A bunch of data is powerful on its own - but knowing what to do with it, finding connections to predict the future, is mindblowing.  It seems Shazam is doing just that... determining what song will hit No. 1 a month in advance.

Sure there could be an incredible amount of debate around whether any of this is feasible... but who better to redefine our relationship with the environment and our natural constraints than Google.

Taking a cue from Steven Johnson's intriguing essay Everything Bad Is Good For You, Gregg Toppo takes the video gaming debate to the next level...