results in faithful voters and customers. Great, charismatic

leaders start with the WHY question. Questions like: what is your objective, what makes you tick, what do

you belief in? These are the questions that are connected with leadership, questions about the idea behind

the act. In organizations these questions are typically answered by the Director – the visionary.

Then, the HOW question is addressed: how can something be done better or differently. It concerns the

acts that are needed to achieve the belief (the WHY). These are the questions about organization and

infrastructure – about the route – that in organizations are typically connected to Heads of Units.

Finally, we cannot ignore the WHAT question: what do you do? These are the questions that in

organizations are typically connected to the workplace – the execution and the results. The WHAT is the

expression or the proof of what an organization stands for.

S I M O N S I N E K

THE AVERAGE COMPANY GIVES ITS

PERSONNEL SOMETHING TO WORK ON, AN

INNOVATIVE COMPANY GIVES ITS

PERSONNEL SOMETHING TO WORK FOR.

Most people can easily tell you what they do, sometimes how they do it, but rarely

why they do something. Leaders of leading companies make clear why they do

something. According to Sinek, people don’t buy from you because of WHAT you do,

but they do because of WHY you do it. Instead of asking "WHAT should we do to

compete?" one should ask "WHY again did we start doing what we do?"

And concerning the employees: the average company gives its personnel something to work on, an

innovative company gives its personnel something to work for.

Diffusion of innovations

Sinek connects his ideas with Everett Rogers’ theory of innovation (“Diffusion of Innovations”, 1962).

Rogers distinguishes five groups by speed of accepting a new product or idea: innovators (2,5%), pioneers

(13,5%), early adopters (34%), late adopters (34%), and leggards (16%). Success in the mass market (i.e.,

among the early and late adopters, in total 68%) can only be achieved if 15-18% of the market (i.e., the

innovators and the pioneers) has been reached.

This group (those 15-18%) shares where you stand for and wants your ideas, your products, and your

services to become parts of their lives. They are faithful customers who are prepared to pay a bonus and

accept inconvenience (to be the first) to use your product or service.

So, first explain WHY a product or service was developed (i.e., the values and what you stand for) and only

then, WHAT it is or does (i.e., the characteristics and benefits).

This group will recommend the product or service to others. And then the next phases of diffusion come

into the picture.

Examples

Sinek mentions examples of great, charismatic leaders. The most striking examples are Martin Luther King,

Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. I think, in this context, the example of Martin Luther King goes without saying.

Bill Gates is constantly searching for ways to solve problems. He saw the computer as the perfect

technology to help us become more productive and to fully exploit our potential. Currently, he solves

different kinds of problems with his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Steve Jobs was somebody who challenged the status quo. Apple represents the lifestyle that fits with that

attitude. Just have a look at the <Apple commercial>*2 with which the Macintosh computer was

introduced, back in 1984: http://youtu.be/2zfqw8nhUwA

My question: what type of person are you: the WHY, the HOW, or the WHAT type? Remember that the

world needs all three of them.

Why a Facebook page is sometimes better September 1, 2014

Facebook is the social network with most members. Therefore, a golden opportunity for everyone who

has something to say. I think, a dedicated Facebook page comes in handy.

In the “Virtual Quicksand” article (above) I’ve been critical about Facebook. Nevertheless, I admit that

nowadays Facebook is the world’s most important social platform. Just have a look at the number of users

worldwide:

• Facebook: 1.2 billion active members each month

• Google+: 300 million active users

• LinkedIn: 277 million members

• Twitter: 241 million active members

• Tumblr: 168 million blogs.

Or have a look at the ranking of websites by number of visitors, according to www.alexa.com:

1. Google.com (this is the world’s most visited website)

2. Facebook.com

3. Youtube.com

4. Yahoo.com

5. Baidu.com

6. Wikipedia.com

7. Twitter.com

8. Amazon.com

9. Qq.com

10. Live.com

11. LinkedIn.com.

12. Taobao.com

F A C E B O O K

ABRAHAM, GEORGIA SAM, MACK THE

FINGER, 2ND MOTHER & 7TH SON + THE

ROVIN’ GAMBLER GO TO #FACEBOOK

INSTEAD OF HWY61

In short, in the social media world you cannot avoid Facebook.*)

The days that Abraham, Georgia Sam, Mack the Finger, ‘the second mother and the seventh

son’ and ‘the rovin’ gambler’ went down to Highway 61 are over – today, they’re going to

Facebook.

And that’s also true regarding my blog, since statistically Facebook offers the best opportunity to reach my

readers.

Facebook timeline

Some of the readers of my blog may have noticed that recently I announce my blog posts via a dedicated

Facebook page. These announcements reach my personal Facebook timeline by sharing those posts; that’s

my additional action.

Now, I answer the question: why such a page? What’s wrong with the personal timeline?

Let’s start with the similarities: you can only get access if you are a Facebook member. No member, no

access.

