BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Boeing: Are Businesses Too Big To Fail? Key Takeaway: Alaska Airlines flight 1282 nearly fell out of the sky after losing a door plug, following two similar 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019. Boeing was charged with conspiracy to defraud regulators in 2021, but the US government agreed not to prosecute the company if it promised to pay a criminal […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY The Science Fiction Feedback Loop Key Takeaway: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sparked controversy by referencing the 2013 movie “Her” to highlight the novelty of ChatGPT’s latest iteration. Actor Scarlett Johansson accused the company of improperly using her voice after she spurned their offer to make her the voice of ChatGPT’s new virtual assistant. This highlights the “sci-fi feedback loop,” which […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Is Free Trade A Myth? Key Takeaway: US President Joe Biden has raised tariffs on Chinese-made goods, claiming the Chinese government has cheated by pouring money into Chinese companies. The tariffs are 25% on steel and aluminium, 50% on semiconductors and solar panels, and 100% on electric vehicles. Under Biden’s presidency, the US has embarked on an ambitious strategy to […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Threat Of Solar Storms Key Takeaway: The recent geomagnetic storm in May 2024 caused the aurora borealis and aurora australis, which are the northern and southern lights. These storms, caused by high energy particles from the Sun hitting the Earth’s atmosphere, can cause havoc with human-made infrastructure, such as electrical grids and satellites. The storm caused auroral activity in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE How To Tell If Conspiracy Theory Is False Key Takeaway: Conspiracy theories are prevalent and can involve various factors. People believe false conspiracy theories for various reasons, such as the existence of real conspiracies. However, unfounded conspiracy theories often lack evidence and substitute elements that should be red flags for skeptics. To vet a claim, one should seek out evidence, test the allegation, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK What Vietnam Can Teach Us About The Vulnerabilities Of Banks Key Takeaway: Vietnam’s businesswoman Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for taking out $44 billion in fraudulent loans from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by bypassing a law that prevents anyone from owning more than 5% of a bank’s shares. The loans made up 93% of the bank’s entire lending portfolio. The case highlights the […] 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
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 FINANCE 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. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Quantum Physics Meets A.I. Key Takeaway: Quantum tunnelling, a phenomenon from quantum mechanics, has been applied to artificial intelligence (AI) to create a neural network that mimics human perception of optical illusions. This neural network, trained to recognize optical illusions like the Necker cube and Rubin’s vase, exhibits a state of ambiguity, mirroring human ambiguity in perception. This finding […] Written by Empirics Asia August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Power Of Small Changes: How Marginal Gains Lead To Extraordinary Success Key Takeaway: The British cycling team’s 2008 Beijing Olympics victory was a result of a simple strategy: the pursuit of marginal gains. The team’s coach, Sir Dave Brailsford, believed that success could be achieved by making a series of 1% improvements across every aspect of the cyclists’ gear, stamina, and physical conditioning. This principle, known […] Written by Empirics Asia August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Unveiling The Mysteries Of Death: The Human Autopsy Key Takeaway: An autopsy is a methodical, often quiet, and respectful examination of the body to uncover the truth about a death. It is conducted when the cause of death is unclear and the dignity of the deceased is a guiding principle. Autopsies are categorized into two types: non-coronial and coronial. Non-coronial autopsies are conducted […] Written by Empirics Asia August 23, 2024August 23, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The 3 Most Intriguing Philosophy Paradoxes Key Takeaway: Ancient Greek paradoxes were not just philosophical exercises but mental traps designed to expose contradictions and inconsistencies. They challenged the assumptions of language and the concept of truth, revealing the limitations of language and the power of presuppositions. The liar paradox, attributed to Eubulides of Miletus, forces us to question whether some questions […] Written by Empirics Asia August 22, 2024August 22, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Human Heart: An Evolutionary Puzzle Key Takeaway: Researchers have discovered that the human heart is an outlier, distinctly different from the hearts of great apes. The human heart evolved in response to specific challenges faced by our species, such as an upright posture and larger brains. The smooth interior wall of the left ventricle of the human heart allows it […] Written by Empirics Asia August 21, 2024August 21, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Brewing Storm In The Coffee Industry Key Takeaway: The coffee industry is facing a potential reckoning as rising prices threaten to slow its expansion. Giuseppe Lavazza, the head of the iconic Italian coffee brand, suggests that consumers in the U.S. might see prices increase by 20%-25% over the next year. The price of a latte or flat white is becoming pricier, […] Written by Empirics Asia August 20, 2024August 20, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Psychology Of Being Stranded In Space Key Takeaway: NASA Commander Barry Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams are stranded in space after their Boeing Starliner encounters technical issues during its journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts face an extended mission, potentially delayed by six months, due to the uncertainty surrounding their return. The astronauts’ situation is similar to those […] Written by Empirics Asia August 19, 2024August 19, 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
