The polygraph test has proven unable to reliably determine whether a person is lying. Now, a breakthrough called "thermal facial imaging" offers the potential to deliver just such a capability. We'll tell you the truth about this new technology and its implications.

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A mysterious patent granted to the Sony Corporation provides a fantastic possibility: Technology will be able to trigger the human brain to "sense" an environment that may or may not really exist. In other words, people may be able to see, hear, taste, smell, and possibly touch objects and people in movies, video games, and other forms of entertainment we can't possibly imagine yet. We'll give you insights into what this amazing technology could mean to the entertainment and health care industries.

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As we've warned in previous issues of Trends, productivity growth, combined with protectionism and demographically-driven declines in consumer demand growth, could potentially lead to a depression in the decade from 2010 to 2020. Fortunately, there may be ways we can prevent this from happening. In fact, the U.S. and Japan seem to have already put in place mechanisms to prevent such a "death spiral." We'll explain.

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As American companies send services work overseas to take advantage of cost savings, alarmists are claiming that the U.S. will lose millions of jobs, leading to our long-term economic decline. As we'll explain, this is just the latest remake of the same old "disaster movie" that's dredged up every 15 years or so with a new villain. We'll tell you how the story will play out based on history and sound economic thinking.

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As we reported in the February 2005 issue of Trends, the U.S. population is being dispersed from the cities and suburbs to smaller ex-urban communities. However, on a global basis, the trend is in exactly the opposite direction. A great shift in human population from rural to urban areas is underway in the developing world. That's why, for the first time in history, more people live in cities than in the country. This unprecedented global change in population distribution is both challenging and alarming. We'll examine the implications and provide forecasts.

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Ten years after it was approved, high-definition television has started to penetrate the U.S. market. It is now poised for explosive growth over the next two years. This is good news for television viewers and owners of home-theater systems. But the shift to HDTV will cause upheavals in several industries. Who will be the winners, and who will be the losers? We'll unscramble the high-def picture for you.

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Since September 11, 2001, Americans have been highly alert for terrorist threats from abroad, especially from Islamic extremists. But a much more immediate threat to our nation is a domestic crop of terrorists that's been carrying out attacks across the country in the pursuit of diverse agendas, from environmental issues to animal rights, and from white supremacy to anti-government initiatives. Some simply hate corporations and want to destroy the American way of life. These terrorists now top the FBI's "most dangerous" list, and that organization, along with Congress and other law enforcement agencies, is going after them full-time. We'll consider the implications for you and your business.

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