Because that would quickly turn into a race to the bottom. If Ireland charged 5%, then Bermuda would charge 4%, so Ireland would lower theirs to 3% .... The only Nash Equilibrium is zero.

They get corporate registration fees, and jobs for a few lawyers and administrators. That is better than nothing.

Energy Density can refer to either energy/volume or energy/mass. For moving vehicles, the latter is often the more important consideration.

Good luck with that. Take a look at the periodic table. The only elements lighter than lithium are helium and hydrogen. Helium is nonreactive, and hydrogen is a gas with storage problems that have never been resolved, despite decades of effort. Computer nerds are used to Moore's Law, but exponential improvement doesn't often happen with other technologies.

"Research" and "pay the employees" are not different things. In fact, most money budgeted to research is used to pay employees that are researchers.

Meanwhile, between 1995 and 2012, America spent $84.4 billion on corn subsidies.

Which makes it just like garbage. One of the most useful finds for an archeologist is an ancient garbage dump. Looking at what people toss out can reveal far more about how they actually lived than their writings or art.

Whenever a politician says "We need to have a conversation" it means that they want to avoid taking a position on the issue until they know which way the wind is blowing. It is easier to bend when you have no spine.

Wrong question. The right question is whether they would be more or less likely to shoot the wrong person than a human soldier would. Many atrocities, such as My Lai and No Gun Ri were committed by soldiers angry over the deaths or maiming of comrades and fearful for their own safety. Since robots don't have emotions, they would not have committed those massacres.

With a linear building of length L, the max distance between two offices is L. For a circular building, it is L/2.

Most people don't like working in offices that receive no natural light.

This is a confirmation of the first of Clarke's Three Laws. They are:
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

If you invested your money in stock markets a century ago, it would have been a relatively poor investment. The United States of America was the "winner" of the 20th century, both militarily and economically, so of course the American stock market was a very good investment. But without the benefit of hindsight, you would have had no reason to know that. A century ago the "hot" stock markets were Argentina and Russia, while the "safe" market was Germany. Well, $100 invested in 1913 Russia or Germany would be worth $0 today, and Argentina would not be much better. So which stock market is going to be the "winner" of the 21st century?

They can already do that with your wallet, and the credit cards inside it. With a phone, theft is LESS of a problem. If they don't wipe your phone, then it can be tracked. If they do wipe your phone, they it is no longer linked to your credit card account.

I heard it on the radio. I cannot find any citation with Google, so most likely it is not true. Perhaps the radio announcer meant it as a joke. I have found that people often say something in jest or as a prank, and it all seems completely plausible to me. I often don't realize it was a joke until I notice everyone else laughing. So I admit I was wrong about this. But I hope you realize that when someone makes a snarky remark about cell phone ID cards, or flying cars, human progress is not advanced by the people that laugh, but by the guy in the back, looking up at the sky, and saying "Well, why not?"

Pay-by-phone does not require a smart phone. I have used pay-by-phone in Japan and China with a $20 phone. Your phone just needs an NFC chip, which costs about 5 cents.

Because the author is a moron. Cash and cards are NOT more convenient, they are less convenient. When I go out, I always take my phone so people can contact me. So if I can use my phone to buy stuff, then I don't need to carry cash or cards. Where I live (California) I don't even need a wallet to drive, because it is legal to show a cop a photo of my drivers license on my phone. As soon as I can start my car and open my front door with the NFC chip in my phone, then I will only need ONE THING in my pocket when I leave my house. What could possibly be more convenient?

The lack of phone-money in America has nothing whatsoever to do with customers being "stubborn". It is because of the fragmentation of the American cellular system, and the lack of cooperation among the vendors. Once they finally agree on a standard, phone-money will be adopted by consumers in America just as quickly as anywhere else.