Two American states have legalized marijuana, even though the Federal Government still considers it to be an illegal drug. Both sides use various studies to back their arguments which led Brian Palmer to answer…how do you participate in a medical marijuana study – thus getting free weed?

• Scientists running the studies recruit participants online and in ads. All one has to do is call them to volunteer.
• However you’re not guaranteed to be given marijuana. Most studies have a control group that are given a placebo, thus robbing you of your high.
• Not all the studies are fun. One tests your pain threshold which involves the researchers getting you high and then…causing you pain to see how you cope.

Read more about the criteria you’ll have to pass, and the types of studies that take place over here.

Source: Slate

Dominic Basulto believes that soon, you’ll be able to read books for free – although you’ll have to watch intermittent ads as you read them. Highlights include:

• Books could be a lucrative market for advertizers. In the middle of a romantic scene in the novel you might see a small popup for a sale at a local flower shop.
• While the ads might seem irritating, the result is that you could get your books for free – although they might be sponsored by some company when you buy it.
• The only reason we don’t see ads in actual paper books already is because there is no immediacy in advertizing. Books are read and re-read months and years from when they’re bought. Ads bought when the book was published would not be relevant when the reader would read them.
• However the rise of e-readers solves this problem. The ads would dynamically update based on when you’re reading the book.

Find out why authors won’t really oppose this move, and why books aren’t sacred over here.

Source: Big Think

When you donate to the church, is your money invested well? Brian Palmer answered:

• The Church of England’s returns beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 index over the past ten years.
• The Mormon Church uses its money to invest in more than just other businesses. It holds over $1 billion of land in the United States and has stakes in the media and insurance industries. It may well be the Church that most successfully manages its money.
• The Vatican doesn’t reveal detailed financial information, but evidence suggests that its record in recent times is mixed.
• The majority of churches, though, keep their finances a secret. It appears that smaller churches have fared badly in recent times – with some going bankrupt or being foreclosed upon – while the larger ones have done well.

Read more about other churches and the oil executive who was named Archbishop over here.

Source: Slate

Facebook’s share price has been unimpressive in recent times. David Goldman presented an idea that could turn things around for the massive social network, and in the process see you receiving checks from the company:

• Facebook’s problem is that it doesn’t exploit its users as well as other companies exploit theirs. Google makes $7 off each of its users. Facebook makes just $1.28.
• The social network could set up a scheme where it offers to pay users a small amount – say $10 a month – to make detailed personal information about them available to advertizers who would then pay for that information.
• Everybody wins. Facebook gets money from advertizers. Advertizers market their products to users likely to want them. And users hear about products that would appeal to them – while getting a small check each month.
• It might even help deal with privacy concerns – since users are given the choice about whether or not they want their information given to others.

To read more about why the idea of an ‘information market’ isn’t particularly new, why Facebook makes it feasible, and what gives Facebook the advantage over its rivals, click here.

Source: CNN

Olga Kharif discussed the current state of the next big thing in mobile phone technology: wireless charging. Highlights include:

• While the number of devices that support wireless charging is small, it is projected to rapidly expand with 100 million units being shipped by 2015.
• It takes about as long to charge a phone through a wireless connection as it does through a wired one.
• Businesses such as Starbucks and Delta Air Lines’ Sky Club have begun to embed the standard into table tops that  guests sit around. Customers can simply pull out their phone – if it has the technology – set it on the table, and watch it charge.
• Best Buy, Walmart, and Madison Square Garden are other organizations that are testing the technology.
• The biggest roadblock at the moment is that different companies are using different standards, and a single unified standard has yet to emerge.

Read more about the various players in the battle over wireless charge, and why people are so interested in it over here.

Source: Business Week

Microsoft Studio’s award winning, genre defining, multi-billion dollar Halo franchise recently released its latest installment: Halo 4. Erik Sofge looked at the secrets behind its success and what it says about the future of the video game industry:

• Halo’s success is driven in part by the vibrant universe described in best-selling novels written by award winning authors, and an online web series.
• The creators of the expanded media and the game work closely with each other to ensure that there are no inconsistencies and that a single, unified universe is being presented.
• While a new Halo game is only released every few years, this time around Microsoft is keeping it fresh by releasing periodic content that will extend the storyline and keep gamers engaged.
• While the content itself is free, gamers must be signed up with Microsoft’s paid Xbox live service to access it. In this way Microsoft’s Halo is less like a game and more like HBO’s Game of Thrones. The game is a way to keep customers coming back.

Read more about the author who worked with the creators of the game to write the novels, and why video games are the “new pulp” over here.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Time released a list of the best inventions of 2012. Some of the more interesting ones included:

• Artificial clouds. An artist has found a way to create, in certain conditions, an indoor cloud that lasts a few moments before vanishing.
• Natural fish farming. A Hawaiian company is building massive cages with baby fish which it then releases into the wild ocean. The fish are free to swim about, and the cages are tracked through GPS. When it’s time to harvest the catch, the cage is located and recovered. Not only is this method of fishing environmentally friendly, it leads to better fish.
• Self-inflating tires. Goodyear has developed a product which will mean that you’ll never have to test the pressure in your tires again.
• Talking Gloves. They convert sign language into speech so that those who rely on sign language can communicate with those who don’t understand it.

Read more about why you’ll never have to worry about ketchup stains in the future, revolutions in drones, NASA’s contribution, and what exactly ‘wing suit racing’ is over here.

Source: Time

Via: Marginal Revolution