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
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY How Groundbreaking Will Apple Vision Pro Be? Key Takeaway Apple unveiled its Vision Pro headset, blending VR, AR, and mixed reality. The headset uses 12 cameras and EyeSight to detect and display people in the real world, allowing users to adjust their immersion level. The Vision Pro is expected to revolutionize head-mounted devices and bring immersive technologies to mainstream use. Apple’s Vision […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY Why Everyday Decisions Feel So Stressful Key Takeaway: The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less argues that an abundance of choices can cause people anxiety due to the difficulty of comparing and contrasting options, lack of expertise, and emotional high stakes. Maximisers are more likely to experience post-decision regret, so it is important to build habits to avoid ruminating on […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY Why TikTok Might Be A Threat To Music Key Takeaways: Viral TikTok videos have meant success for new and established artists alike. The short-form video service has earned US$12 billion (£10.5 billion) in advertising revenue in 2022. Many of its most popular videos feature music – available to use for free – through its audio library. TikTok pays the “Big Three” record labels […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Understanding Semiconductors Key Takeaways: Semiconductors are a critical part of almost every modern electronic device, and the vast majority of semiconductors are made in Tawain. Different software applications perform very different tasks, but they all work by switching the transistors that control the current. Because the transistors are so small, it is much easier to add materials […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY The Secret Of Tumblr’s Enduring Appeal Key Takeaways: When tech billionaire Elon Musk made a deal to acquire Twitter in April 2022, many Twitter users threatened to shut down their accounts and migrate elsewhere online. This is partly due to the flexibility of the main user interfaces. In 2013, after Yahoo acquired Tumblr, there was concern that the platform would tighten […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Apple’s Vision For Augmented Reality Key Takeaways: Many believe Apple’s next big product could be an augmented or virtual reality viewer. Rumors suggest the company is putting together hardware, software and content for such a device. Apple has a history of attracting people to products they weren’t previously interested in. How does Apple intend to reinvent the virtual and augmented […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE What Is A Bear Market? Key Takeaways: A 16th-century proverb advises: “It’s unwise to sell a bear’s skin before catching it.” It follows that a market in which securities or commodities are persistently declining in value is known as a “bear market,” like the one U.S. stocks are experiencing now. But when there are big swings in the stock market, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY The Future Of The Internet But let’s begin with life 3.0. As it’s imagined by the physicist Max Tegmark, the third iteration of life is boundless and self-improving, evolving at a rate far faster than the millions of years divorcing the emergence of bacteria and humankind. Bacteria is seen as Life 1.0: elegant yet primitive because these organisms are incapable […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Will Cars Become A Subscription Service? A number of stories have been circulating for some time now about the “terrible future” awaiting car owners after it was revealed that Toyota plans to offer subscription services for its vehicles that would include charging $8/month for certain connectivity-based services. What’s more, a few months ago, Volkswagen hinted at a similar model for its autonomous capabilities: paying for your […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Secret Functions Of Dopamine Key Takeaway: Recent neuroscience research suggests that popular strategies to control dopamine are based on an overly narrow view of its function. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that tracks reactions to rewards, such as food, sex, money, or answering a question correctly. There are many types of dopamine neurons located in the uppermost […] Written by Kimberlee D'Ardenne September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
NASA Finally Revealed Findings On UFOs Key Takeaway: NASA’s independent study team released a report on UFOs, describing them as UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) to move beyond the stigma associated with UFOs. The report found no evidence that reported UAP observations are extraterrestrial. The report also highlighted the need for transparency and reducing the stigma associated with UFOs. The study team […] Written by Chris Impey September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Some Silicon Valley Investors Are Trying To Create A Utopian City Key Takeaway: George Bernard Shaw referred to Ebenezer Howard’s “garden cities” concept in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which he believed would offer the advantages of town and country without the drawbacks. Recently, a Silicon Valley consortium called Flannery Associates purchased land for California Forever, a contentious project that echoes Howard’s ideas. Howard’s […] Written by Empirics Asia September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Video Games Are Reviving Classical Music Key Takeaways: Starfield, a highly anticipated video game, allows players to build their own character and spacecraft, travel to multiple planets, and follow multiple story arcs. The game’s interactive music uses a palette of musical language that cultivates a contemplative soundscape, launching the listener into the vastness of space while remaining curious, innocent, and restrained. […] Written by J. Aaron Hardwick September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Psychology Of Fyre Festival II Key Takeaway: The founder of the 2017 Fyre Festival, William “Billy” McFarland, has announced plans for a second attempt at the festival, with a target date of the end of 2024. McFarland, who was charged with several fraud offences and sentenced to six years in prison, has been promoting the event on Instagram. The promotion […] Written by Yaniv Hanoch September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
What Exactly Is Nudge Theory? Key Takeaway: The concept of “nudge theory” has gained prominence 15 years after its 2008 book, “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness.” The book, which inspired politicians like Barack Obama and David Cameron, led to the creation of government teams to incorporate nudge theory into public policy. However, the success of these nudges […] Written by Stuart Mills September 7, 2023September 7, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Age Of Nanotechnology Key Takeaways: Nanotechnology is set to revolutionize clothing, transportation, and transportation. Clothing will be tailored to individual needs, with synthesizers in closets creating clothing that fits perfectly. Nanosuits, made of 5 microns thick fabric, will cover the wearer’s body, allowing separate holes for individual hairs and making them weightless. This technology will double the amount […] Written by Ella Alderson September 6, 2023September 6, 2023 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