An important difference is that the posts in my personal timeline are in principle only visible for my

Facebook friends. In practice, this may be disappointing, as I’ve explained in the article “Virtual

Quicksand”(above).

Maybe I have an extraordinary opinion, but I think that a Facebook friendship supposes a certain degree of

friendly relationship in real life.

Since I want to reach via Facebook also readers of my blog with whom I have no friendly relation in real

life, with whom I don’t enter a Facebook friendship and who I don’t even know, a post on my personal

timeline is unsufficient to reach my readers.

Facebook page

And that’s exactly the reason why I have a Facebook page. A post on a Facebook page is visible for

everybody who has liked this page.

If you like to stay up to date with my blog via Facebook, we don’t necessarily have to be Facebook friends.

The only thing you do is like my Facebook page. This looks like one-way communication, but you on that

page still have the opportunity to comment (I really appreciate these comments) and if necessary I will

respond.

Thus, I made a distinction that’s good for me, my Facebook friends, as well as the readers of my blog. Via

my personal timeline I inform my friends about things that keep me busy and my Facebook page is only

about my blog. This split provides me a certain degree of freedom in my personal timeline. And who liked

my Facebook page (and is not necessarily my Facebook friend) is only informed about my blog.

An additional advantage of this ‘construction’ is that it lowers the threshold for people that I don’t know,

but who still like to follow my blog.

Create your own Facebook page

Now, after this explanation about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of Facebook pages follows the ‘what’ (see the article

“Why you remain faithful to great leaders”, above). If the above has inspired you to create your own

Facebook page, go straightaway to www.facebook.com/pages/create.

Facebook distinguishes six types of pages:

1. Local Business or Place of Interest

2. Company, Organization, or Institute

3. Brand or Product

4. Artist, Band or Public Figure

5. Entertainment

6. Cause or Topic (I choose this option).

Choose an option, select a category, fill out relevant data, and add a profile picture. Then,

you can notify your Facebook friends or – by means of an advertisement – all (or a

selection of) Facebook users.

I invite you: get started! I’m awaiting your invitation to like your page…

Example

As an example, I mention the Facebook page The Power of Impossibility, with inspiring stories about big

and small impossibilities that actually turned out to be possible: www.fb.com/thepowerofimpossibility.

I have liked this page and so can you, without necessarily being Facebook friends with its initiators.

Another example is my own Facebook page www.fb.com/blogklaasbos (who has liked this page: thanks).

*) A third indicator of Facebook’s large influence is the profitability of this company:

• Facebook: net profit 2013: $ 1.5 billion

• Google: net profit 2013: $ 12.9 billion (Google is much more than Google+)

• LinkedIn: net profit 2013: $ 26.8 million

• Twitter: net LOSS 2013: $ 645 million.

Not too good to be true September 15, 2014

Green technologies to green the deserts around the world, that’s the objective of the Sahara Forest

Project. Their principle: utilize what we have enough of to produce what we need more of – using

deserts, saltwater and CO2 to produce food, freshwater and energy. What progress has been made since

the project was presented during TEDx Maastricht 2013?

One of the presentations during the September 4, 2013 TEDx Maastricht was given by Joakim Hauge, CEO

of the Norwegian foundation Sahara Forest Project.

Restorative Growth

The efforts of the Sahara Forest Project are based on the notion that

the greatest challenges of our time are closely interlinked: food, water

and energy security, climate change, desertification, salinization and

shrinking forests.

The Sahara Forest Project believes in the Restorative use of resources,

instead of the traditional Extractive use or a more Sustainable use of

resources. The project proposes an integrated system, using

restorative practices to establish vegetation in arid areas and reverse

the trend of desertification.

The project takes things we have enough of as input: deserts,

saltwater and carbon dioxide. These things are used to produce the

things we need: food, freshwater and energy. For this process several

technologies are used as catalysts: core technologies and technology

extensions.

S A H A R A F O R E S T P R O J E C T

Core technologies

The three core components of the Sahara Forest Project are:

• Saltwater-cooled greenhouses: the project constructs

greenhouses that use saltwater to provide suitable growing

conditions, enabling year-round cultivation of high-value vegetable

crops, even in desert conditions. By using seawater to provide

evaporative cooling and humidification, the crops’ water

requirements are minimized and yields maximized with a minimal

carbon footprint.

• Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) for electricity and heat generation: using mirrors (see picture below) to

concentrate the sun’s energy for producing heat that is used to make steam to drive a steam turbine,

which in turn drives a generator to produce electricity.

• Technologies for desert revegetation: a collection of practices and technologies for establishing outside

vegetation in arid environments, such as evaporative hedges.

Technology extensions

The Sahara Forest Project works as an enabling technology, creating opportunities for a wide range of

businesses to develop alongside it, such as:

• Salt extraction: brine from sea water that was used for cooling purposes is left in salt evaporation

ponds and forms the basis for ordinary commercial salt production.

