Brains in a Bar: The Roaring 2020s
To close out the end of May, which is also National Inventors Month, we celebrated in style by hosting a Brains in a Bar activation centered around the advancements made in the 1920s and the technology that we hope to see in the 2020s.
Traveling back in time 100+ years, our Roaring 2020s edition invited local brainiacs to deliberate the topic of influential inventions from the past and new creations for the future – but not before correctly answering a few questions in order to secure an invite to the secret location:
Hosted at MidCity ATL, attendees enjoyed tasty drinks, trendy décor, and inspiring conversations. With themes varying from sustainable innovation to medical science to accessible technology, topics included:
Virtual reality (VR)
The COVID-19 vaccine
Medical technology
Advancements in nuclear energy
Sustainable energy and production
New methods of space travel and space exploration
Interactive media, movies, shows
In terms of the biggest medical invention of the decade, participants agreed the COVID-19 vaccine ranks number one. Along the same industry, Georgia Tech (GT) grad students Naveen Balaji and Abhirupa Saha discussed robotic caregivers becoming a more widely-available treatment option as time goes on. From assisting with everyday tasks, transportation, and cognitive issues, robots large and small may soon become more commonplace in hospitals, adult care facilities, and even in your own home.
From an entertainment perspective, the excitement was palpable when ideating on the use of VR in film and television. Similar to the popular interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, attendees fantasized how users could be fully immersed in an experience through VR, versus a “choose your own adventure” style that allows you to interact via a controller. For instance, creating an environment that you could walk around in and incorporate things like smell, texture, temperature, and more!
Whether it’s an invention that was created 100 years ago or something that has yet to be materialized, we love the idea of our community members coming together and continuously thinking up new ideas or improvements on existing ones.
What’s the most influential invention from the 1920s? Let us know in the comments below.