ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS The Problem With Fashion Key Takeaway: The fashion industry relies on storytelling to create fashionable garments and spread positive messages about issues. However, it can also drive overconsumption and perpetuate unrealistic beauty expectations. The industry’s global reach allows for easy sharing of visual cues and messaging, especially during times of social and political unease. The UN’s report urges storytellers, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Secret Recipe Of Disney Films Key Takeaway: Disney has a rich musical legacy, with landmark films featuring musical numbers that remain household favourites today. The studio’s first sound film, Steamboat Willie, (1928), established Disney as the leading animation studio. The silent era of cinema (1923-1928) saw films without soundtracks but often accompanied by local organists or pianists. The Alice Comedies […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK Is Taylor Swift The New Shakespeare? Key Takeaway: The podcast “Studies in Taylor Swift” began in 2021, aiming to invent and catch up on the academic discipline of Taylor Swift studies. The podcast featured guest speakers with experience teaching Swift or thinking academically about her lyrics. In 2023, a summer school course on Taylor Swift and Literature was designed, and a […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK How To Tell If Luxury Goods Are Worth It Key Takeaway: Designer fashion has seen significant growth since the pandemic, with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Burberry experiencing 86% higher sales growth. The rise of athleisure and designer collaborations like Manolo Blahnik for Birkenstock, Gucci x Adidas, and Burberry x Supreme have made luxury more accessible. However, high prices can affect the longevity […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY The Real Magic Of Disney Is Its Business Acumen Key Takeaway: Disney’s greatest legacy is not its animated stories or characters, but the business acumen of its founders. The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, who initially focused on animation. They adopted merchandising and technologies like Technicolor and sound to cut costs and promote their products. After […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY The Price Of Love: Hidden Costs Of Modern Dating Key Takeaway: The average American spends $120,000 on romantic activities, leading to a significant amount of “dating debt” among millennials and Gen Z. This debt accumulation is attributed to the desire to signal status and the persuasive retail marketing of luxury as synonymous with love. Luxury brands like Gucci and Tiffany use strategic marketing tactics […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Truth About The Antikythera Mechanism Key Takeaway: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a film based on the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek object that tracked the cycles of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the stars. The mechanism, discovered in 1901, was tangible proof of technological sophistication and was a part of underwater archaeology. The film explores […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY How The CGI Of Jurassic Park Revolutionised The Industry Key Takeaway Jurassic Park, a 1993 film, revolutionized cinema by using computer-generated imagery (CGI) to bring dinosaurs to life. The adaptation, written by Michael Crichton and David Koepp, changed the ending and paved the way for future dinosaur-themed films. Stop-motion tests led to go-motion, but Spielberg’s team used CGI modeling and animation for Jurassic Park, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Art Of Balding Balding is really common, affecting more than 50% of men. It’s also physically inconsequential (bald men live just as long as haired men). So why, in his memoir Spare, does Prince Harry refer to his brother’s baldness as “alarming”? As a social psychologist with a special interest in balding (and author of an upcoming book entitled Branding Baldness), […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Origin Of Christmas Trees Key Takeaways: The humble Christmas tree is emblematic of the growth of market economics and world trade. Who would have imagined that fir trees would be grown in Denmark especially for the export market, or that factories in China would produce plastic replicas? So, let’s climb on the sleigh and take a ride around this […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Building Blocks Of The Universe Key Takeaway: Peter Higgs, the creator of the Higgs boson, has died at the age of 94. Higgs, a great scientist in particle physics, discovered the Higgs boson in 1964 after reading a paper by American theoretical physicist Philip Anderson. This led to the development of the Standard Model, which explained how fundamental particles and […] Written by Harald Fox April 16, 2024April 16, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Inherent Risks Of A.I. Key Takeaway: Leading scientists and technologists often make terrible predictions about the direction of innovation, leading to misalignments between a company’s economic incentives to profit from its proprietary AI model and society’s interests in how the AI model should be monetised and deployed. Focusing on the economic risks from AI is not just about preventing […] Written by Mariana Mazzucato April 15, 2024April 15, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
When Will Quantum Computers Actually Become Practical? Key Takeaway: Quantum computing, which uses entanglement to represent information, has the potential to revolutionize everyday life. However, the development of quantum computers has been slow due to the need to demonstrate an advantage over classical computers. Only a few notable quantum algorithms have been developed, such as the BB84 protocol and Shor’s algorithm, which […] Written by Adam Lowe April 4, 2024April 4, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Predicting China’s Economy In 2024 Key Takeaway: China’s leaders have declared a GDP growth target of 5% in 2024, despite facing economic problems and a property crisis. The country’s rapid economic growth has been attributed to market incentives, cheap labor, infrastructure investment, exports, and foreign direct investment. However, none of these drivers are working effectively. The government’s determination to deflate […] Written by Hong Bo April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Of Human Computing Key Takeaway: Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk, aims to implant a brain-computer interface (BCI) in people’s brains, allowing them to control computers or phones by thought alone. This technology holds the promise of alleviating human suffering and allowing people with disabilities to regain lost capacities. However, the long-term aspirations of Neuralink include the ability to […] Written by Allan McCay April 2, 2024April 2, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Real Mystery Of Sand Dunes Key Takeaway: Sand dunes, primarily formed of quartz and feldspar grains, can also be formed from ash, snow, and gypsum. They can record a history of climate changes and can be enormous, with the largest being as tall as skyscrapers. Only a fifth of deserts are covered by sand dunes, and only about a fifth […] Written by David Thomas April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Economics Of Betrayal Key Takeaway: Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus, is often associated with treachery and betrayal due to his loyalty. However, research suggests that acts of betrayal are rare, as most humans can be trusted due to their interests. In a trust game, the sender can keep the money or send it to the receiver, who […] Written by Renaud Foucart March 29, 2024March 29, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