• Algae production: marine algae are one of the most promising future sources of bioenergy and

nutrients.

• Traditional desalination: the energy of the CSP component in the facility can directly power a

traditional desalination plant, offering a potential for increased freshwater production.

• Mariculture (aquaculture): the farming of fish, snails, shrimp, abalone, and other aquatic animals for

food can further utilize the seawater infrastructure of the Sahara Forest Project to produce additional

high protein and high-value food.

• Halophytes cultivation: halophytes are plants that can tolerate or even thrive in salty growing

conditions. They may provide a natural and water-efficient means for soil remediation in brackish soils,

in order to allow the cultivation of more typical freshwater crops.

• Photovoltaics (PV): PV systems are best located in very sunny environments, such as deserts. PV is

simple to operate and highly scalable. The added value of a Sahara Forest Project to PV is for example

the dust reduction thanks to revegetation and the availability of distilled water for panel cleaning.

• Bio energy: the Sahara Forest Project provides the opportunity to cultivate crops (i.e., bio-mass) on

desert lands that are naturally unproductive for food, using only seawater and its derivatives.

Projects

The Sahara Forest Project will be rolled out along three commercial models:

• The Test and Demonstration Center will be of a sufficient scale to prove the commercial viability of the

concept, producing a wide range of crops and energy output.

• The Oasis is the full-scale commercial implementation, containing greenhouses, cultivated outdoor

vegetation and CSP as primary output-generating units.

• The Farming Community is like the Oasis model, but made available to local participants at

microfinance principles.

The Sahara Forest Project has an Oasis in Qatar and will establish a Test and Demonstration Center in

Jordan.

Progress since TEDx Maastricht 2013

On June 22, this year, an agreement was signed for establishing a Test and Demonstration Center in

Jordan. This center will be located near Aqaba and will cover 20 ha. The salt water will be retrieved from

the Red Sea.

In July, this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published the report

“Walking the Nexus Talk: Assessing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Context of the Sustainable Energy

for All Initiative”. In this report, the Sahara Forest Project is featured as a case study.

The Sahara Forest Project is not only about technology, because the project will also ensure local long-term

social and economic development, for example by providing employment. That’s why I’m sympathetic

towards the project, which rethinks the way we utilize our resources and rethinks the design of production

systems.

Hopefully, the project can announce its first Farming Community soon.

This article was written at the occasion of TEDx Maastricht, October 13, 2014 (www.tedxmaastricht.nl).

For more information about the Sahara Forest Project I refer to www.saharaforestproject.com.

Why water and energy are closely related September 29, 2014

For me, as a Dutchman, there seems to be no resource more associated with abundance than water.

However, from a global perspective, water is just as critical a resource as fossil energy when it comes to

meeting the needs of 9 billion people in 2050.

Differences between water and energy

Both water and energy are essential resources. However, there are some remarkable diffences. First, water

has more applications – is more versatile – than energy. Water is the very source of life. It is used for

drinking (consumption), agriculture (irrigation, food production), manufacturing (chemical

processes and cooling), transportation, cleaning (sanitation and bathing), etc.

The good news is that since 1990 well over 2 billion people have gained access to

improved sources of drinking water.

However, it’s difficult to accept that still 783 million people do not have access to clean

water. It is usually the poor and otherwise excluded and marginalized populations who

tend to have least access to improved drinking water supplies.

And it’s alarming that water availability is expected to decrease in many regions.

Agricultural use, currently accounting for approx. 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, is

estimated to increase by at least 19% by 2050. Drivers of this development are the growth

of the global population and changing diets.

Economic value

Energy is big business compared to water. Market forces have played an important role in

the energy sector, while the management of water resources and the improvement of

water-related services (water supply and sanitation) have been more of a public health

and welfare issue.

W A T E R - E N E R G Y N E X U S

Water resources are considered to be a ‘public good’ – with access to safe water and sanitation being

recognized as a human right. Neither concept applies to energy and that’s why in most countries energy

tends to attract greater political attention than water.

Whereas energy is required for the provision of water services, water resources are required in the

production of energy.

The incentives to increase efficiency facing the two domains are asymmetrical: energy users have little or

no incentive to conserve water due to zero or low prices, but water users normally do pay for energy, even

though prices may be subsidized. Water and energy prices are strongly affected by political decisions and

subsidies that support major sectors such as agriculture and industry, and these subsidies often distort the

true economic relationship between water and energy. Particularly for water, price is rarely a true

reflection of cost – it is often even less than the cost of supply.

The water-energy nexus

Water and energy are tightly interlinked. For example, increasing agricultural output will substantially

increase both water and energy consumption, leading to increased competition for water between water-

using sectors, including water intensive energy producers.

Global water demand (in terms of water withdrawals) is projected to increase by some 55% by 2050,

mainly because of growing demands from manufacturing (400%), thermal electricity generation (140%),

domestic use (130%), and agriculture.

