Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E2: Sustainable Tech & Innovations for a Greener Planet

Made a microplastic detector using LEGO at 14…At 14, I was proud of not burning instant noodles.

She’s removing pollutants with magnets. I’m removing bugs by turning it off and on again.

But the real takeaway?
Some people play with LEGO. Others casually invent the future with it.'

Okay this episode actually got to me

like i think most of us did that thing as kids where you'd just pull stuff apart to see how it worked, build something pointless out of whatever was lying around. and then grown up life happens and suddenly you need a lab, a title, a degree, some kind of permission slip before you're "allowed" to call yourself an inventor.

fionn just... didn't do that. he was annoyed by something, grabbed a lego box and a christmas soldering kit and figured it out. and people still didn't believe him!! because of how the device looked. That part genuinely surprised me.

the niche thing is what i keep thinking about though. find something small enough that you can actually get really good at it.

This reminded me of a lecture by Barbara Maher back around 2010-2012 where she was using magnets with magnetic sorbent material for the removal of dissolved organic carbon from water to make it safer to drink.

Looks like her research is still on-going:
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/water-treatment-technology-research-receives-innovation-competition-funding

I liked Fionn's focus on practical, physical inventions.  What I heard the most was "be the solution" (my synopsis).  Good stuff.

Cool topic, interesting journey. Of course I now want a microplastics measurement system for my drinking water and of course I also want a system to remove microplastics from my drinking water. When will the homebrew kits be available? 

I wonder how much crossover there is with constructor sets like LEGO into the real world sciences and if that is something that perhaps needs changing in the modern world of child development.

I recall always being frustrated as a child that there was no easy way to attach non-LEGO parts to the LEGO bricks in order to interact more with the physical world which I was growing up in. It wouldn't take much to have a few bricks with threaded brass inserts inserted into the studs which could be used to securely attach clips and clamps (or nowadays 3D printed parts) to.

dougw said:

When will the homebrew kits be available

Sounds like another backburner project to add to the growing list

Not only is Fionn Ferreira a bright & determined inventor, but he is an eloquent communicator. I'm so impressed with his modest insightful positivity to develop effective solutions, which is so much more persuasive than the attention seeking environmental activist agitators. 

'if you want to build a community, write a newsletter, it is much more valuable than any social media'

To be honest, although I though this episode was interesting, I enjoyed the first episode between Dr Jack Lewis and Georgia Anderson, AI consultant, more enlightening.  Fionn Ferreira came across as very smart, creative and concerned, but limited by his group of influencers.  He very much wants to make a difference, and he is, but limits his scope to only a small part of the problem.  As an example, what do we do with all the micro-plastic after we have filtered and collected it?  Do we burn it (i.e. the current method of deposing of unwanted waste) and releasing the byproducts into the air.  I’m not saying we shouldn’t clean up the mess we have created, but we need a total solution. 

I knew a guy in college, like Fionn, who as his goal would design and build very complex project every month.  In most cases, he could explain how they work better than our instructors, but he never graduated.  He was too busy in his own world.  I wish Fionn and his team success in their goals but wonder what they could do if they expanded their vision.