ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK How The Perception Of Art Changed Over Time Key Takeaway: From the end of Antiquity to around 1250, art was dominated by traditional Byzantine icons, with little room for individual and creative expression. However, the 1400s saw a shift towards humanism in Italy, leading to a burgeoning interest in individual creativity. Artists like El Greco, born in 1541, were expected to be disruptively […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Understanding How Companies Use Dark Patterns Against You Key Takeaways: Dark patterns are clever tricks built into apps and websites to encourage users to do things they may not want to do. They make it easy to accept tracking cookies and agree to terms and conditions while making purchases. These patterns often benefit companies at the expense of consumers. The US Federal Trade […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY The Surprisingly Modern Philosophy Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Key Takeaways: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a renowned Western philosopher, is often overlooked in modern thought. His work includes treatises, fiction, autobiographical works, and musical compositions. Rousseau’s ideas reflect many of our deepest commitments and patterns of thought, making his ideas often seem common sense. His epistolary novel, Julie, or the New Héloïse (1761), suggests authenticity should […] 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
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE An Illustrated Guide To Scissors Congruence Key Takeaways: Ancient Greek mathematicians, such as Euclid, considered area as geometric rather than algebraic. His work, “Elements,” influenced research programs and modern math. Euclid’s concept of “having equal area” is based on cutting up shapes and pasting them back together. This idea has inspired modern math beyond just computing areas of triangles and squares. […] 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
EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY TECHNOLOGY How Netflix Uses Data Science To Produce Amazing Shows Key Takeaways: Netflix has released hundreds of Originals and plans to spend $8 billion over the next year on content. Each production is a mountain of operational and logistical challenges that consumes and produces tremendous amounts of data. At Netflix’s scale, this is further amplified to levels seldom encountered before in the history of entertainment. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS TECHNOLOGY The Air-conditioning Paradox A timely article in Fast Company, “ACs are bulky, loud, and terrible for the environment. Is there a better version in our future?”, discusses the problems posed by air conditioning, a key technology responsible for increasing productivity in many areas and absolutely essential for human survival in a future characterized by increasingly frequent and intense […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY TECHNOLOGY The Secrets Of Technology Ecology Technology is an outgrowth of nature. The computer, the clock and the car are, in one sense, no different from the anthill, the beehive and the beaver dam. Each are creations of creatures – modifications of the environment, which in turn, modify the environment. If ecology is “the scientific study of interactions among organisms and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK How Should Tomorrow’s Economy Look Like? A few days ago, thanks to my algorithmic recommendations — not from the sources I usually read, but selected on the basis of subject matter of interest to me — I came across an article about a 57-year-old American who after being released following a 37-year jail term, was asked about his impressions of something as commonplace as a smartphone, or the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Discovering Your Money Attachment Style Key Takeaway: The current economic climate is particularly concerning for young people, who are often financially worse off than their parents. To overcome this, it is important to understand one’s financial attachment style, which can be secure, anxious, or avoidant. Attachment theory, influenced by childhood experiences and education, can help shape one’s relationship with money. […] Written by Ylva Baeckstrom April 9, 2024April 9, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Proven 5 Steps To Psychological Wellness Key Takeaway: Wellness culture, which claims to provide happiness and meaning, has been criticized for its superficial focus on superficial aspects like candles and juice cleanses. Psychological research suggests that long-term wellbeing comes from a committed pursuit of both pleasure and meaning. Martin Seligman’s Perma model, which breaks wellbeing into five pillars: positive emotions, engagement, […] Written by Ben Gibson April 8, 2024April 8, 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
How Nature Influences Time Key Takeaway: Recent research suggests that nature can regulate our sense of time, a feeling often exacerbated by the demands of work, home, and family. Research by psychologist Richardo Correia at the University of Turku in Finland found that spending time in nature can change how we experience time and give us a sense of […] Written by Ruth Ogden March 27, 2024March 27, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
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, […] Written by Benjamin Wild March 25, 2024March 25, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
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 […] Written by Joyeeta Gupta March 22, 2024March 22, 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