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 SOCIOLOGY The Maths Of Societal Collapse Key Takeaway: The author, a historian and complexity scientist, has been studying history for over a decade, noticing patterns in the past. They have been working on cliodynamics, a new field that uses statistical methods and computational simulations to understand how complex systems change over time. The Seshat: Global History Databank, a collection of over […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY The Hidden Costs Of Lay-Offs Key Takeaway: Businesses are facing rising borrowing costs and wage growth, affecting industries like advertising and retail. Redundancies can impact all employees, including those at risk, survivors, and management and HR teams. Decreased trust can lead to a toxic work environment, causing employees to question loyalty and commitment. Psychological stress can lead to increased absenteeism, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Black Holes May Be The Source Of A Mysterious Energy Key Takeaway: A study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by 17 astronomers in nine countries, led by the University of Hawaii, has found that black holes could be the source of dark energy. The researchers uncovered the first evidence of “cosmological coupling,” which would mean that the growth of black holes over time is […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK How China Is Revolutionising Shopping Malls Key Takeaway: From 1990 to 2020, China’s malls reflected its economic growth, catering to the emerging middle class. These malls were built by US architectural firms and are now being reimagined as civic spaces for communities to meet and interact. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of online shopping have devastated foot traffic, leaving the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Secrets Of Hibernation Explored Key Takeaway: Hibernation, a deep, deep sleep pattern, has a close link to human history, dating back to the “lotska” in Pskov, Russia, and the Inuit Greenlandic stories in Greenland. It is a complex process that involves reduced calorie intake, low body temperature, and lowered metabolism. Animals that hibernate usually live longer than other species […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK How To Tell If Luxury Goods Are Worth It Key Takeaway: Designer fashion has seen significant growth since the pandemic, with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Burberry experiencing 86% higher sales growth. The rise of athleisure and designer collaborations like Manolo Blahnik for Birkenstock, Gucci x Adidas, and Burberry x Supreme have made luxury more accessible. However, high prices can affect the longevity […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY How Technology Steals Our Time Key Takeaway: Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but it is causing us to spend more time on tasks that wouldn’t be possible without technology. A study of 300 people across Europe found that people are filling empty periods with tasks that wouldn’t be possible without technology, such as brain training apps and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Impact Of Space Travel On Humanity Key Takeaway: In 1963, Encyclopaedia Britannica asked five thinkers about whether man’s conquest of space increased or diminished his stature. The response was that space has become a part of everyday life, with satellites landing on planets, moons, comets, and asteroids. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that space is the province of all humanity, […] 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
The Future Of Spacesuits Key Takeaway: The Polaris Dawn mission, which includes the first spacewalk organized by a private company, has been delayed due to complications with the design and development of a suitable spacesuit. Moon suits are a key element of Nasa’s Artemis lunar programme that have yet to be delivered. Spacesuits are no longer expected to be […] Written by Yang Gao March 11, 2024March 11, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why We Will Never Master The Financial Markets Key Takeaways: Stock market enthusiasts often claim to predict financial market trends with great accuracy, but this is not possible due to the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the environments in which we make daily decisions. Human cognition tends to favor a reductionist approach to information processing, sometimes called “tunneling,” which can lead to biased […] Written by Benoรฎt Bรฉchard March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Panda Diplomacy: What We Can Learn About Chinese Economics Key Takeaway: San Diego Zoo and China’s Wildlife Conservation Association signed a deal in February 2024 to return Chinese giant pandas to the US by the end of the summer. This move signifies a warming of relations between the US and China, as well as a bid by China to help repair its struggling economy. […] Written by Chee Meng Tan March 4, 2024March 4, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Insomnia Actually Bad? Key Takeaway: Insomnia, a major health issue, affects around a third of people, with women and older individuals more affected. Sleep deprivation can lead to increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and mental illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of insomnia, which has led to a rise in mental health […] Written by Scott Cairney March 1, 2024March 1, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Art Of Getting Lost Key Takeaway: In 1967, French philosopher Guy Debord argued that we should not be passively consumed by images, but rather engage with them. The Situationist International movement, formed in 1957, aimed to create new ways to reflect on and experience cities as acts of resistance against profit-motivated capitalist structures. The group’s philosophy suggests that we […] Written by Stephen Dobson February 29, 2024February 29, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Rise Of Robo-Retail Key Takeaway: Canada’s first robotic cafe, RC Coffee, opened in Toronto in October 2020, reviving the concept of a restaurant where food and drinks are served by technology. The trend of digitally enabled retail automation has grown in popularity in Canada over the past decade, driven by safety concerns and labor shortages. As of the […] Written by Mathew Iantorno February 28, 2024February 28, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
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. […] Written by Michael A. Little February 27, 2024February 27, 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 โ a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Ravenโs Matrices โ 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 Instituteโs new report, โReskilling China: Transforming The Worldโs Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learnersโ, which focuses on the countryโs 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 Youโre 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 Iโm about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and Iโll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what โcommunityโ means for business. โWhere should community fit in my organization?โ and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked