EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Can You Create A Question That Stumps A.I.? Key Takeaway: Humanity’s Last Exam is an initiative by Scale AI and the Center for AI Safety (CAIS) to test the limits of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The challenge is not just a tech contest, but a bold experiment in assessing the progress of AI. AI models are already outperforming humans in math, law, and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Science Behind The Loch Ness Monster Key Takeaway: The Loch Ness legend, a mysterious freshwater lake in Scotland, has been passed down through generations as mythological creatures. The lake, which is 23 miles long, wide, and deep, has been a subject of fascination for millions of people. However, no physical evidence of an unusual or prehistoric creature has ever been found. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY Why Is Free Time Still So Rare In Our Modern Productive Society? Key Takeaway: In the past, many economists assumed that people’s need for more stuff would eventually be met, leading to more free time. The 40-hour week is not the result of a personal calculation of costs and benefits but rather a result of a hard-fought political battle that culminated in the Fair Labor Standards Act […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK The Economics Of Rare Whisky Key Takeaway: The whiskey market has been booming for some time, with rare bottles and barrels selling for astronomical prices. The market has been driven by economic factors, with high prices for rare items like rare bottles and barrels, and social factors, such as the increasing focus on the purported authenticity of craft products like […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Does Blindness Change Our Sense Of Sound? Key Takeaway: A recent study published in PNAS found that blind individuals are better at perceiving auditory motion than sighted people. The study involved blind participants who were asked to judge the direction of a sound embedded in bursts of background noise. The results showed that blind participants were able to determine the direction of […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Significance Of The Cybertruck Key Takeaway: Tesla, a high-volume, premium-priced leader in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, experienced a 50% growth in deliveries in 2019. The company announced the Cybertruck in 2019, marking its first move into light/pickup trucks. However, delays in deliveries and the cost of bulletproof glass have hindered its development. Tesla now faces challenges in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK ENTREPRENEURSHIP The Paradoxical Life Of Elon Musk Key Takeaway: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has a diverse career in space exploration, electric cars, AI, and social media. His biography, written by Walter Isaacson, covers events up to Space X’s unsuccessful Starship rocket launch in April 2023. Isaacson interviews Musk and uncovered newsworthy information, such as his Starlink satellite network’s crucial role […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Quantum Computing In 2023 In June, an IBM computing executive claimed quantum computers were entering the “utility” phase, in which high-tech experimental devices become useful. In September, Australia’s Chief Scientist Cathy Foley went so far as to declare “the dawn of the quantum era”. This week, Australian physicist Michelle Simmons won the nation’s top science award for her work on developing silicon-based […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY How Nanoparticles Will Change The World Key Takeaway: Nanotechnology, which includes particles smaller than 10,000 times the diameter of a human hair, is playing a growing role in various industries, including medicine, cosmetics, and medicine. Nanoparticles can pass easily through the blood-brain barrier, potentially enabling better treatment of brain diseases and disorders like cancer and dementia. They can also be used […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Path To Human Invisibility Key Takeaway: Researchers from Stanford University have successfully made the skin of live mice appear transparent under specific lighting conditions, paving the way for medical imaging and biological research. The researchers used a food dye called tartrazine, which alters how light interacts with biological matter. By adjusting the refractive index, they allowed light to pass […] Written by Empirics Asia October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Dark Side Of Digital Drama Key Takeaway: The subreddit “Am I the Asshole?” has become a cultural phenomenon, with 20 million members and a focus on dissecting digital disputes. The platform encourages users to share stories about their non-violent conflicts, transforming them into moral judgments with quick votes and comments. AITA’s success lies in its structured approach to storytelling, which […] Written by Empirics Asia September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Of Power Generation With Black Holes Key Takeaway: Black holes, a potential energy source, have been the subject of theoretical research since the 1970s. The Zel’dovich Effect, a theory that rotating objects could amplify energy waves, was tested in 2020. The experiment confirmed that a rotating cylinder could amplify sound waves and electromagnetic waves, revealing similarities between the rotating cylinder and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 19, 2024September 19, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Secret Life Of Sunflowers Key Takeaway: Plants, once considered passive life forms, are now found to be dynamic and responsive. Researchers discovered that even seemingly insignificant behaviors, such as circumnutations, can have a profound impact on their survival and productivity. Sunflowers, for example, self-organize in a zigzag pattern to maximize sunlight exposure, promoting healthy growth and increased yield. This […] Written by Empirics Asia September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Science Is Redefining The Boundaries Of Life And Death Key Takeaway: Scientists have discovered a “third state” that blurs the line between life and death, revealing that cells can continue functioning even after death. This concept was first explored in frog embryos, where cells reorganized into xenobots and anthrobots, which can repair damaged neuron cells. The plasticity of cellular systems is believed to drive […] Written by Empirics Asia September 13, 2024September 13, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Wealth: Why GDP Isn’t Enough Key Takeaway: Inclusive wealth, a concept that includes not just economic output but also natural resources, human skills, and social networks, is gaining traction among international institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This broader measure of a nation’s well-being aims to address the limitations of GDP, which focuses only […] Written by Empirics Asia September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Dark Side Of No Sleep Key Takeaway: The “no-sleep challenge” has become a dangerous trend on social media, with some individuals trying to break world records for consecutive days without sleep. Sleep is essential for survival, as it helps the body repair itself and prevents health problems like depression, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and a shortened lifespan. Chronic sleep deprivation […] Written by Empirics Asia September 11, 2024September 11, 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