Approximately 90% of global power generation is water intensive. Oil and gas extraction yields high

volumes of ‘produced water’ (which is usually very difficult and expensive to treat).

Thermal power plants are responsible for roughly 80% of global electricity production, and as a sector they

are a large user of water. For instance, power plant cooling is responsible for 43% of total freshwater

withdrawals in Europe.

Local and regional impacts of biofuels can be substantial, as their production is among the most water

intensive types of fuel production.

At the same time, there is clear evidence that groundwater supplies are diminishing, with an estimated

20% of the world’s aquifers being over-exploited. Deterioration of wetlands worldwide is reducing the

capacity of ecosystems to purify water.

Progress must be made

It’s good to mention that the development and management of water and energy systems has the

attention of the highest level of government, notably the United Nations. Their reports show that

fortunately progress has been made over the last decades.

For example, in terms of manufactured goods, considerable achievements have been made in the design

and formulation of products specifically aimed at reducing the water and energy content.

More progress must be made.

For example regarding the development of renewable energy, in particular solar photovoltaic and wind

(these being energy sources that don’t consume water). However, the intermittent service provided by

solar photovoltaic and wind often needs to be compensated for by other sources of power, which do

require water to maintain load balances (geothermal energy for power generation could a good

alternative).

Any means of avoiding food wastage should be encouraged and can result in considerable savings in the

energy, land and water used to produce this food that no one consumes.

Energy audits to identify and reduce water and energy losses and enhance energy efficiency can result in

substantial energy and financial savings, with savings of between 10% and 40% reported.

Chemically bound energy in wastewater can be used for domestic cooking and heating, as fuel for vehicles

and power plants, or for operating the treatment plant itself.

Hopefully, substantial progress can actually be made in the near future.

In this context, the Sahara Forest Project may serve as a hopeful example; see the previous article, “Not

too good to be true”.

This article was written at the occasion of TEDx Maastricht, October 13, 2014 (www.tedxmaastricht.nl).

Information for this article was taken from the “Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation – 2014 Update”,

published by the World Health Organization/Unicef for Water Supply and Sanitation (2014,

www.wssinfo.org) and from “The United Nations Water Development Report 2014”, published by UNESCO

(2014, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2014-water-

and-energy/).

Furthermore, I refer to www.unwater.org.

The importance of international networks October 6, 2014

For most people prehistory is a vague term for ‘long ago’. Whoever takes the trouble to look closer, will

see that also in those days international networks led to innovations.

Let’s be honest, who has a good idea of the sequence and simultaneity of the prehistoric objects we find in

the landscape, whether in your own country or abroad?

For most people a megalithic tomb is just a megalithic tomb, regardless of whether it’s

one of the odd fifty ‘hunebedden’ in the Dutch province of Drenthe or one in Ireland (e.g.,

Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, Poulnabrone Dolmen or Altar Wedge Tomb).

Many people will respond with a shrug if told that prehistoric cultures can be

distinguished on the basis of the shape of their pottery, for example, the Band Ceramic

and the Funnel Beaker cultures.

Succession of periods

We can distinguish three prehistoric periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron

Age. The Stone Age is divided in the Paleolithic, the Mesolithic, and the Neolithic. Below I

limit myself to the Neolithitic (New Stone Age), the beginning of which coincides with the

transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and livestock. The Bronze Age started

when stone was replaced by bronze for tools and weapons, the beginning of the Iron Age marks the use of

iron instead of bronze.

The dating of these periods is crucial for the scope of this article. The dating varies by region and it’s

interesting to compare for example Greece (Mediterranean), Limburg (Netherlands), and Ireland.

Neolithic:

• Greece (Mediterranean): 6500-3000 B.C.

• Limburg (Netherlands): 5400-2000 B.C.

• Ireland: 3000-2000 B.C.

P R E H I S T O R I C N E T W O R K S

Arrowheads, Band Ceramic culture

(5400-4900 B.C.), found in Sittard

Bronze Age:

• Greece (Mediterranean): 3000-1200 B.C.

• Limburg (Netherlands): 2000-800 B.C.

• Ireland: 2000-600 B.C.

Iron Age:

• Greece (Mediterranean): 1200-700 B.C.

• Limburg (Netherlands): 800 B.C. (until the arrival of the Romans)

• Ireland: 600 B.C. – 100 A.D.

First, we can conclude that the Band Ceramic culture in Limburg (5400-4900 B.C.) is dated in the early

Neolithic, which marks the introduction of (sedentary) agriculture. Later, but still in the Neolithic, comes

the Funnel Beaker culture (Trechterbekercultuur, 4350-2800 B.C), when the megalithic tombs

(hunebedden) in Drenthe were constructed (approx. 3000 B.C).

In Ireland we can date Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery (4000-3000 B.C.) and Poulnabrone Dolmen (4200-

2900 B.C.) back to pre-Neolithic ages, while Altar Wedge Tomb was constructed during the late Neolithic

(before 2000 B.C.).

