EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Is Big Tech Killing Free Speech or Saving It? Key Takeaway: President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” accused the previous administration of stifling free expression by working with social media companies to curb misinformation and label misleading content. However, recent research suggests that less regulation can actually make the internet a less free place for speech, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Is Democracy Really The Best System? Key Takeaway: Plato’s critique of democracy, particularly in his work “The Republic,” suggests that it is fundamentally flawed. Socrates, Plato’s mentor and teacher, argues that ruling a state is a skill, similar to piloting a ship or performing surgery. However, critics argue that this is not the case. Politics involves moral judgments, compromises, and social […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Who Owns The Moon? Key Takeaway: As humanity ventures deeper into space, tensions are brewing over territory, resources, and the legal frameworks governing space exploration. The Moon, rich in resources like water ice, is poised to host long-term international research stations. However, the lack of universal agreement on resource use could lead to an era of space exploration defined […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS TECHNOLOGY Should TikTok Be Banned? Key Takeaway: President Biden signed a US$95 billion foreign aid bill in April 2024, allowing TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app. If the law stands, TikTok will be blocked from any US app store or web-hosting service, affecting over 170 million US users, including 62% of Americans aged 18 to 29. Critics argue […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
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
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS TECHNOLOGY A.I. Is Consuming Excessive Water And It’s A Problem Key Takeaway: Water is essential for development, production, and consumption, but we are overusing and polluting it. Eight safe and just boundaries have been identified for five domains: climate, biosphere, water, nutrients, and aerosols. Humans have already crossed these boundaries for water, but the minimum needs of the world’s poorest to access water and sanitation […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS TECHNOLOGY The Hidden Risks Of TikTok? Key Takeaway: The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 to require TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban. The bill’s fate in the Senate is unclear, and the resulting legislation could survive a court challenge. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning TikTokin in May 2023, the first […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS The Future Of China’s Semiconductor Industry Key Takeaway: China’s national champions for semiconductor design and manufacturing, HiSilicon and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), are making waves in Washington. Huawei’s launch of the Huawei Mate 60 smartphone in August 2023 showed that Chinese self-sufficiency in HiSilicon’s semiconductor design and SMIC’s manufacturing capabilities were catching up at an alarming pace. The US has […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Lego’s Sustainability Dilemma Key Takeaway: Lego, the world’s largest toy manufacturer, has pulled out of its “Bottles to Bricks” initiative, which aimed to replace traditional Lego plastic with recycled plastic bottles. The company found that producing bricks with recycled plastic would require extra materials and energy, leading to higher carbon emissions. This decision is part of a larger […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS SOCIOLOGY Do Nobel Peace Prize Winners Actually Create Peace? Key Takeaway: The Norwegian Nobel Committee is set to announce the winner of the annual Nobel Peace Prize on October 6, 2023, from a pool of 351 nominees. Environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among the nominees. The winner will receive a medal, US$994,000, and global recognition. The prize has […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Are Animals Making Art? Key Takeaway: Animals, including birds and whales, have been questioned about their artistic abilities. Some argue that art is about emotion, representation, or intention, while others believe it comes from reinforcement. However, not all animal creations are considered art. Some, like Humpback whales and Pigcasso, are trained to express their creativity, while others, like puffer […] Written by Empirics Asia May 7, 2025May 7, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is A Space Tourist An Astronaut? Key Takeaway: The debate over who truly deserves to be called an astronaut has resurfaced with the recent all-women spaceflight aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin spacecraft. The term “astronaut” has been used to describe individuals who have travelled into space, but the definition varies widely. Some dictionaries define an astronaut as anyone who has travelled […] Written by Empirics Asia May 6, 2025May 6, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Human Networks Planted The Seeds Of Civilisation Key Takeaway: Researchers have used mathematical models to simulate the spread of farming, focusing on human contact as the driving force. They adapted predator-prey models to simulate the overlap of farming and foraging communities. The study found that direct human contact, whether friendly or hostile, played a central role in the expansion of farming. Small-scale […] Written by Empirics Asia April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Great Cosmic Riddle Key Takeaways: Dark matter, an invisible substance thought to outweigh all visible matter in the universe, remains a mystery in astrophysics. The idea of dark matter began in the 1970s when astronomers Vera Rubin and Kent Ford studied the rotation of the Andromeda galaxy. However, alternative explanations exist, such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and […] Written by Empirics Asia April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Big Tech Killing Free Speech or Saving It? Key Takeaway: President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” accused the previous administration of stifling free expression by working with social media companies to curb misinformation and label misleading content. However, recent research suggests that less regulation can actually make the internet a less free place for speech, […] Written by Empirics Asia April 23, 2025April 23, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How The Brain Learns Key Takeaway: Recent research published in Science has revealed that the brain uses multiple learning mechanisms simultaneously, revealing the complexity behind brain wiring. Neurons communicate through electric signals called synapses, which form complex networks of connections that transmit information. The traditional theory of synaptic plasticity assumes uniformity between neurons, but the new study found that […] Written by Empirics Asia April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Did We Just Discover Life On A Distant Planet? Key Takeaway: A new study published in Nature Astronomy claims that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected atmospheric signals on K2-18b, a distant world 124 light-years from Earth. The researchers found traces of molecules often associated with biological activity on Earth, including dimethyl sulphide (DMS). The scientists are 99.7% confident in the presence […] Written by Empirics Asia April 21, 2025April 21, 2025 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