Among the many interesting scientific, social, cultural, psychological and natural developments we often read and hear about, some give us reason for hope and happiness, while others cause us worry and sadness.

Ongoing wars, terrorism, brutality, crime, corruption, injustice, economic instability, poverty, hunger, disease, climate change and other human problems cause troubling and discouraging feelings within us.

Yet, progress in diplomacy, peace operations, economic opportunity, agriculture, medical science, quantum physics, understanding our fellow human beings and other valuable research efforts can give us reason for optimism about the human race and our planet.

Some of this progress is public and conventional. That is, activities aimed at creating a better world are open, overt and along the lines of what we think of as normal constructive endeavors.

Other positive efforts might be more unconventional, covert and secret. People working "behind the scenes" might be conducting research and operations that are "not ready for prime time" but hold the promise of very helpful outcomes.

Many developments might include a mix of both open information and other layers of activities that are not as public.

They could involve combinations of efforts that have conventional and unconventional elements.

LEARNING ABOUT RESEARCH

In our modern world, the Web joins films, TV, radio, books, magazines and newspapers as a rich source of "open source intelligence" information that we can all access to find out more about interesting emerging developments.

Even our own internal consciousness and "situational awareness" can provide valuable "intelligence" about what is going on around us and how we might be affected.