See a more detailed chronology at the end of this article.

Prehistory is getting close

Secondly, we can use this information to put some things in perspective.

Very close to my home in Sittard, several Band Ceramic objects have been found, for example, a collection

of arrowheads (see picture) that can be dated back to the early Neolithic. It’s overwhelming to realize that

the place where you live was already inhabited about 7000 years ago.

Such a distance in time and such a proximity in space!

In 2012, just before the construction of the LANXESS Elastomers headquarters at Brightlands Chemelot

Campus started, an archeological survey at the construction site revealed traces dating back to the Iron

Age (800-50 B.C.). The excavations unearthed the remains of buildings and pottery, which are thought to

belong to a prehistoric farmstead.

Innovation is of all times

And where the Iron Age farmer cultivated his land, 2500 years ago, there is now Brightlands Chemelot

Campus. Now, talented researchers are looking here for solutions for present-day problems: new

materials, new applications, new ways of production. Their focus is on performance materials, bio-based

materials, and biomedical materials.

Much has changed since prehistoric times.

However, we can draw a third conclusion from the sequence of prehistoric periods, which shows that

fundamentally less has changed than we might assume.

Cultures have developed over time and in space. The migration of people, trade, and ideas from the

Mediterranean to Northwest Europe, first to the Limburg region and next to Ireland, led to the

development of new cultures in these places. In this way agriculture, introduced in Greece in 6500 B.C.,

spread to Limburg in 5400 B.C. and to Ireland in 3000 B.C. After 600 B.C., iron appeared in Ireland

simultaneously with the Celts.

The almost simultaneous replacement of stone by bronze in Limburg and Ireland (about 2000 B.C., 1000

years later than in Greece) indicates that the increasing speed of innovation is not an exclusively modern

phenomenon.

Nowadays, international networks are among the prerequisites of successful innovation – Brightlands

Chemelot Campus can serve as a fine example. But the scope of this article is that international networks

have always been a prerequisite for innovation. In fact, history provides ample illustrations of renewal that

was induced by international relationships, in whatever form (peaceful or violent).

The challenge for the future is to remain innovative by bringing international relationships to a new level.

Talking about megalithic tombs, you may enjoy listening to the (Dutch) song “Steengrillen op ’t hunebed”

by De Bende van Baflo Bill: http://youtu.be/9P67xA5hxgg

This article was written at the occasion of The First Euregional Archaeological Conference, November 6-9,

2014 (http://www.lgog.nl/LBK-home.htm).

Shocking things said at TEDxMaastricht October 20, 2014

The motto of TEDxMaastricht was: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” (Audrey

Hepburn). That’s why most speakers told stories of hope and perspective. But some stories were about

despair and misery.

TEDxMaastricht (October 13, 2014) brought to the stage a true parade of interesting speakers. Among

them was a 17-year old student who told us how he found his passion: building smartphone apps.

A young woman shared her secret: her recipe to lose weight.

A professor gave hope to everybody suffering from schizophrenia: it’s not solely a (genetically determined)

disease, since there are also environmental factors, such as childhood abuse, cannabis use, and social

exclusion. Conclusion: this type of psychosis can often be treated.

A female cyclist gave an account of her attempt to be the world’s fastest woman on a bicycle. She achieved

110 km per hour – good enough to be third, but not good enough to be satisfied.

A young entrepreneur who is rolling out a network of loading stations for electronic cars, predicted that

the car industry as we know it is coming to an end. His loading stations provide the same freedom to car

drivers as conventional gas stations.

An organizer of large festivals mentioned the crucial elements of a successful party: music, entertainment,

and happiness!

A historian convinced us that the principle of a basic income (free money) has a positive societal

cost/return rate, in particular when homeless are the beneficiaries.

A high-performance expert told us why the majority is always wrong, because achieving extraordinary

results requires an extraordinary approach to doing things differently.

E X P L O I T A T I O N

The other speakers are within one of the following themes: exploitation, fashion, 3D printing, and science.

Exploitation

The Dutch photographer Kadir van Lohuizen showed the audience pictures of the contemporary migration

from South and Central America to the USA – Via PanAm.

A trail of migrants is constantly on a dangerous journey through countries dominated by gangs. If they ever

make it across the Mexican-US border alive, they will probably be arrested. Then, they’re send back to their

country of origin. That’s where the exploitation really starts: they have to work for the rest of their life to

pay back the smugglers, who gave them the loan to pay for their ‘ticket to prosperity’.

Another example of exploitation is provided by the clothing industry in

Bangladesh. Here about four million people are employed, most of them

women. They earn a minimum wage of about $68 per month – many

garment factories pay less.

The world was shocked when on April 24, 2013, the garment factory at Rana

Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed. The photographer Ismail Ferdous was witness

of the aftermath of this disaster, in which over 1,100 workers died and

around 2,500 were injured.

