The IEEE technology time machine

A custom has evolved around the world in all places where lakes freeze over in winter and thaw in the spring—from New England to Idaho, northern Scandinavia to Alaska, in the Andes and the Himalayas—of placing an object out on the ice during the winter and taking bets on when spring will arrive, as announced by the ice's melting and the thing's dropping into the water. Something of the same spirit will infuse the small, elite meeting that will convene in Hong Kong next month, with the purpose of exploring new directions in technology.