Later, in New York Ferdous saw on the cloths in the stores the same tags as

he say in the Rana Plaza collapse. In the Western world consumers are

looking for discounts – they’re one end of a chain with laborers at the other

end. The question is: who pays the cost of fashion?

I recommend to visit www.costoffashion.org, because the lesson of Rana

Plaza should not be forgotten.

The following articles are about the other themes: fashion, 3D printing, and

science.

This article was written at the occasion of TEDx Maastricht, October 13, 2014

(www.tedxmaastricht.nl).

Rana Plaza Building, Savar, Bangladesh

Why TEDxMaastricht is a recipe for discovery October 27, 2014

The motto of TEDxMaastricht was: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” (Audrey

Hepburn). But this motto provides troublesome tasks: dare to do what it takes, dare to innovate!

Fortunately, the speakers offered perspective: “I’m possible”.

TEDxMaastricht (October 13, 2014) brought to the stage a parade of interesting speakers. The most

notable ones are within one of the following themes: exploitation, fashion, 3D printing, and science.

For the first theme – exploitation – I refer to the previouse article, “Shocking things said at

TEDxMaastricht”. This article ends with the question: who pays the cost of fashion?

Fashion

One answer to this question was given by Hasmik Matevosyan. She is critical about the textiles industry.

For instance, several cotton farmers have died from pesticides. Garments are too often produced under

inhumane and dangerous labor conditions. And finally, 30% of all cloths are never sold and another 40% is

sold at high discounts.

Conversely, Matevosyan advocates good fashion: ethically, environmental friendly, profitable, and

affordable and attractive for consumers. To realize this a paradigm shift in fashion is required. This starts

with a design system that uses tools, such as social media, to take better into account the needs and

desires of the consumer. Furthermore, it requires a different business model that provides better quality

and real value. For example, a business model that promotes borrowing instead of buying – a library of

cloths.

Within the theme ‘fashion’ there was a talk about wearable technology by Pauline van Dongen. She

designs garments in which solar systems, which can charge mobile phones, are integrated.

Another Van Dongen creation is a 3D printed shoe, which brings me to next theme (for more of her

creations I refer to www.paulinevandongen.nl).

F A S H I O N & 3 D P R I N T I N G

3D printing

The English artist Agi Haines explores ways to design human bodies. We already use a lot of

enhancements, such as glasses, walking sticks, and tooth braces. But what about improving the human

body as from birth? This leads to transfigurations of babies, who are potentially superhuman (check them

out at www.agihaines.com). Haines – miss Frankenstein – suggests that another body improvement may

come from 3D printed organs, such as kidneys.

This application of 3D printing is still something of the future, but other speakers gave more current

examples. One of them is the entrepreneur Mick Walvisch, who places 3D printing in the context of the

‘Internet of Things’: in 2020, 37 billion things will be online.

Walvisch gave two example of 3D printing. With 3D printing he built his own windmill. And the first 3D

printed car has been produced – it took no longer than 48 hours.

A remarkable application of 3D printing was developed by the designer Eric Klarenbeek. He uses organic

waste that was inoculated with fungi. This mixture of biomass and mycelium is 3D printed, for example in

the form of a chair or stool. This leads to unexplored

connections: within a few weeks the 3D printed biomass

mixture is bound into a massive form, the object is dried and

is ready for use.

Want to know more? Visit www.ericklarenbeek.com.

The architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars provides a final example of

3D printing: a building. And not just a building, but one called

the Endless Expo Space. The design was inspired by the

Moebius ring: a structure that has only one surface and one

edge. This mathematical figure, which can only exist in three

dimensions, is an infinite loop and it gave Ruijssenaars a

recipe for discovery.

In fact, the building still needs to be constructed. 3D printing

is a major design method and it will be a production method

for certain elements of the building (see artist impression).

When ready, the building will be perfect as a museum, a nice

place to display a Rodin sculpture. Rodin said: “I take away

Landscape house; Endless Expo Space

(source: Universe Architecture)

what I don’t need.” In 3D printing it is the other way around: you make what you need.

For more information: www.universearchitecture.com.

In his talk, Ruijssenaars elaborated on his philosophy as an architect. As a child, he asked his father, who

was also an architect: What binds all architects? The answer: gravity.

Later, he considered the four dimensions: x, y, z, and time. One dimension (x) stands for ‘idea’, two

dimensions (2D) stand for ‘image’, 3D for ‘space’; and when time is added: ‘movement’.

Next, Ruijssenaars asked himself: what binds all ‘ideas’ (one dimension): nothing. And what binds all

‘images’ (two dimensions): light. ‘Spaces’ (3D objects) have matter in common. The most difficult question

was: what binds all ‘movements’ (four dimensions)? Ruijssenaars’ answer: transformation.

* * *

3D printing in Brightlands

Earlier this year, an Additive Manufacturing Materials Center was established at Brightlands Chemelot

Campus. This laboratory, which is part of Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL), develops new 3D

printing materials. 3D printing can be used for the manufacture of biological systems (cartilage, bone,

organs), nanostructures, combinations of different materials (metal-plastic) and fiber-reinforced

components.

The market for 3D printing (also called additive manufacturing) is growing rapidly, for instance, in the

biomedical, aerospace and mechanical industries and in consumer products.

3D printing technology is a real game changer in many manufacturing industries.

The final theme – science – is covered in the next article.

This article was written at the occasion of TEDx Maastricht, October 13, 2014

(www.tedxmaastricht.nl).

Han Dols Fotografie

How to solve the disconnect between science and society November3, 2014

The theme of TEDxMaastricht was: “I’m possible”. Indeed, many scientists see what’s possible. They

know how to generate knowledge and how to apply it in practice. In Maastricht some of them gave

interesting TED talks.

During TEDxMaastricht, lectures were given about the following themes: exploitation,

fashion, 3D printing, and science.

For the first three themes I refer to the previous articles, “Shocking things said at

TEDxMaastricht” and “Why TEDxMaastricht is a recipe for discovery”, leaving science for

this article.

Science in Transition

Frank Miedema, a professor of Immunology at the University Medical Center Utrecht,

presented the Science in Transition initiative, which is inspired by the belief that science is

in need of a fundamental change.

Miedema stated that science has become a self-referential system where quality is measured mostly by the

number of publications and citations, while societal relevance is undervalued. There is a disconnect

between science and society. Scientists should ask themselves: am I looking for a cure or for a career? This

question is relevant, since society is in need of solutions for the Grand Challenges.

According to Miedema, science has gone wrong! Science has become very capital intensive, which has led

to heavy competition: who gets the money? This has resulted in a growing number of publications, but has

yielded too little innovation.

That’s why Miedema pleaded to put science back into context, i.e., into society. Science should be better

connected to the social and economic agenda. Science-based solutions should disseminate into society:

from the laboratory to the people who need it, including people in developing countries.

A P L E A F O R C U R I O S I T Y

Source: TEDxMaastricht

The Science in Transition initiative has defined an agenda to discuss various issues involving science. One

point on this agenda is the image of science. When science collaborates too much with business or when

science is too much driven by ambitions to get to the front page, this image may become corrupted.

Furthermore, there is concern about public trust in science. Progress in science is fundamentally based on

skepticism, which is why scientific claims are systematically and critically tested. However, the general

public has difficulties to deal with uncertainty, in particular when it comes to topical issues like fracking,

climate change, durable energy, food safety, and the promises of new medical treatments.

A related issue is the relationship between science and politics. The distinction between both domains is of

crucial importance to guarantee the objectivity and disinterestedness of science. For scientists ‘fact-free

politics’ is a nightmare, but science, unlike politics, is not decided through elections or a broad public

debate.

For more information about Science in Transition: www.scienceintransition.nl/english.

A plea for curiosity

The professional work of Jens Thies at DSM covers areas such as medical coatings and biomedical drug

delivery. Like Miedema, he emphasized the important role of science when it comes to dealing with the

Grand Challenges. He is positive: the hole in the ozone layer has been restored, polio has been eradicated,

and the blue whale has been saved from extinction – and science played a role.

However, Thies also points at the disconnect between science and society. That’s why two things are

needed. First of all an educated public opinion. Events like TEDxMaastricht help to educate the public (and

maybe this article helps a bit).

The other thing that’s needed is great science. And in the world of Thies science primarily consists of

physics, chemistry, and biology. Scientists in these fields have realized great scientific contributions, for

instance in the field of miniaturization and nanotechnology.

Over time, scientists have become more and more specialized in areas of scientific expertise that are

getting ever more narrow. At the same time, this extensive specialization had led to more and more room

between these fields, presenting opportunities for new combinations.

And according to Thies, that’s exactly what we need to do: connect the various scientific fields, since these

combinations will provide the solutions for dealing with the Grand Challenges of our time. A scientist needs

to connect with different worlds.

Therefore, we should be looking for a new breed of scientists: skilled connectors, who can be educated for

their tasks, who can actually be hired for the job, and who are willing to be a connector between their

peers.

In fact, it’s a call-up for everybody: give a couple of hours to curiosity: discover, discuss with others. Jump

in another world.

Dare! Do! Collaborate. Connect!

* * *

Science at Brightlands

At Brightlands we do exactly what Thies advocates. At Brightlands we live to find solutions to the great

global challenges in materials, health, and nutrition. Leading international researchers (like Thies),

entrepreneurs, and students work together on healthy and sustainable solutions. Collaboration and

cooperation that crosses scientific, geographical, and organizational boundaries.

At Chemelot Campus and Maastricht Health Campus people are working together with a

focus on achieving big, radical change. People who dare, do, collaborate and connect.

It’s in their DNA!

This article was written at the occasion of TEDx Maastricht, October 13, 2014

(www.tedxmaastricht.nl).

Han Dols Fotografie

The Largest in the World November 17, 2014

Over sixty yeas ago, two young men crawled in a narrow tunnel. The entrance was located somewhere in

the most bizarre landscape I saw in Ireland. What they found at the end of that tunnel, still impresses.

The Burren

The coastal route along the Atlantic Ocean from Ballyvaughan (Baile Uí Bheacháin, Co. Clare) to the south is

one of the most beautiful in the world. Right the Atlantic Ocean, left The Burren. This is a fascinating region

with an area of 250 square kilometers, which, scarcely populated, creates a desolate impression.

The first thing that strikes you here are the barren hills. Not a tree in sight, no pastures, no hedges. You’ll

find rocky hills, with some walls from field stones. In part, the soil of The Burren consists of flat limestone

slabs, sloppy pushed together, between which plants have rooted. The vegetation is not entirely absent –

Ireland is indeed the Green Island, but that green here is not much.

Somewhere on the coast road, near Murrooughtoohy (Muiriúch Tuaithe) sea mat-grass is harvested for

use as aromatic stuffing of pillows and matrasses.

Also, there is the village of Doolin, which is known for the large number of pubs where Irish folk music is

played live; unfortunately we did not have time to go and listen.

D O O L I N C A V E

1952

In this area, near Doolin, two young English potholers

discovered on a beautiful day of Pentecost in 1952 that a

river disappeared somewhere under the ground. They

decided to follow suit. Water has to go somewhere, right.

That turned into a real discovery. They crawled through a 500

meter long tunnel, just large enough to crawl through, while

the river flowed past them. Had a thick stone blocked their

way, they would have to crawl backwards out again, because

nowhere was a place to turn.

With almost no fuel for their lamps left, they decided to

extinguish the light, so later they could see where they came.

In that narrow, pitch-black world the change of sound was

they only thing that indicated that they had arrived in a large

space, numb and with bruised knees. When they lit their

lamps, they were beaten with wonder when they saw the

Great Stalactite, the only stalactite in the entire room. They

did not dare to talk aloud, worried that the vibration of the

first voices ever to sound in this hall since the beginning of

Time should cause the giant stalactite to shatter.

Varley and Dickenson had discovered the largest stalactite in

the world.

Doolin Cave

Fortunately, as a tourist you don’t have to crawl as a mole

through a 500 meter long, narrow tunnel. Doolin Cave (Pol an

Ionáin) has been provided with a concrete shaft where a

staircase leads the visitor 80 meter down. From the bottom

of the shaft, the final piece of the route the explorers

followed has been carved out. You can still see that the

original corridor was incredibly narrow.

To achieve a dramatic effect, the visitor is led into the darkness of the dome to revive the

experience of the explorers. Then – [drum roll] – the light goes on and you see the world’s

largest free-hanging stalactite. Seven meters high and weighing 10 tons. The colossus is

hanging there now for some one million years, like the sword of Damocles, over the

stream that led to the discovery.

The origin of the cave goes back about 360 million years, when Ireland was part of a

shallow tropical ocean at the equator. Dead animals, plants and coral left a thick layer of

limestone on the ocean floor. This layer was not uniform, there were terraces and cliffs.

During successive ice ages (the last one ended 15,000 years ago) the limestone layer was

worn down by the ice. Thus it seems that in some places the bottom is paved with large,

flat limestone slabs (pavement). The soil is full of holes, cavities and passages, carved out

by the water, far below the surface. Limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) is in fact

soluble in water that contains carbon dioxide (CO2). In the course of time, dripping

calcareous water forms (hanging) stalactites and (standing) stalagmites in the caves.

The result of the action of ice and water on the limestone is the characteristic karst landscape of The

Burren.

Cliffs of Moher

The coastal route ends at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair), rising 200 meter from the

ocean over a length of eight kilometers. This is the most visited natural attraction of Ireland, and that

explains why so many coaches ride the narrow roads in these parts.

The cliffs are a protected area, because it is the home of Ireland’s largest colony of sea breeding birds. Here

puffins, guillemots, razorbills, arctic fulmars, St. Peter birds, peregrine falcons, and Alpine crows are

nesting.

Cliffs of Moher

The Burren Code

For an area that is so special as The Burren special rules of conduct apply, the Burren Code.

Two of these rules:

• Leave the limestone pavement as you find it (this type of landscape is in fact protected

by law)

• Leave no trace of your visit, take nothing but memories (I’ve also taken pictures, entirely

in accordance with this code, I think).

More information about The Burren National Park: www.burrennationalpark.ie

More information about Doolin Cave: www.doolincave.ie

Limestone pavement at

Murrooughtoohy, The Burren

Klaas Bos Manager Communications

Brightlands Chemelot Campus

Cycling, Hiking

Blues, Jazz, Americana

Blogger

www.klaasbos.blogspot.com

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This publication is best read on an Apple iPad.

2015.